| August 30th, 2005 12:43 AM |
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| TheSavageYoungXyzzy |
There was a crazy thought I had while listening to the album today (thanks for the good eyes on WinAmp, AngieGirl) - was "Rough Justice" recorded last out of the 16 songs?
Bear with me for a sec. Consider this:
-The guitar sound Keith gets on "Rough Justice" - that overdriven, grimy, hollow-bodied sound that's similar to what Pete Townshend gets on record, is nowhere else on the album. Not even "Oh No, Not You Again" has it.
-Ronnie is on it. Based on what Gazza said and the interviews, Ronnie was ill at the same time Charlie was, either in the dry tank again or for something more sinister - my guess is the cigarettes finally caught up to him and he got treated hush-hush for preliminary emphysema to get him healthy enough to tour. They played "Oh No, Not You Again" at the press conference. At the time, Ronnie looked unsure of the chords - and sounds even more uncomfortable on the record. There's an extra half-measure in there for his guitar fill at the intro that makes it sound so damn awkward, and his solo is just a couple of squalled, choppy chords. (Comedy response: "Well, that's how all his solos sound." Good, now we've gotten that one out of the way.)
-"Streets Of Love" was the first single, and when we got word of it, the only single. Then "Rough Justice" came along, initially fairly clearly marked as the B-side, and folks went nuts for it. The fact that it was a B-side indicates they thought they had something but wanted to "test the waters." When they found out that yes, it was an awesome song and no, "Streets Of Love" is not a good single at all, they invented this "double-A side" crap pretty fast and threw "Rough Justice" onto the US airwaves to great effect.
-Mick's voice sounds different. As if he's coming off a rest. Rock'n'roll Mick, the sneering guy we know from "I Go Wild," is on "Oh No, Not You Again," albeit in a compressed format. (Yeah, they compress his voice on it. Why, I don't know. The song is so much better live it's not even funny.) "Rough Justice" doesn't sound like Rock'n'roll Mick, but as the song goes on, he gets into it. Could indicate it's just an early take they stuck with.
-Keith's comment that it's a song he rolled out of bed to write makes me wonder - during the cleanup sessions for the other songs with Charlie, Ronnie and company present, did he come to Mick and say "here's this riff. Want to do it for the hell of it?" Sounds like the same sort of one-off quick-thinking nature that spawned "Satisfaction."
It all kind of adds up for me. I think "Rough Justice" was one of the last, if not the very last song they recorded. I dunno. Can anyone shed a little more light on it? |
| August 30th, 2005 03:46 AM |
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| Zack |
I don't know . . . jumping from last minute B side to album opener is quite a leap. Interesting theory though, xyzz.
When's the last time they put the best song on an album as opener? Love is Strong, but then you have to go all the way back to--what Brown Sugar? The best have usually been deeper in. |
| August 30th, 2005 04:05 AM |
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| gotdablouse |
Good points, but I think I heard that sleazy overdriven guitar on another song too, let me check. |
| August 30th, 2005 10:32 AM |
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| TheSavageYoungXyzzy |
quote:
Zack wrote:
I don't know . . . jumping from last minute B side to album opener is quite a leap. Interesting theory though, xyzz.
I hear that. But still, a good song is a good song, and it's always tentative if it's the last song on the record. "Pinball Wizard," for example, was recorded last-minute, and look how that wound up - and that sounds different from the rest of the record it's on, too. The opener of my band's live sets for a long time was the most recent song we'd done. We actually finished the damn thing the day of - some of the lyrics have since changed, but it still works great. We were never sure about it, but we went with it and, lo and behold, it worked. I get a similar feel from "Rough Justice," based on all the evidence. |
| August 30th, 2005 11:21 AM |
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| IanBillen |
[quote]Zack wrote:
I don't know . . . jumping from last minute B side to album opener is quite a leap. Interesting theory though, xyzz.
When's the last time they put the best song on an album as opener? Love is Strong, but then you have to go all the way back to--what Brown Sugar? The best have usually been deeper in.
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That is debatable Zack.
Here are a few maybe some would agree was the best songs on these albums.
Start Me Up> TY
One Hit to the Body>Dirty Work
Undercover of The Night>UCOTN
Street Fighting Man>Stripped (if you count that)
Miss You>Some Girls (most may say no here but it is an arguable statement.
Ian |
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