Artist - The Rolling Stones from Sticky Fingers (1971)
Many artists from this period experimented with long, less radio-friendly songs that often involved sonic experimentation. The Rolling Stones began this with Going Home (from Aftermath) which clocks in at around the 10 minute mark. Can't You Hear Me Knocking doesn't break this barrier but running at 7:16 isn't short but is neither amazingly long, when at Pink Floyd released Echoes that comes in at 23:28 in the same year.
Like the rest of Sticky Fingers, drugs are referenced in the song ("you got cocaine eyes") and it features the same guitar riff by Keith Richards over some playful lyrics by Jagger until 2:43 when playful meanderings between guitar and saxophone comes in. The horn section features quite heavily on the whole album and this song is a good example of how it works well and doesn't date too badly. At 4:41, lead guitarist Mick Taylor comes and his crowning moment of his Stones career begins until the end of the song. The smooth, blues influenced tone is influenced of both Clapton and B. B. King and is as powerful now as it ever was.
Luckily, the band have kept this in their live repertoire and I experienced this at the O2 Arena in August 2007. Obviously, the band is lacking Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor and am I sure you can guess which one is missed more. Ron Wood's guitar work is outstanding but different to that of Taylor. It lacks the subtlety and smoothness of his blues work but is made up for in energy and skill. The live version on Live Licks represents this to me (clocking in at a high 10:02!) with a new harmonic solo by Jagger added between the saxophone and guitar boogie.
All in all, quite an epic song. My favourite moment by the Stones? It is certainly up there - it combines all elements of the best elements of the band. Exquisite lyrics by Jagger/Richards, jazz style drumming by Watts and interlocking guitar work of Richards and Taylor. It hasn't become one of 'the classics' like Brown Sugar, Start Me Up and Paint It, Black has but it shows the Stones before their artistic peak, which would come a year later with Exile on Main Street. You can find it on YouTube in various forms if you haven't heard it yet. Rating - 4 out of 5.
Hi, just stumbled across this page from the Purple radio link on Wikipedia... and I think you helped me to fill in on a radio show when my cohosts went AWOL last term?
Interesting site, did you know that the extended jam that makes up most of Can't You Hear Me Knocking was simply down to chance? They just kept playing after the end of the song, then motioned to keep recording it and everyone just added their own bits in as they came naturally. Also, nice to hear some love for the Exile album, probably one of my favourite ever albums and for some reason, often overlooked by Rolling Stones of our generation!
Hey Graham! Thanks for the comment. I think I remember your show - are you still doing it this term? It's difficult to remember with 150+ DJs all doing their own thing most of the time.
I didn't know it was chance - just shows you. It's a great exam of the Jazz influences the Stones have as well as the to-be-expected R&B stuff. Exile is a fantastic album and it's great to here so much of it present on 'Shine A Light'. With Dark Side Of The Moon, Led Zeppelin IV and Born To Run to name a few, it's one of those albums that is huge and just fantastic. It's a shame we haven't any albums like that in recent years.
Hi,
Yeah I'm still doing the show, we're on Sundays 6-7 and called (not my choice of name!) "Crowdsurfers Will Be Ejected". Really enjoying doing Purple Radio, and looking for ways I can get more involved in it all... I'm not too good on the technical side of things, but I am wondering about what kind of careers are available in radio, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!
I haven't seen Shine A Light yet, I'll give it a rent when it comes out on DVD though... I cringed at the bit in the trailer where Christina Aguilera is dirty dancing with Jagger - he looks old enough to be her granddad! But yeah, I was pleasantly suprised by how much of Exile showed up on the soundtrack, including Loving Cup.
As for modern day opuses, a lot of people rate Muse incredibly highly, but they're not a band I've ever been able to get into. I've been impressed by some of the White Stripes' albums, but they're not nearly as sprawling as the albums you mentioned there. There's definitely a shift in emphasis on albums: it used to be the difficult third album, and now most new bands trip up on the second, revealling that their appeal was encapsulated in a style that was popular for a moment or so: in a word, fashion. I guess the cliched example is to look at the rate that The Beatles churned out new albums and non LP, double-A side singles and compare them to the work ethic of bands these days! Not to sound like an old man or anything...
We'll be doing loads more after exams - keep an eye on the mailing lists and websites for stuff that's going on around Purple.
Christina Aguilera is quite a good singer but I do know what you mean! Some of the extras - Buddy Guy is a living legend. I think band's stopped doing albums every day in the mid-70s. As long as they are good, you can't complain! There is much more scope for hearing B-sides and all that due to the internet. In Rainbows is an example of this.