The Rolling Stones | "Beast Of Burden"
Nov 23, 2011 16:48:05 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2011 16:48:05 GMT -5
This was released from the Some Girls album in 1978 and went Top 10 on the Hot 100. It's probably my favorite song by them. Rolling Stone listed it among the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.
Bette Midler did a cover in the mid-80s that became a Top 10 hit in several nations in Europe.
Wikipedia song history:
Bette Midler did a cover in the mid-80s that became a Top 10 hit in several nations in Europe.
Wikipedia song history:
A "beast of burden" is a semi-domesticated animal that labors for the benefit of man, such as an ox or horse. The music and some lyrics were primarily written by Keith Richards. In the liner notes to the 1993 compilation disc Jump Back, Richards said, "['Beast of Burden'] was another one where Mick [Jagger] just filled in the verses. With the Stones, you take a long song, play it and see if there are any takers. Sometimes they ignore it, sometimes they grab it and record it. After all the faster numbers of Some Girls, everybody settled down and enjoyed the slow one."
In those same notes, Jagger says, "Lyrically, this wasn't particularly heartfelt in a personal way. It's a soul begging song, an attitude song. It was one of those where you get one melodic lick, break it down and work it up; there are two parts here which are basically the same." The song can be seen as allegorical, with Richards saying in 2003, "When I returned to the fold after closing down the laboratory [referring to his drug problems throughout the 1970s], I came back into the studio with Mick... to say, 'Thanks, man, for shouldering the burden' - that's why I wrote "Beast of Burden" for him, I realise in retrospect."
"Beast of Burden" was recorded from October–December 1977. Although basic lyrics were written before the Stones entered the studio, many of the lyrics on the recording were improvised by Jagger to fit with the smooth running guitars of Richards and Ronnie Wood. Characteristically, Richards and Wood trade off rolling, fluid licks. Neither is really playing lead or rhythm guitar, they both slip in and out, one playing high while the other is low. The song is another famed Some Girls song that features each band member playing their respective instruments without any outside performers; both Richards and Wood play acoustic and electric guitars, with Wood performing the solo.
In those same notes, Jagger says, "Lyrically, this wasn't particularly heartfelt in a personal way. It's a soul begging song, an attitude song. It was one of those where you get one melodic lick, break it down and work it up; there are two parts here which are basically the same." The song can be seen as allegorical, with Richards saying in 2003, "When I returned to the fold after closing down the laboratory [referring to his drug problems throughout the 1970s], I came back into the studio with Mick... to say, 'Thanks, man, for shouldering the burden' - that's why I wrote "Beast of Burden" for him, I realise in retrospect."
"Beast of Burden" was recorded from October–December 1977. Although basic lyrics were written before the Stones entered the studio, many of the lyrics on the recording were improvised by Jagger to fit with the smooth running guitars of Richards and Ronnie Wood. Characteristically, Richards and Wood trade off rolling, fluid licks. Neither is really playing lead or rhythm guitar, they both slip in and out, one playing high while the other is low. The song is another famed Some Girls song that features each band member playing their respective instruments without any outside performers; both Richards and Wood play acoustic and electric guitars, with Wood performing the solo.
