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Rating:
When talking about the Stones, people usually refer to "Exile On Main Street" as the great watershed between the group's golden period - encapsulated by the brilliant pentagon "Aftermath-Beggars Banquet-Let It Bleed-Sticky Fingers-Exile On Main Street" - and the period of slow but inexorable decline. I disagree.
"Goat's Head Soup" is a great album and deserves to be re-evaluated. We are in 1973, the band is in its heyday, but Keith Richards is increasingly involved with drugs. His participation in the album is merely superficial, as his real contributions are minimal. This has a dual effect on the band's sound: it gives the highly underrated Mick Taylor the chance to express his extraordinary talent as a blues guitarist in the best possible way but, at the same time, it leads to a general softening of the sound: the guitars scratch less than usual, and great space is reserved for ballads - not surprisingly, this is the album of "Angie". "Dancing With Mr. D", with a splendidly slow and dark riff by Richards, opens the album with its slow and lazy pace. The next song, "100 Years Ago", is the first splendid ballad of the album: Jagger's interpretation, supported by the unusually precise backing vocals of Richards, is heartfelt and emotional; the rest of the song is an exhilarating rollercoaster culminating in an electric finale and Taylor's amazing solo.
"Coming Down Again" slows the pace, with Nick Hopkins' delightful piano contribution, which enhances the interpretation by Jagger and Richards as they alternate on vocals. The next track "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" colors the typical Stones rock with pleasant funk shades, which I personally find delightful. Everything has been said about "Angie": the great vocal performance, the myriad nuances imparted by the string section, Nick Hopkins' piano. Great piece, but not the best. After the outburst of electric slides in "Silver Train", almost an outtake of "Exile On Main Street" with its rock-country and boogie-woogie feel, we arrive at the carefree and rousing woogie of "Hide Your Love" (with an unprecedented Mick Jagger on piano) and the splendid "Winter", another electric ballad that once again - but it is a consistent theme throughout the album - features an unforgettable solo by Taylor. It closes with the very distinctive "Can You Hear The Music", with a splendid chorus and a wall of sliding electric guitars that, between solos, make way for an exotic flute weaving between a thousand percussions supporting the always disciplined drumming of Watts. Perhaps the best track on the album.
The closing falls to the rock 'n' roll of "Star Star", from a well-tested blueprint. "Goat's Head Soup" is a great album, unfortunately hampered by Richards' partial absence. An album to be re-evaluated, to be listened to again attentively because, besides containing invaluable gems like "100 Years Ago" and "Coming Down Again", it allows appreciation of the Stones' "softer" side and especially the extraordinary talent of Mick Taylor, a guitarist of extraordinary artistic sensitivity unfortunately hindered by an introverted and shy nature that has kept him - and still keeps him today - in the shadow of much less talented guitarists.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
04 Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) (03:26)
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
The po-lice in New York City
They chased a boy right through the park
And in a case of mistaken identity
The put a bullet through his heart
Heart breakers with your forty four
I wanna tear your world apart
You heart breaker with your forty four
I wanna tear your world a part
A ten year old girl on a street corner
Sticking needles in her arm
She died in the dirt of an alleyway
Her mother said she had no chance, no chance!
Heart breaker, heart breaker
She stuck the pins right in her heart
Heart breaker, pain maker
Stole the love right out of you heart
Heart breaker, heart breaker
You stole the love right out of my heart
Heart breaker, heart breaker
I wanna tear your world apart
Doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo....
05 Angie (04:31)
Angie, Angie
When will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, Angie
Where will it lead us from here?
With no loving in our souls
And no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, Angie
You can't say we never tried
Angie, you're beautiful, yeah
But ain't it time we said goodbye?
Angie, I still love you
Remember all those nights we cried?
All the dreams we held so close
Seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear
Angie, Angie
Where will it lead us from here?
Oh, Angie, don't you weep
All your kisses still taste sweet
I hate that sadness in your eyes
But Angie, Angie
Ain't it time we said goodbye?
With no loving in our souls
And no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, I still love you, baby
Ev'rywhere I look I see your eyes
There ain't a woman that comes close to you
Come on baby, dry your eyes
But Angie, Angie
Ain't it good to be alive?
Angie, Angie
They can't say we never tried
08 Winter (05:29)
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
And it sure been a cold, cold winter
And the wind ain't been blowin' from the south
It's sure been a cold, cold winter
And a lotta love is all burned out
It sure been a hard, hard winter
My feet been draggin' 'cross the ground
And I hope it's gonna be a long, hot summer
And a lotta love will be burnin' bright
And I wish I been out in California
When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out
But I been burnin' my bell, book and candle
And the restoration plays have all gone 'round
It sure been a cold, cold winter
My feet been draggin' 'cross the ground
And the fields has all been brown and fallow
And the springtime take a long way around
Yeah, and I wish I been out in Stone Canyon
When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out
But I been burnin' my bell, book and candle
And the restoration plays have all gone 'round
Sometimes I think about you, baby
Sometimes I cry about you
Sometimes I wanna wrap my coat around you
Sometimes I wanna keep you warm
Sometimes I wanna wrap my coat around you
Sometimes I wanna but I can't afford you
10 Star Star (04:25)
Baby, baby, I've been so sad since you've been gone
way back to New York City
where you do belong
Honey, I missed your two tongue kisses,
legs wrapped around me tight
If I ever get back to Fun City, girl,
I'm gonna make you scream all night.
Honey, honey, call me on the telephone,
I know you're movin' out to Hollywood
with your can of tasty foam
All those beat up friends of mine
got to get you in their books
And lead guitars and movie stars
get their toes beneath your hook.Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star
yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star,
a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star.Yeah, I heard about you Polaroid's,
now that's what I call obscene,
your tricks with fruit was kind a cute,
I bet you keep your pussy clean.
Honey, I miss your two tone kisses,
legs wrapped around me tight.
If I ever get back to New York, girl,
gonna make you scream all night.Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star
yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star,
a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star.Yeah, Ali McGraw got mad with you
for givin' head to Steve McQueen,
yeah, and me we made a pretty pair,
fallin' through the Silver Screen.
Honey, I'm open to anything
I don't know where to draw the line.
Yeah, I'm makin' bets that you don't get John Wayne
(you man) before he dies.
Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star
yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star,
a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star.
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By Confaloni
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Goats Head Soup marks a shift from the band as trailblazers to a group capable of technically impeccable but less innovative records.
