The “Albums That Made Us” series continues as Brian Jacobs (Pods & Sods contributor, and one of the most thoughtful music-lovers I know) joins us with a look at two central albums that have grown with us over the years. The older we get, the better these albums get: “Shoot Out The Lights” by Richard & Linda Thompson, and Bob Dylan’s “Blood on The Tracks“.
— This show is just one of many great podcasts on the Pantheon Podcasts network. There’s something there for every rock fan!
Nothing came easy for Badfinger. Though they had success with their first few albums (all of them are must-have classics), they soon had a tough time, thanks to terrible management, record label indifference and bad timing. In 1974, worn-down & exhausted from the non-stop touring/recording/touring again grind, they dragged themselves into the studio… and, with help from producer Chris Thomas, made one of their best albums. Many fans say it IS their best. Unfortunately, few people heard it as it was withdrawn from stores shortly after its release, thanks to legal shenanigans. Things only got worse after that. But this record is a masterpiece; let’s celebrate it with a look at the song “In the Meantime/Some Other Time”.
“In the Meantime/Some Other Time” (Mike Gibbins, Joey Molland) Copyright 1974 WB Music Group ASCAP
If you liked this episode on Badfinger, then check out our previous show on “Day After Day”:
https://lovethatsongpodcast.com/badfinger-day-after-day/
TRANSCRIPT:
Oh, I can’t live if living is without you friends– this is the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast on the Pantheon Podcast Network. I’m your host, Brad Page, and this episode, we’re digging into a deep track back by Badfinger: “In The Meantime/Some Other Time”.
Most people, if they know Badfinger at all, it’s from their Beatlesque power pop hits like “Baby Blue”, “No Matter What”, “Come And Get It”, and “Day After Day”. We covered “Day After Day” on this show, way back in episode number nine. But Badfinger had a heavier side too, late in their career. After they had fallen off the pop charts, they released one of their best albums. And we’re going to listen to a track from that album, actually a blend of two songs called “In The Meantime/Some Other Time”.
Rock history is littered with artists who suffered bad management, financial disasters, misfortune and untimely death. But by any measure, the story of Badfinger may be the most tragic. It’s the one that breaks my heart the most. With Badfinger, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. And yet they managed to leave behind some incredible music.
The story of Badfinger begins in 1961 with a band called the Iveys. After years of paying their dues, in 1968 they signed to the new record label started by the Beatles, Apple Records. In fact, they were the first act signed to Apple. Pete Ham and Tom Evans on guitars, Ron Griffiths on bass and Mike Gibbons on drums, and all four members shared vocals. The Iveys recorded a couple of singles and an album, but they didn’t have much success. In 1969, Paul McCartney agreed to contribute three songs to the film “The Magic Christian”, starring Ringo Starr. McCartney had written one song for the film already, “Come And Get It”. And he offered that song to the Iveys. They recorded their version of it and it was featured in the film, along with two of their original songs. Before the songs were released, the band changed their name to Badfinger.
The first Badfinger album was issued in January 1970, and it included the three songs from the film, some other new material, and some tracks recycled from that previous Ivey’s album. After the release of that record, Ron Griffiths was pushed out of the band. Tom Evans switched to playing bass, and Joey Molland joined on guitars and vocals. This would be the classic Badfinger lineup. In November 1970, they released their next album, “No Dice”. “No Dice” is one of my favorite albums; it shows all the strengths of this band. All four members could write and all four members could sing. Pete Ham in particular was really coming into his own as a songwriter and singer during this period.
But 1970 also saw the band signing on with a new manager, Stan Polley. This turned out to be a bad move. Polley got them to sign a series of bad deals that would eventually cost the band everything. But the music kept getting better.
In May of 1971, they started work on their next album, and though they had to change producers three times before the album was done, “Straight Up” was released in December 1971, and it was their biggest success yet. “Straight Up” is universally considered a classic, and it spawned two big hits: “Day After Day,” which we talked about on the show before, and “Baby Blue”.
Unfortunately, in a case of one step forward and two steps back, they couldn’t capitalize on the success of the album, because Apple Records was falling apart. The Beatles had split, everyone was suing everybody else, and the cash dried up. Apple wasn’t able to promote the album. Whole situation was just a bummer.
But Badfinger was still under contract for one more album for Apple, so they recorded their last Apple album in 1972. They called that album “Ass”, as in “jackass”. But this time, the album was tied up in legal issues at Apple and it was put on hold. Stan Polley set them up with a new recording contract at Warner Brothers with a $3 million advance. Polley told them that they were all going to be millionaires, and it sounded great to them… unless you looked at the details. They were committed to do six albums in three years. That meant a new album every six months– a punishing schedule, and they had to pay to produce each of those albums out of that advance money. So after you deducted Polley ‘s cut as the manager, there was barely anything left for the band.
Six months after finishing the “Ass” album, they went back into the studio to make their first album for Warner Bros, simply titled “Badfinger”. That album was released in February 1974. But right before that album was released, Apple finally issued the “Ass” album, essentially putting two new Badfinger albums on sale at the same time… which confused everyone, including the buying public, which pretty much ensured that both albums were a commercial disappointment. Still, there were gigs to perform and contracts to fulfill, so after a US tour, the band headed back into the studio again, completely exhausted to work on another album. With no time to prepare new material, they barely had any finished songs, just a bunch of fragments and ideas. Thank God for producer Chris Thomas.
This would be Thomas’ third time working for Badfinger. He had produced the last two albums. He had also worked with the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Roxy Music. Chris Thomas knew what he was doing, so he sat down with the tired and dejected members of Badfinger and said, “the only way to beat this is to make the best album that anyone has ever made in the history of the world”. And damned if they didn’t come close.
Thomas worked with each band member to put the songs together. He asked them for any and every idea they could come up with. Partly inspired by side two of Abbey Road, he took different song ideas and worked out how to combine some of them. And that’s how we ended up with the song we’re going to listen to today. Drummer Mike Gibbons had an unfinished song called “In The Meantime. Guitarist Joey Molland had some fragments for a song he was calling “Some Other Time”. Producer Chris Thomas took those two ideas and found a way to blend them into one coherent song. It’s a masterful work of arranging.
Chris Thomas brought in Anne Odell to write string arrangements for some of the tracks, including this one. Odell created a dramatic crescendo to open.
Now we build to the first part of the song, Mike Gibbons contribution, “In The Meantime”. Pete Ham plays some nice lead guitar fills over an insistent piano part that’s filled with nervous energy. The vocal in this section is sung by Mike Gibbons.
Let’s stop to take a look at the music underneath the vocal here. The drums are doing a typical beat snare on the two and four. The bass is playing one note on each beat. The piano is playing two notes for every beat, twice as many as the bass. And then there’s a guitar hitting one chord every four beats. All of this mathematical playing gives the sense of an unrelenting movement forward, just like time itself. An unstoppable march forward like the ticking of a clock.
On top of that, the strings move in and out, swirling in the currents of time. Intricate little guitar part, before we return to the main section, Pete Ham on lead guitar. Now that guitar part returns to lead us to a new, much slower section.
Badfinger always had great vocal harmonies. Let’s see if we can bring those up in the mix a bit and listen to that again.
I love that arpeggiated guitar part there.
Nice little guitar part there, but it’s buried in the mix. Let’s listen to an alternative mix of this track where we can hear that a little clearer. There’s so much going on in this track, it’s easy for parts like that to get lost. This is one of those songs where every time you listen, you can hear something new.
There’s another variation of that guitar part in the background there.
Now the tempo rises and we’re introduced to a new section of the song. Listen for what sounds like castanets in the center, right. Such a great guitar. If there’s actually two guitars there, one playing a high part and one playing a lower part, that’s kind of hard to hear. Let’s bring both of those to the front section from earlier in the song.
Listen to how the strings embellish this section from earlier. You’ll hear a slight change in the guitar riff as we transition to the second part of the song.
Low in the mix there the backing vocals sing hold on echoing the lead vocal.
And here comes the big finale.
And some backwards guitar.
“In The Meantime/Some Other Time” by Badfinger.
The band released this song, along with eight other tracks, on an album called “Wish You Were Here”. Not to be confused with the Pink Floyd album of the same name, Badfinger’s “Wish You Were Here” was released in November 1974, and this album is a masterpiece.
But the Badfinger bad luck struck again. A large amount of cash that Warner Brothers had provided had gone missing. And Stan Polley was not responding. So, Warner Brothers sued the band’s management and then pulled the album out of the stores before it even had a chance to catch on. That just killed the album.
That was enough for Pete Ham. He quit the band. He eventually returned, but then Joey Molland quit, and they tried to make another album, but that wasn’t released.
By March 1975, all of their paychecks were bouncing, and Pete Ham was told that all his money was gone. On April 25, Tom Evans and Pete Ham went out for drinks. When Pete got home, he went out to his garage and hung himself. He was 27. He left a suicide note that read, “Stan Polley is a soulless bastard”.
The band eventually reformed and released a couple more albums that are pretty good, but just not the same without Pete Ham. There was conflict within the band, and at one point both Tom Evans and Joey Moland fronted two competing versions of Badfinger.
In November 1983, angry and frustrated, Tom Evans took his own life. He hung himself, too, just like Pete Ham. Two great singers, two brilliant songwriters and two good friends, both crushed by the heartlessness and cruelty of the business part of the music business.
Drummer Mike Gibbons went on to do quite a bit of studio work and released four solo albums. He died from a brain aneurysm in 2005.
Joey Moland is still out there. I saw him perform a set of Badfinger material a couple years ago. That was a great show. These songs, though, they carry the heavy weight of history. It’s hard to imagine a band with more heartbreak and tragedy than Badfinger. But the songs– the songs rise above it all. If you don’t have Badfinger’s “Wish You Were Here” album in your collection, go get it now. You will not be disappointed.
That’s it for this episode of the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. What’s your favorite Badfinger song? Visit our Facebook page to post your comments and feedback. Just search for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast and you’ll find us there. Or share on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com.
We are part of the Pantheon Network of podcasts; check out some of their other shows when you get a chance.
Thanks again for listening to this episode on Badfinger and “In The Meantime/Some Other Time”. We’ll see you next time.
RESOURCES:
Badfinger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badfinger
Pete Ham:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Ham
Apple Records
https://www.applemusic.com
The Magic Christian (Film)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064622/
Paul McCartney
https://www.paulmccartney.com
The Beatles
https://www.thebeatles.com
Warner Brothers Records
https://www.warnerrecords.com
Stan Polley:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Polley
Chris Thomas (Producer)
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-thomas-mn0000775910
Anne Odell (String Arranger)
https://www.discogs.com/artist/
Aerosmith was a band on the brink of self-destruction when they set up in an old convent to record their next album in 1977. But despite the tension, drug abuse and general bad behavior, they managed to lay down a few great tunes, including “Kings And Queens“. Let’s dig into this Aerosmith classic.
If you enjoyed this episode on Aerosmith, check out this previous show on their classic track “Seasons Of Wither”: https://lovethatsongpodcast.com/aerosmith-seasons-of-wither/
“Kings And Queens” (Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford and Jack Douglas) Copyright 1977 Daksel Music Corp. and Song And Dance Music Co. All rights administered by Unichappel Music, Inc.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome, jesters, minstrels, and Knights of the Round Table. This is the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast on the Pantheon Podcast Network. I’m your host, Brad Page, and on this episode, we’ll be traveling back through the mists of history to the time of “Kings And Queens” with Aerosmith.
Aerosmith and I have one small thing in common: I was born in New Hampshire and grew up in Massachusetts– and you could say the same thing for Aerosmith. The band members met around Lake Sunapee, a vacation area in New Hampshire where families from the Boston area, and as far away as from New York, would vacation for the summer. In the 1960’s, with all the teenagers in town just looking for something to do, the area became a place where a half-decent band could get steady gigs during the summer, and that’s where Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, and Steven Tyler met. They eventually moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and over time, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford joined the band, and that became the classic lineup of Aerosmith.
By 1977, Aerosmith was one of the biggest rock bands in the country. The days of struggling to make it, sharing a house together, and scrounging up enough cash just to get by– those days were over, but success brought with it a whole bunch of other problems, especially the drugs.
When Aerosmith began work on what would be their new album, the situation was not great. From the start, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton, and Brad Whitford had spent a month prior doing some pre-production, working up new material and some ideas. But Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were nowhere to be found. They never showed up.
Looking to try something different, to get out from the traditional studio into a different environment, the band rented an estate in New York, an isolated place in the mountains on 100 acres with a half mile long driveway. It was called The Cenacle. Built in the 1920s, it had been most recently used as a convent.
Tom, Brad, Joey, along with producer Jack Douglas, moved into the house, and eventually Joe and Steven showed up separately, and promptly disappeared into their rooms and didn’t come down for days. For the recording, Jack Douglas set up each band member in a different space in the house; Joey’s drums were set up in the chapel. Joe Perry’s guitar was recorded in a big walk-in fireplace, and Steven Tyler’s vocal booth was on the second floor. But not a lot of work was getting done. The days were spent shooting guns, driving their cars around the area at dangerous speeds, and just getting loaded. Cocaine and heroin were the drugs of choice.
The fractures were clear. Joey Tom and Brad, who did more than their share of partying, would still be able to pull it together enough in the evenings to work on recording, but Joe and Steven would rarely show up. Joe Perry was clearly dopesick. He’d work for a couple of hours and then disappear back to his room for days at a time. In later years, Joe Perry would describe this period as “we were drug addicts dabbling in music, rather than musicians dabbling in drugs”.
After six long weeks of recording at The Cenacle, the album was still unfinished, but the band packed up and headed home. On the way back to Boston, Joey Kramer crashed his Ferrari doing 135 on the highway, and shortly after Joe Perry crashed his Corvette. That’s what life was like for Aerosmith in the late seventies, like a series of car wrecks.
They would eventually finish the album at the record plant in between gigs. One of the songs that they worked on at the Cenacle and would finish later was “Kings And Queens”.
Now, most of the classic Aerosmith songs were written by Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, but “Kings And Queens” was written by Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Later, Steven Tyler and Jack Douglas would come up with the lyrics together. So all five of them share writing credit. But it was really Whitford, Hamilton and Kramer that put the music together back at The Cenacle when Steven and Joe were nowhere to be found– Joe Perry is barely on the track at all.
So, let’s get into the song. It begins with the main riff: classic guitar, bass and drums.
Build into the first verse.
First, let’s look at Steven Tyler’s vocals here. I think he sounds great on this song. Some of his best work is when he’s singing lyrics that are on the darker side. He’s really able to nail that eerie, foreboding mood here.
This song doesn’t have a traditional song structure. There’s no chorus really. And this next line is one of the few times he actually uses the song title. It comes around at the end, but there it’s buried in the mix. This is the only time “Kings And Queens” is up-front in the mix.
Let’s take a listen to some of the other things going on in this track. The bass part couldn’t be more simple. It doesn’t sound like much on its own, but when you combine that with the drums, guitars and other parts, it creates the essential foundation for the feel of the song. Other bass players wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to gussy up their part. But Tom Hamilton surrenders his ego for the benefit of the song. And as we’ll hear later on, he gets his moment to shine.
Besides the guitar, bass and drums, there’s some other instruments here too. Most interesting, I think, is the banjo, played by Paul Prestopino.
Now, one instrument I don’t associate with medieval England is the banjo, but they really make it work here. For those of you already familiar with this song, I wonder how many of you noticed the banjo before?
And notice they’ve added harmony vocals here.
Another instrument in the mix is a mandolin, played by producer Jack Douglas. It’s a little harder to hear in the mix, but you can kind of pick it out. Listen to the channel on the right.
At this point, the main riff returns and this time, they’ve added a screeching guitar part on top of it. It’s reminiscent of that classic soundtrack to the movie “Psycho”.
In concert, Joe Perry would play that part. I’m not sure who plays it on the recording. And if you listen closely, it sounds to me like Steven Tyler is also singing that note.
Check out this great drum fill by Joey Kramer. As the drum fill reaches a crescendo, a new element is added, a string section. The chord changes are also a little different.
In this next verse, let’s hear what one of Brad Whitford’s guitars is doing under this.
And if we take the guitars and the bass out of the mix, you can hear a little more clearly what the string section is doing.
Brad Whitford doubles Tyler’s vocal line there.
I love the way that guitar slides up into that riff.
That little pinging sound there, that’s Brad Whitford’s guitar. He’s doing some nice stuff that’s deep in the mix here. Let’s listen to some of that.
And now, here’s where things get even more interesting. Almost a little bit of Prog Rock, Aerosmith-style. I love this section.
The song breaks for an interlude that features the bass and a piano, which is an instrument we haven’t heard up until this point. Let’s just listen to Tom Hamilton’s bass part.
Now let’s go back and listen to the piano part. It’s Steven Tyler playing the piano here. Notice how it’s recorded. The high notes played with the right hand are in the right channel. The low notes played with the left hand are in the left channel.
You can hear how the low notes on the piano are duplicating exactly what the bass guitar is doing. By doubling those up, it really punches up both parts. They’re stronger together than each part playing individually. Let’s listen to the finished mix here.
Then the whole band comes in for a very ethereal solo section. Now, Joe Perry is lauded as the guitar hero in Aerosmith, but Brad Whitford is always overlooked and underrated. He may be overshadowed by Joe Perry’s rock stardom, but Whitford is every bit an equally talented player. It’s Whitford who takes the solo on this song. And it’s a great one.
Brad Whitford. That’s a great solo. It’s an interesting guitar sound too. A notched EQ tone. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s probably using a wah-wah pedal in a fixed position to get that tone. Something that David Bowie’s guitarist Mick Ronson used to do all the time. It’s what they call a “cocked wah” tone coming out of the guitar solo.
The band plays this cool little passage leading into the next section. After the guitar solo, we enter the final section of the song where Steven Tyler sings kind of a vocal round as the band churns away underneath.
And let’s take a closer look at the arrangement here, especially the layers of guitars. Here are the drums, vocals and at least two guitar tracks panned left and right.
And then we have these guitar tracks layered on top. Let’s bring everything back into the mix.
Aerosmith – “Kings And Queens”.
Steven Tyler said “the band comes up with the licks and then the music talks to me and tells me what it’s about.This one was just about how many people died from holy wars because of their beliefs or non-beliefs. With that one, my brain was back with the knights of the roundtable and all that.”
Well, thanks for joining me for this epic journey into a great song. We’ll be back in two weeks with another episode. Be sure to join me on Facebook, just look for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast, where you can keep up with what’s happening on the show. And if you’d like to leave a review or a comment on the show, head over to podchaser.com. Podchaser is the best place to leave your feedback. Of course, all our past episodes are available there and on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com.
We are also just one of a bunch of amazing podcasts on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Whatever music you’re into, there’s more great podcasts for you on Pantheon, so check them out.
As I head back into my castle and pull up the drawbridge behind me, I’ll leave you with one last look at “Kings And Queens” by Aerosmith.
If you’re anything like me, after listening to a deep dive like this, you’ll want to hear the whole song again. So go buy the album or the CD, or the MP3 files and support the music you love.
RESOURCES:
Aerosmith
https://www.aerosmith.com/
Lake Sunapee
https://www.lakesunapeenh.org/
Pantheon Podcast Network
https://pantheonpodcasts.com/
Podchaser
https://www.podchaser.com/
lovethatsongpodcast.com
http://www.lovethatsongpodcast.com/
Psycho (Movie)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/
Record Plant
https://www.recordplant.com/
After 50 years locked away in a vault, the world finally got to see and hear some of the abandoned footage from the Beatles “Let It Be” sessions. The new documentary “Get Back” gives us almost 8 hours of never-before seen film and an unprecedented look at The Beatles at work. It was worth the wait. On this Special Edition of the podcast, we’re joined by 3 of the biggest Beatle fans I know– Ken Mills, Craig Smith and Brian Jacobs— to discuss this fascinating look at the most important band in rock history.
— This show is one of many great music-related podcasts on the Pantheon network. You should check them out! And remember to follow this show, so you never miss an episode
When Frank Marino announced his retirement in 2021 due to a medical condition, his fans were shocked. “Tales Of The Unexpected”, indeed. So let’s take a few minutes to appreciate this great guitar player with a look at one of his funkiest tracks.
“Sister Change” (Frank Marino) Copyright 1979 Daksel Music Corp BMI
— This show is just one of many great Rock Podcasts on the Pantheon Podcasts network. Get ’em while they’re red hot!
We’re back with another “Albums That Made Us” episode; this time my guest is author Christy Alexander Hallberg, whose new novel Searching For Jimmy Page is a must-read for any Led Zeppelin fan. On this episode, Christy shares how discovering “Led Zeppelin IV” was a life-changing moment, how the music has brought comfort over the years, and inspired her book. We also discuss one of my first album purchases, Queen’s “Day At The Races”.
Buy the book here: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
— This show is one of many podcasts on the Pantheon podcast network — THE place for music junkies to get your fix. Check ’em out!
Join us for this Halloween Episode where we take a deep dive into one of the spookiest songs to ever hit the charts. There’s a reason why this song has shown up everywhere from TV shows like “Supernatural”, to films including “Halloween”, the videogame “Ripper”– its lyrics are even quoted in Steven King’s “The Stand”: because few songs are able to create a mood as deep and rich as this one. And it features one of the best guitar parts of all time. (And yes, we mention the cowbell.)
“Don’t Fear The Reaper” (Donald Roeser) Copyright 1976 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
— This show is one of many great music-related podcasts on the Pantheon podcast network. Check ’em out!
In the novel Lost Horizon, Shangri-La is the mystical, hidden paradise of legend. In The Kinks song, it’s the name given to the humble home of Arthur, the main character in Ray Davies’ concept album/rock opera Arthur (Or The Decline and Fall of The British Empire). Written as the accompaniment for a TV movie that was never produced, Arthur still stands as one of The Kinks’ best works, and “Shangri-La” is the stand-out track from this album.
“Shangri-La” (Ray Davies) Copyright 1969 Davray Music Limited, Carlin Music Corp
— This show is one of the many great podcasts on the Pantheon Podcasts network. Check ’em all out!
1971 was a banner year for great rock albums, and one of the best of the best that year was “Sticky Fingers” by The Rolling Stones. On this episode, we take a dive into a key track from that album, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”, where the Stones begin with a killer Keef riff and end up 7 minutes later in a completely different place. How did they get there? Let’s take the journey with them… and along the way, we’ll pay our respects to the late, great Charlie Watts.
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards) Copyright 1971 ABKCO Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome, friends, to the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast, part of the Pantheon family of podcasts. I’m your host, Brad Page.
I was already in the middle of putting this episode together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark album from the Rolling Stones. And then just today, as I record this, we all heard the news that their legendary drummer, Charlie Watts, had passed away.
I don’t think you can overestimate how important Charlie Watts was to the world of drummers and to rock and roll in general. This episode wasn’t meant to be a memorial or tribute to Charlie, but I couldn’t let the episode pass by without mentioning how significant his contributions were to the whole history of music. So keep the illustrious Mr. Watts in your thoughts and let’s let this episode play out.
As we’ve discussed on this show before, 1971– 50 years ago– was an especially brilliant year for music. And there’s a ton of classic albums celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. So, before 2021 comes to a close, I wanted to take one last look back 50 years ago to another landmark album from 1971: the Rolling Stones’ “Sticky Fingers”. On this episode, we’ll celebrate that album by digging into one of the Stone’s greatest moments– the song called “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
[Music]
By 1971, the Beatles had split, leaving the Rolling Stones with the title of “the biggest band in the world”. “Sticky Fingers” is either their 9th or their 11th album, depending on whether you’re counting UK or US releases, but either way, it was well into their career. But there was still some fresh blood and new life in the band, especially with the addition of new guitarist Mick Taylor. “Sticky Fingers” would be their first full album of new material to feature Mick Taylor, who had joined the band two years before.
By 1970, the Stones had reached the end of their contract with Deca Records, and they had also decided to end their relationship with manager Alan Klein, which was a particularly messy and painful process. So “Sticky Fingers” was a first in many ways: it was their first album for their own record label, Rolling Stones Records; it was the first under their new distribution deal with Atlantic Records, who signed a $5.7 million deal with the Stones; it was their first album to feature that iconic lips-and-tongue logo. And as I mentioned, it was their first studio album to fully feature Mick Taylor on guitar.
Though “Sticky Fingers” was released in 1971, the recording of the album began in December 1969 with three tracks recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. There were additional tracks recorded at Olympic Studios in London. But by March 1970, the Stones had purchased a 34-foot long truck and installed a complete 16 track recording studio inside of it. This became known as “The Rolling Stones Mobile” and it became legendary in its own right. Not only did the Stones use it to record some of their most successful tracks, it was also used by dozens of other artists, including Led Zeppelin on “Physical Graffiti” and The Who on “Who’s Next”. The mobile studio was even immortalized in the lyrics to that Deep Purple classic, “Smoke on the Water”.
The Stones pulled that truck right up in front of Mick Jagger’s home– a mansion, really, called Stargroves. And recording sessions continued there for the rest of the album. They particularly liked to record in the huge entrance hall of Stargroves, because of its great acoustics. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” begins with a guitar riff played by Keith Richards. It’s in Open G tuning, and probably played on either his Gibson Black Beauty Les Paul, or possibly on his Dan Armstrong guitar made of plexiglass.
You can hear someone, probably Mick, let out a little grunt during that pause in the opening riff. Charlie Watts joins in pretty quickly on drums, followed by Bill Wyman on bass.
Here, there’s some particularly nice snare drum work by Charlie Watts right here. Keith changes to the verse riff, and Mick Taylor joins in. Keith is in the right channel; Mick Taylor, playing a Gibson ES345 Semi-hollow body guitar, is in the left channel.
Mick Jagger, when it’s called for, can be a really good lyricist. He definitely has a way with words. But on this song, it’s not the words that are important, it’s the syllables, the rhythm that matters. The lyrics to this song aren’t that memorable, but vocally, this is one of Jagger’s great performances.
Keith joins in on vocals.
Those two hits on the snare drum, they’re are a nice touch by Charlie. It’s the knock on the door during this section. Charlie switches up the groove by hitting the snare drum on every beat, not just on the two and the four. There’s also an organ that comes in here, played by Billy Preston.
And now Charlie’s back to playing the snare on the two and the four.
I’m hearing something a little dissonant in the guitars there. I think Mick Taylor may have fumbled a chord.
Here comes Billy Preston on the organ again. And I think there’s a piano buried in the mix.
Let’s see if we can isolate the vocals here.
Though the Stones have a reputation for being loose, and some might say sloppy, they were never a jam band. They were always much more song-oriented. This is one of the rare occasions where they cut loose and just went where the music took them. Everything fell into place perfectly, and luckily, the recording engineers kept that tape rolling.
After the main section of the song stops, there’s a new groove that’s introduced by congas, played by Rocky Dejawn. The producer, Jimmy Miller is in there, too. He’s playing a guiro. And then there’s Keith Richards, the riff master, coming in with a whole new riff that sets them off on a whole new direction.
Bobby Keys was in the studio that day, but he hadn’t been playing on the track. As soon as he heard them settle into this new groove, he grabbed a saxophone and joined them on the studio floor. He takes an extended solo here. Totally improvised, unrehearsed, done all in one take. And it’s one of Bobby Key’s finest moments on record. Let’s try to bring Bobby’s saxophone up in the mix.
Listen to what Mick Taylor is playing on guitar in the left channel.
Bobby Keys epic sax solo winds down. And what a sax solo that was. Remember, that was all one take and the first take.
But not to be outdone, Mick Taylor is about to unfurl a brilliant solo of his own. Again, totally improvised. Let’s listen to how he instinctively builds this solo to a climax.
Mick Taylor sets up a groove that, very quickly, the whole band picks up on. They are totally in sync. This is what great jamming is all about.
Bobby Keys is back on sax. The song builds to a final, masterful conclusion.
“Sticky Fingers” was the first Stones album to top both the US and the UK album charts. It sold over 3 million copies in the US alone. And by any measure, it’s one of the Stone’s best albums.
This period, from 1969 to 1974, the five-year stretch when Mick Taylor was in the band, that’s my favorite era of the Rolling Stones. When I started working on this episode, I was ready to say that happily, all five members of the Stones who played on this album were still alive and still with us. But then on August 24, 2021, drummer Charlie Watts died. He was 80 years old and playing right up till the very end.
Charlie has been eulogized and paid tribute to by many people much more qualified than me. So, I’ll just say this: there is barely a band on the planet today that doesn’t owe some debt to the Rolling Stones. Even if they don’t realize it. The influence of the Stones runs that deep, and Charlie Watts was a big part of that.
If you enjoyed this episode on the Stones, I suggest you go back and listen to episode 42, where we did a deep dive into the Stones classic, “Gimme Shelter”, which is probably my favorite episode that I’ve ever done. Check it out.
All of our previous episodes are available on our website, too– lovethatsongpodcast.com. If you’d like to leave feedback on this, or any episode, please leave a note on our Facebook page, or find us on Podchaser and leave a review there.
We are but one of the many shows on the Pantheon Podcast network. It’s really the place to be if you’re musically obsessed like me, so be sure to check out their other shows.
That’ll do it for this episode. Take a moment to pay respects to Charlie Watts and to thank him for all those years of great music. And thank you for listening to this episode on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” by the Rolling Stones.
The Who released a string of classic albums, but many consider Quadrophenia to be their best. It’s certainly one of their most ambitious. Pete Townshend wrote the songs, but the stunning performances by Roger Daltrey (vocals), Keith Moon (drums) & John Entwistle (bass) bring the songs to life. Nowhere is that more evident on “The Real Me”, which features all four members in top form, showing why they were one of the all-time great bands.
The Who – “The Real Me” (Peter Townshend) Copyright 1973 Fabulous Music Ltd, Towser Tunes Inc and ABKCO Music Inc
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome, all you music junkies, to the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast, part of the Pantheon Podcast family. My name is Brad Page, and I’ll be your host and musical tour guide as we explore a different song each episode, discovering all the little elements that make a song great. No musical knowledge or experience is required here, because we don’t get into music theory. We’re just putting our ears to work and seeing what they uncover.
On this episode, we’re digging deep into a track from a legendary album by one of my all time favorite bands– maybe the greatest rock band ever– The Who. This is “The Real Me”.
As far back as 1970, the who were toying with the idea of doing a double album where each of the four members would get one side to stretch out and showcase themselves. That never happened.
Instead, they came up with a much more ambitious project: a concept album. A story that would explore four different sides of one person, each aspect represented by a different member of The Who. The result was an album that was met with mixed reviews and would confuse some of the audience, but is now considered one of the greatest albums of all time. In some way, the germ of what would become the “Quadrophenia” album began in June 1972, when the band recorded “Long Live Rock”. This song tells the story of The Who’s early years.
[Music]
This song was never included in “Quadrophenia”, but it eventually was released in 1974 on the “Odds and Sods” album, a collection of outtakes and leftover tracks. But in the liner notes to “Odds and Sods”, Pete Townsend wrote, “I had an idea once for a new album about the history of The Who called ‘Rock Is Dead, Long Live Rock’. That idea later blossomed into Quadrophenia.”
The mod culture of the 1960s was a uniquely British movement. Most Americans, then and now, are pretty unfamiliar with that whole scene. In fact, this album, “Quadrophenia”, is probably where most people in the US learned about mods.
”Jimmy” is the central character in “Quadrophenia”. He’s a kid who desperately wants to be a mod. But even among the mods, he struggles to fit in. Over the course of the story, he discovers that the mods he looks up to aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. And by the end of the tale, he ends up sitting on a rock in the ocean, waiting for the waves, contemplating suicide and finding some kind of inner strength…maybe. The end of the story is left ambiguous.
Jimmy is a who fan. This is the early ‘60’s version of The Who, when they were the favorite band of the mods. And he eventually discovers that The Who may not be all they’re cracked up to be either. What makes “Quadrophenia” such a magical album is not the four-part split personality concept, it’s the story of a teenager who represents both the band and their audience. And through this character, they reflect back on the history of the band from their beginnings in the mod scene to where they were at the time of this recording.
In writing these songs, Pete Townsend is not only trying to understand his audience as represented by Jimmy, he’s also trying to understand The Who itself, how they got here, their successes and their failures. Townsend’s demo for “The Real Me” was recorded in the spring of ‘73. It’s slower with a different beat, there’s some guitar fills that he eventually dropped, and a fourth verse that was deleted from the final version.
With the demos, Townsend would keep the bass and drum parts pretty minimal. He wanted John Entwistle and Keith Moon to come up with their own parts and not to try to follow what he laid down on the demos. That’s all part of what makes The Who The Who.
“Quadrophenia” opens with the sound of the ocean, waves crashing on the shore. This is actually the only who album that opens this way– not with a song, but with a natural sound effect that puts you in a physical place: on a beach near the sea. This opening introduces the four musical themes of the album, the themes that represent the four sides of Jimmy’s personality his “Quadrophenia”, as well as the four members of The Who:
And then the first actual song to kick off the album.
[Music]
“The Real Me” is a song that lashes out against psychiatry, religion, family and being rejected in love. But what the song is really about is the struggle to find our own identity, and the sheer frustration when other people can’t see us for who we really are. All of that can be felt in the performances that each band member delivers.
So much going on in this song, we’ll try to take it all in.
Besides Roger Daltry’s powerhouse vocals– in my opinion, this album represents Roger’s peak as a vocalist– the most important instrument in this song is the bass guitar. It’s what propels the song more than any other instrument. According to bass player John Entwistle, this bass part was the first take. He was messing around, playing whatever he wanted to play. They recorded a few more takes but always came back to this one.
Entwistle was looking to inject some new life into his playing, so he switched to a new bass guitar for this album, a Gibson Thunderbird.
Let’s listen to that bass part from the intro through the first verse.
[Music]
So good! Here’s the second chorus, and again, listen to what the bass guitar is doing
[Music]
Let’s listen to one of those patented Roger Daltry screams. John Entwistle is not only playing the bass parts, he also played all the horn parts on this album. Here’s what the horns are playing during the chorus. And let’s check out Townsend’s guitar part during this section.
Now let’s go back and listen to the bass and drums during that same section.
[Music]
Listen to the power and the energy of the band here, just the three of them. You can see why they were one of the greatest live bands of all time. Let’s listen to Roger’s vocals.
[Music]
Let’s hear Keith Moon’s absolutely maniacal drums during this chorus.
[Music]
“The Real Me” by The Who.
In an interview with Q magazine in 1994, Townshend described “The Real Me” as having “the big, big bass of John Entwistle, the big, big drums of Keith Moon, the power chords, the huge voice of Roger Daltrey… and what they’re actually saying is ‘I’m a pathetic little wimp ‘.”
Townshend wrestled with the challenge of writing delicate, poignant pieces and then having them delivered with the thundering intensity of The Who. There was just no holding them back. But that’s part of what I love about this band– that dichotomy, that somehow they were able to make it work. Townsend and Daltrey have performed all of “Quadrophenia” live in recent years, but without Entwistle and Moon, it’s not the same. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, it’s good. But it’s not “The Who”.
In putting this episode together, I used a few resources, including a great book called “Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia” by Richie Unterberger. Highly recommended if you’re a Who fan. It’s a great book. There’s also a very good documentary on the making of “Quadrophenia”, I believe that’s on Amazon Video. If you search for it, you can find it.
Thanks for joining me once again on the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast, here on the Pantheon Podcast network. You can find all the past episodes of this show on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com.
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This show is a tree falling in the forest without you listening. So, seriously, thank you for listening. Remember to support the artists and the songs you love buying their music. Thanks for joining us for this episode on “The Real Me” by The Who.
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