Stones – Part 2

For me the heart and soul of the Rolling Stones is guitarist Keith Richards (my all time favorite guitar player) whose substance abuse issues, physical appearance, and general wackiness have made him the butt of jokes over the years (his fall from a coconut tree in Fiji in 2006 made international headlines). Sometimes Keith even sings lead vocals on Stones songs and when he does it’s usually pretty sweet. The Rolling Stones as a group understand rock music- what it can and cannot do- better than anyone and whether they’re playing in a bar or a stadium you know you’re going to get your money’s worth. Jagger may be the group’s ambassador but it’s Keith and his guitar- just like it was Chuck Berry and his guitar- that are the real crowd pleasers and the blood and guts of every Stones performance.

Every rock band since the Beatles has had to have at least one songwriter in the group (that’s where the money is) and the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards has produced some of rock’s greatest songs (for me “Sympathy for the Devil” alone secures their legacy as rock geniuses). Jagger and Richards were on a creative streak in the ‘60s and while they channeled the blues like nobody's business the pair also didn’t hide their British background and education; their use of art, history, and theology in their lyrics is one of my favorite things about the Stones’ music.

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in the fourth century, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee” and the Stones went and translated that into “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. We are finite beings with infinite desires and suffering is the consequence of original sin. The daily grind- the struggle between our bodies and our souls- never seems to end and it’s a real drag, man. So the Stones wrote a song about Satan. So what? We are all living with him every day- at least the Stones are hip to the truth about life. Here are some more of my favorite Stones songs. Enjoy!

01. The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)

02. The Rolling Stones – “Carol” (1964)

03. The Rolling Stones – “Yesterday’s Paper’s” (1967)

04. The Rolling Stones – “Play with Fire” (1965)

05. The Rolling Stones – “Dead Flowers (2009 Mix)” (1971)

06. The Rolling Stones – “Ruby Tuesday” (1967)

07. The Rolling Stones – “2000 Man” (1967)

08. The Rolling Stones – “I Am Waiting” (1966)

09. The Rolling Stones – “Street Fighting Man” (1968)

10. The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

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Who the f*(k is Mick Jagger?