My dream is to fly over the rainbow so high reggae
The next album kicked off with the single “Undercover of the Night.” The new-wave-meets-hard-rock blowup featured political lyrics with plenty of sex, sleaze and force. The Stones wouldn’t stall here in the morass of middle age. It’s as if everyone wants to build the barest frame to show off Jagger’s insight and a saxophone solo by Sonny Rollins that drives the track toward ecstasy. The piano hides in the back, politely accentuating minor moments. The rhythm section powers the track and yet can barely be felt. The guitar line has a simplicity that makes “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” sound like a Bach fugue. “Waiting on a Friend” might be the most adult and clear-eyed song the Stones ever recorded. The album and side close with “Waiting on a Friend.” The LP began with Jagger boasting that he’s with a woman that can “ make a dead man cum” it all ends with the singer opining, “Don't need a whore, I don't need no booze / Don't need a virgin priest / But I need someone I can cry to / I need someone to protect / Making love and breaking hearts / It is a game for youth.” For a man pushing 40 at the time, the rumination has a mature honesty and a sadly sober feeling to it. Watch the Rolling Stones' 'Waiting on a Friend' Video Jagger sings, “Standing at the station / Gazing down the track / There ain't no train coming baby / I ain't never, never coming back” as if he were Clarence Carter writing a sadder sequel to “Slip Away.” It’s resigned: Love is gone, hope is gone, whatever was is over. But unlike “Worried About You,” “No Use in Crying” doesn’t wonder about life.
“Heaven” evaporates into "No Use in Crying.” Like a sister song to “Worried About You,” it unfolds with similar slow, soul notes. It riffs on psychedelia, funk and experimental music while also setting the stage for genres such as dream-pop and shoegaze. One of only two songs crafted specifically for Tattoo You, the trio whispers and walks through a swirl of delicate noise. A fever dream put to tape, the song came together with Jagger singing and playing guitar, Watts behind the kit and Wyman doing the rest. In the middle of Side Two, “Heaven” comes one of the Stones' oddest tracks. The groove basically serves as a bridge between the more traditional “Worried About You” and whatever “Heaven” is. It’s more of a long vamp, a fat groove that has Jagger talking about taking a woman to the top but laying back enough that his coos outnumber his shouts. Next up is another outtake upcycled for Tattoo You, but “Tops” is barely a song. Watch the Rolling Stones' 'Worried About You' Video Jagger shuts down the earnest lament with a bit of regret: “Sure as hell I'm going to find that girl someday / Until then I'm worried / Lord, I just can't seem to find my way.”
Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are in no rush to get anywhere, and Billy Preston stops by for a bit of lovely electric piano. The whole affair is downright tender, almost sweet. But the band specifically decided to resurrect it and open the album anew with its slow burn soul, Jagger singing in a wounded falsetto and Richards jumping in on the chorus to echo the song’s sentiment with harmony vocals. The song, like much of the album, was written and recorded years earlier - this one during the sessions for 1975’s Black and Blue. The second side begins with “Worried About You” and the lyric, “Sometime I wonder why / You do these things to me / Sometime I worry girl / That you ain't in love with me.” Could the giant egos and larger libidos of the Stones be in question? Gone is the band cheering “Start Me Up,” and in its place is an introspective set of ace songwriters and musicians facing middle age and wondering about their relevance. That unironic paean to Jagger’s sexual fortitude rolls right into other tasty rockers: the romp "Hang Fire,” the thrust and pulse of "Slave," old school rave-up "Little T&A," Chicago blues homage "Black Limousine" and the stomping "Neighbours." Then they toss all that ego and volume aside.
In a couple guitar sweeps, a few tough drum hits and some Jagger grunting and preening, “Start Me Up” instantly defines the Stones at 20 - totally inconsequential and irresistibly catchy (and rightfully the band’s biggest hit in three years).