Before They Make Me Run ... Rolling Stones Some Girls Reissue & Show # 386

In 1978 The Rolling Stones released the album Some Girls, an album that is often referred to as the album that saved the Stones. At the time it was being recorded, the future of the band was uncertain. Keith Richards was busted for Heroin possession and on trial for drug related charges in Canada, there was the possibility of him going to jail. In addition to this, Punk and Disco music had taken over the younger generations of music fans, the bands future was as mentioned earlier uncertain. With Ron Wood of The Faces officially becoming a Rolling Stone, in October of 1977 the band began sessions for what was to become the Some Girls album. The sessions were recorded at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris and were completed in March of 1978. This period in the bands recording history was extremely prolific, the band ended up with approximately fifty new songs, which would be released on bootlegs for decades. Several of these extra songs were also used on the albums Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You, albeit in alerted states, most notably the Some Girls outtake “Start Me Up” which wound up on Tattoo You. Further tracks would be released on the 2011 deluxe edition of Some Girls, but more on that later.

Some Girls yielded many bonafide Rolling Stones classics which absorbed influences from the bands past and present. “Miss You” was influenced by Disco, but there is an underlying Punk influence through out this album, Jagger has said in interviews that the album was very influenced by New York at the time which was in a state of transition from Punk to Disco. The influence of New York Punk is apparent on the track “Shattered”, where Jagger rants in a Richard Hell vocal style. The album is sleazy and raunchy, it is known for having a stripped back production based approach. Albums prior to this one such as It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll and Black And Blue had rotating casts of guest musicians and high production values. Some Girls also featured more classic songs such as “Beast of Burden” possibly one of the best Stones ballads ever released, “Lies”, the Country Parody “Far Away Eyes” “Respectable” Keith Richards outlaw anthem “Before They Make Me Run” and “When The Whip Comes Down”. Some Girls certainly packed a much needed punch for the band, and one that could have very well had a different outcome. In addition to this Mick Jagger played guitar on many tracks on this album and the album also produced much controversy lyrically on tracks such as “When The Whip Comes Down’ and “Some Girls”.

Visually the band also brought in another controversial element, the artwork. The albums cover which featured women in lingerie originally featured famous celebrities Lucile Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Raquel Welch and some others, they threatened the band with legal action. As a result a new cover was made, although several copies made it out to print with the original design. With all the factors that surrounded it, Keith’s drug charges, Ron Wood entering into the Stones fold, and most importantly the uncertainty, it produced a classic album which proved that following Keith’s dropped charges, The Rolling Stones weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Now fast forward to 2011, The Rolling Stones release a deluxe edition of Some Girls containing a bonus disc of twelve previously unreleased tracks from the Some Girls sessions. The album is just as gritty and raunchy as Some Girls was in 1978, but it addresses more of a R&B, Country Western, Blues and Boogie influence. There are inflections of Country which is not unheard of in The Stones catalogue. The album features several songs which were added to in the same way that the band did for the Exile On Main St. bonus disc of outtakes, but it is very hard to tell. Additions were made to songs, most notably “No Spare Parts” a song featuring newly recorded vocals from Jagger which has currently climbed the Billboard Hot Singles charts.

The album is a great companion to the Some Girls album, and although some fans may argue that there weren’t early versions of songs found on Some Girls or even the B-Side “Everything's Turning To Gold”, this bonus disc has plenty to offer that will appeal to any Rolling Stones fan. The album starts off with the controversial and filthy Boogie Woogie of “Claudine”, a song which lyrically is about Claudine Longet’s shooting of her boyfriend Spider Sabich. Other highlights includes the filthy cool of “So Young”, the Soulfully Keith Richards sung “We Had It All” a song originally by Waylon Jennings, a cover of the Hank Williams song “You Win Again”, a raunchy rendition of “Tallahassee Lassie”, and the greasy “I Love You Too Much”. The album ends with a short piano piece “Petrol Blues”, often labelled as a throwaway track, but one that fits perfectly with this collection of songs. When looking back on this release the bonus disc really does make it worth while, the twelve previously unreleased tracks pack enough sleaze and swagger to knock you out.

This Week's Play List:

1. Sonic Avenues – Television Youth
2. The Dry Heaves – Factory Punishment
3. Action Makes – Bellhop
4. Steve Diggle – Life On The Telephone
5. The Quiet Americans – Be Alone
6. Surf City – Teachers
7. Kinetic Ideals – Together
8. Logikparty – Anti-Omerta
9. Lightning Love - Deadbeat
10. John Cale – Whaddya Mean By That?
11. James OL & The Villains – Late Night Drive (2011 Demo)
12. The Schomberg Fair – Black Train
13. Solvents – Is It Really So Strange?
14. The Skaliwags – Turn Him Down
15. Mutts – Done It Again
16. Radiohead– I Might Be Wrong (Live)
17. Radio Birdman – What Gives?
18. Nothing At All – Busted
19. The Spits – Get Our Kicks
20. The Modernettes – Won’t Have To Worry
21. The Carbonas – Phone Booth
22. The Rolling Stones – Do You Think I Really Care
23. The Rolling Stones – Tallahassee Lassie

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 10. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.