a single review, then. with this being a singular single, look you see. that last, or if you will previous, sentence might make sense as this progresses, depending on if you read this or not.
the singular single under review (or maybe it is better to say commented on) is one called Living In A Ghost Town, by no less than The Rolling Stones, or Rolling Stones as they seem to brand themselves these days. or, indeed, Ro££ing $tone$ as they have a habit of styling themselves and behaving from time to time. and why not, would you not if you were them and you could?
quite a bit of prolonged history to this single. apparently they recorded it last year. the single got a surprise "debut" airing, or "drop", in late April (or very early May). the CD single was due to be shipped in late May, but was delayed to late June so as to come out at the same time as the limited not 7", nit 12" but 10" vinyl variations. fitting, or apt, then, that my comments come to be in July.
so, is it any good? yes, but i suspect most of the world who would wish to know this are quite aware. when Radio 2 gave it the debut play, i said "oh, that is quite good", and so promptly placed an order. it was so that the following week Radio 2 made it "single of the week". which meant that i heard it 2 - 3 times a day, every day, for a week. as good as it is, by day three i was partially regretting my purchase, as i was now so familiar with it i was unsure how much it would have got played.
but, of course, that it is a good tune was only part of the reason for purchase. with certain realities that do not need to be mentioned (although one of them is that they could simply get bored and stop), one never knows when a Stones release will be the final release.
yes, as the band (or Sir Mick) have (has) confirmed, a full album is on the way, apparently scheduled for a 2021 release. i am surely not alone in being taken a bit by surprise at this news. many of us suspected, or "felt", that Blue & Lonesome, paying homage as it wonderfully does to the (proper) rhythm and blues which inspired them in the first instance was a beautiful bookend to an illustrious, peerless career.
should it be so that this album, whatever they may name it, carries the sound and quality of Living In A Ghost Town across the grooves, then all will be well. alas, it is difficult to tell, for this CD single really is singular, as my just south of £4 (plus postage) got me a one track CD. for some infuriating and annoying reason a lot of bands and artists - Stone Roses, Liam Gallagher, for instance - have taken to releasing one track CD singles and/or one sided vinyl singles. why? even just bunging an instrumental on makes it feel more of value, and less of a waste.
one interesting thing is that if there is a Stones album on the way, then it is incredibly likely (and this would depend on how the invisible war against the new plague goes) that a Stones tour is planned for 2021 or 2022. i speculate this because of a "weird" thing that Sir Mick has, in that he won't go and do a tour unless it is in support of an album. the most spectacular instance of this was in the early 80s, when Tattoo You was literally sellotaped together from unreleased tracks recorded across the 70s, so as to enable Jagger to feel satisfied that a lucrative tour of the USA was with good reason. beyond being one of their best albums, it also turned out to be one of their more expensive, as some of the tracks featured former member Mick Taylor on guitar, who very much expressed a wish and an interest in being paid for such.
news of a new Rolling Stones album, and possible (maybe) tour, these days tends to prompt but one response. that is of surprise that yet again Ronnie Wood requires funding for something or other. it might not be a divorce this time, but probably some accounting oversight. other than that, as for why they would still tour, or make records, the answer from the band tends to be "why not". you can assume all you like that they are "too old", but they retort that no one has ever done what they have done before, so there's no peer and no comparison.
indeed that is Darryl Jones on bass once more. he has been playing bass for the Stones since Bill "metal detector" Wyman left, in 1993. which means 27 years, as opposed to the 31 years what it was that Bill did the job.
why is he not a full Stone, then? because the band have had their fingers burned frequently by such, i suspect or imagine. it is known that the decision to appoint Mick Taylor as a full blown equal member proved costly when he quit. this led to Ronnie Wood being a "band member" from 1975 on, but he only became an official, equal member in 1990 - prior to that he was salaried, or as he said "an apprentice stone". since the decision to make him a full member has proven to be a trifle costly, well, i suspect we shall never again see or hear anyone else be ordained as a full member ever again.
to conclude with the obvious conclusion, Living In A Ghost Town is a great tune in its own right, but all the more remarkable for the fact that it is off of a band what have been doing this for just slightly south of 60 years. may they continue to do so, for as long as it amuses them or keeps the coins rolling in.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment