Last The Rolling Stones released an excellent remastered version of their 1978 classic Some Girls and it got me back into listening to alot of the Stones over the past week. The Rolling Stones certainly have a special place in my musical heart as they, in their most quintessential form, represent one of the purest forms of Rock and Roll, that being a steady mixture of blues and country. I've always found it funny that though they hail from the other side of the pond, throughout their career they've put out some the most "American" sounding music to date. Mic Jagger and Keith Richards have often stated their inspiration not only coming from Chess Records American blues, but also from what they've referred to as "hillbilly music". Needless to say, they in turn have inspired a multitude of bands too numerous to count, and their raucous attitude and approach is certainly seen throughout a lot of the alternative music I'm so fond of. Having said that, I thought I'd through out some of my favorite Stones tunes when they're fully channeling their inner hillbilly.
Beggar's Banquet's "No Expectations" (1968):
Country-Fried version of "Honky Tonk Women" off of Let It Bleed, "Country Honk" (1969):
Let It Bleed's beautifully rollicking title track (keep in mind this came out a good 5 years before Bill Withers' "Lean on Me") Sticky Fingers' classic "Wild Horses" (Keith even tunes his guitar to the 'Nashville Tuning' for this one):
I posted country legend Townes Van Zandt's cover of this earlier who put his own spin on it; however the Stones version is just as effectively executed. Sticky Fingers' "Dead Flowers" (1971):
And perhaps my favorite country cut of theirs, "Sweet Virginia" off of Exile on Main Street (1972); see you next time:
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