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We counted down the complete Beatles’ catalog, and now we take on their rivals for title of best rock band ever – The Rolling Stones. This time we’re going to break down the band’s 40+ year career in easily digestible chunks. Because Universal will be reissuing the Stones’ studio albums from the seventies, we figured that would be a great place to start. Besides, it was arguably their most fertile decade, at least in terms of variety. Their output ranged from the ragged brilliance of 1971’s Sticky Fingers to the unbridled energy of 1978’s Some Girls. In between we find the sprawling Exile on Main Street, the decadent Goats Head Soup, the fiery It’s Only Rock and Roll and the soulful Black and Blue. Keep in mind, the countdown only includes studio album cuts, no live or unreleased tracks. Check back each day for the next five songs on the list, prepare to hit the message boards to defend your favorites, and follow the countdown all the way to Number 1.

The complete list to date.

The Last Five:

30. “Sister Morphine” (from Sticky Fingers)

29. “Torn and Frayed” (from Exile on Main St.)

28. “Before They Make Me Run” (from Some Girls)

27. “Star Star” (from Goats Head Soup)

26. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?” (from Sticky Fingers)

25. “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”

From It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll

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The cynical response here would be to say that the Stones chose a sure thing to cover when they remade this Temptations smash. But the truth is that you need to have the personality to pull off a song that’s already been done to perfection. And, no matter else you say about the Stones, they’ve never lacked for personality.

As a result, Jagger is able to effectively play the role of a man clinging to his love, even while we as listeners bring our own knowledge of the singer as a legendary Lothario to the table. Then again, Mick’s performance wouldn’t matter much if his band weren’t so adept at handling a song that is the very essence of rhythm. It’s a flawless version of a classic song, enough said.

24. “Time Waits For No One”

From It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll

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Of course, the ironic thing about this song is that no band has defied time quite like The Rolling Stones. There’s a funny bit in Cameron Crowe’s ode to rock, Almost Famous, where a slick record exec warns a young band in the 70’s about looking after its fortunes by asking if they think that Mick Jagger will be dancing around on stage 25 years in the future. This song was released, on It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, at about the same time as that scene was set, so maybe Jagger was thinking along those same lines.

The song opens mysteriously before Keith Richards’ climbing and falling riff clears the air, setting the stage for Jagger’s ruminations on Time’s inexorable march. Some synthesizer squiggles, courtesy of Bill Wyman, add an interesting touch. Jagger’s lyrics capture him at his most poetic; he could relate to the fact that not even those “sated in leisure” were exempt from the ravages of the passing years.

It all leads into a beautiful Mick Taylor solo. It’s not often that you can call a guitar solo introspective, but that’s exactly what Taylor produces here, a perfect melding of the solo with the core meaning of the song. It’s fitting that a song about the deceptive nature of time rolls on for over 6 1/2 minutes yet goes by so smoothly that it feels like it’s finished before it has hardly begun.

23. “Winter”

From Goats Head Soup

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The sessions for Goats Head Soup took place in Jamaica, so Jagger deserves extra credit for conjuring up such an authentic vision of the harshest of seasons. Credit, by the way, was apparently an issue for Mick Taylor on this song, as he claimed that he collaborated with Jagger in the writing. The fact that Keith Richards was absent from this recording lends his argument some weight, although only the ghosts of the studio can say for sure.

There is no denying the important contribution that Taylor makes to this track. His soulful guitar on the early verses is the perfect counterpoint to Jagger’s desolate crooning. Later on, he and Nicky Hopkins on piano play off each other brilliantly as some strings subtly seep in.

Mick’s work is all over this one as well, especially in the lyrics. Their preoccupation with the severity of the weather is clearly a front (probably a cold one) on behalf of the narrator; what he’s really bemoaning is his own loneliness, which is exacerbated by the wintry chill. When Jagger reaches out at song’s end with the offer of a coat to a woman, you get the feeling that he needs her company as bad as she needs his warmth. This is a pretty offering from start to finish.

22. “Ventilator Blues”

From Exile on Main St.

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The title of this powerful blues off of Exile on Main St. comes from the fact that it was recorded in the basement of Richards’ villa in France, a room with little to no ventilation. Richards later claimed that the room played havoc with the instruments due to this very fact, lending the songs recorded there an unpredictable vibe. Maybe that’s why the band has played this song live just once; that vibe might be impossible to replicate on stage.

Whatever mojo was in the air (or lack thereof) that day, it certainly produced a killer track. This is the Stones at their most menacing. Mick Taylor’s slide riff quickly drags the song into the mire of the Delta, eventually accentuated by some punchy horns and Nicky Hopkins tinkling piano, struggling to find space in the claustrophobic murk.

Jagger’s lyrics are left-of-center and brilliant. Everyone knows what it feels like to be “browed by beatin’,” even if they don’t articulate it the same way. And you don’t need to know the story behind the song’s title to understand it when Mick sings, “Everybody’s gonna need a ventilator.” And I love it at song’s end when Mick throws down the gauntlet to the listener and asks how they’ll handle this stifling situation when faced with it. His answer is pure stones’ defiance: “Gonna fight it.”

21. “Sweet Virginia”

From Exile on Main St.

LISTEN HERE  

Imagine one of The Band’s classic backwoods jams played as though each of the members had been taking slugs off a jug of wine for about three days straight. If you do, you’ll get a feeling for this sweetly shambolic track found, where else, but on Exile on Main St. The song’s ragged glory and unmitigated joy is impossible to resist, so you best just go along for the ride.

I first became aware of this song from its inclusion on 1995’s Stripped, one of the group’s more underrated live documents that focused on many forgotten 70’s chestnuts. It was a bit of a surprise when I heard the original, which was so much looser, always seeming like it was about to fall apart if not for Charlie Watts’ primitive bass-snare beat.

Jagger sounds on the recording like he has no mike, like he just wandered upon a Salvation Army band and started improvising the mischievous lyrics above them. He plays some nice harmonica licks and gets able support from the nimble picking of the guitarists on their acoustics, Bobby Keys’ strutting sax solo, and Ian Stewart’s saloon-y piano. Best of all are the harmonies, with the boys sounding like a bunch of brothers whose voices fit together in spite of their marked differences. “Sweet Virginia” is the sound of The Stones completely at ease, and that ease rubs off on the listener.

The complete list to date.

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