Country Honk - the Rolling Stones

Country Honk - the Rolling Stones

3:07

Let It Bleed, 1969

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Fun fact: this is the original version of "Honky Tonk Women," the much more successful single.  This one features some steel guitar work and a fiddle, and Jagger sings in an affected country twang.  Ry Cooder claimed that he showed Richards a country riff he was working on, and a few days later the Glimmer Twins came out with this song, admittedly an outlier in their usual blues-rock repertoire.  Some people believe it, most Stones fans don't.  While it's a fun singalong, the whole thing comes off to me as a bit of a joke, and I can see why the later rock version is more popular.

Connection - the Rolling Stones

Connection - the Rolling Stones

2:07

Between the Buttons, 1967

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

A tight, no-frills burst of British Invasion, stepping slightly away from American roots and giving a brief nod to the melodic stylings of the Beatles.  The song seemingly was inspired by the band's frustration with being targeted for their drug use: "But the bags, they get a very close inspection / I wonder why it is that they suspect of 'em / They're dying to add me to their collections / And I don't know if they'll let me go."  He's just trying to make his connecting flight, man.  Or is it the kind of connection that was meant in 1969's "You Can't Always Get What You Want?"  Probably that one.

Don't Stop - The Rolling Stones

Don't Stop - The Rolling Stones

3:59

Forty Licks, 2002

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

This song is addressed to a love whose passion was one hot and fiery, maybe even dangerous, but whose love has grown cold.  "Don't you dump me on some dusty street / And hang me out to dry," he pleads.  As usual, Jagger's vocal delivery elevates the material: on paper it's a pretty by-the-numbers love song with an over-reliance on the title repeated as chorus, but he gives the words a cool mystery as the familiar Stones riffs chug along.