The long wait is over!!! Out today (September 4th) is the Rolling Stones' 1973 chart-topper, Goats Head Soup, which has been reissued in multiple configurations — including four-disc CD and vinyl box set editions, featuring unreleased studio and live material. Among the highlights on the set are three previously unissued tracks — including the song, “Scarlet,” featuring guitar by Jimmy Page and bass by Family and Blind Faith's, Ric Grech.
Two other songs, have long been available in bootleg circles for decades — Criss Cross” and “All The Rage,” which for years had been booted as “You Should Have Seen Her Ass.” Alternate and instrumental mixes flesh out the package — along with Brussels Affair, the 15-track live album, which was first made available back in 2012 as a digital-only release. The show, from October 17th, 1973, marked guitarist Mick Taylor's second-to-final concert as a member of the Stones.
According to the press release, “The CD and vinyl box sets offer the original ten-track album in 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res mixes, along with the videos for 'Dancing With Mr. D,' 'Silver Train' and 'Angie.' An exclusive 100-page book will feature a remarkable array of photographs, essays by writers Ian McCann, Nick Kent, and Daryl Easlea and faithful reproductions of three tour posters from 1973.”
During a new chat with USA Today, Mick Jagger spoke about the newly unearthed tunes “Criss Cross” and “All The Rage,” recalling, “I think we recorded that in Jamaica. It's lots of Mick Taylor playing some very nice guitar, Keith (Richards) does his intros, and there weren't really any finished vocals on it. It was just me trying to figure something out. We probably did it a couple times and then never finished, so it was never released. So when the record company said they wanted to release this album, they sent me these three tracks. Because the mixes sounded so horrible, I had to get the master tracks and see what was there really.”
Jagger went on to reveal, “When I did the vocals (for the reissue), I tried to get the feel of the period. I listened to some of the other tracks and tried to get a feel for what I was sounding like (back then) because otherwise it doesn't fit in right. But I like ('All The Rage'). The whole band plays really well on it, and Mick is pretty standout. I mean, 'Criss Cross' was a really good track that was finished. I don't know why it wasn't used on the (original) album. But there's lots of things that were in the vault that are still to come out.”
Keith Richards admits that some periods of his decade long dance with heroin remain a mystery: “It’s kind of hazy, y’know. I mean, I’ve got a good memory but there is. . . There is that spot (laughs), that’s a bit hazy. But in actual fact, I function perfectly well and I was being harassed — first with my own demons and then the cops. So, it was kind of turmoil, really. But, I got used to it.”
When pressed about the unique chemistry that creates the classic sound of the Stones, drummer Charlie Watts maintains it's still Keith Richards who directs all the proceedings: “Keith is the groove that you follow. It's something I've always done — it comes from the days of playing in clubs, where his amp was right by my left foot. It was the only thing I could ever hear.”
