Part 52!  Oh, I don’t know, should I keep tracking the parts?  Does it matter anymore?  Who’s counting anyways?  Well, for this chapter, we have the Rolling Stones making another appearance with their 1973 #1 smash, “Angie,” from the Goats Head Soup album.  This song was written by Keith Richards after the birth of his daughter Dandelion Angela, (see, even in the 70s celebrities were giving their children crazy names.)  Mick of course, did write the lyrics, save the Angie part, and his vocal delivery is a crushing example of his voice’s perfection.  What else do we got here?  Oh, the fantastic Nicky Hopkins on piano, and the Stones looking cool as hell on this TV promo as Richards and Taylor have roses on their guitar heads, and flower petals flutter down on them.  No one really makes music like this much these days, but luckily, it WAS made, and so, great, here it is.

In part 35 of my youtube favorites countdown, we take a trip to rock school.  In our lesson we’ll look at two thunderously classic clips.  The first features the immortal Muddy Waters leading his band through his genre defining blues cut “Rollin’ Stone.”  This song, as you probably know, was the original inspiration for the Rolling Stones’ name, as well as Bob Dylan’s classic “Like a Rolling Stone.”  Beyond that bit of history making, the song itself, which many people aren’t familiar with, is a snarling bit of cool contained electric blues.  Muddy kicks it off with a peculiar wish, to be a catfish, swimming in the deep blue sea, where presumably, a whole bunch of sexy ladies will be fishing after him…Hmm, pretty strange, yet awesome imagery.  The second clip unites Muddy with his disciples, the Stones, hammering out a nasty good version of “Mannish Boy.”  Now “Mannish Boy” is probably where you’ve heard Muddy proclaim his Rolling Stone status more famously then the actual “Rollin’ Stone” song, where the proclamation was more of a throwaway.  This video is a lot of fun.  Muddy sounds fantastic, and looks like he’s having a great time grooving with his “children.”  I like that Muddy seems more bemused, and not annoyed as Mick dances, struts, and vamps all around him.  When Mick takes the mic, his vocal interactions with Muddy are just too cool, as Muddy cheers him on in the slickest way possible.  Thus endeth the lesson.

Part 27 of my youtube countdown rolls on with another act from the infamous Rock and Roll Circus.  This time, we have Dirty Mac.  Who is Dirty Mac?  Well, its John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards (on bass, awesome), and Mitch Mitchell (on drums direct from the Jimi Hendrix Experience.)  A super group if there ever was one, and my God, do these guys utterly rock the universe.  They are playing Yer Blues, a jam John cut that year (1968) on the White Album with the Beatles.  The Beatles, outside a few exceptions, could never really be seen playing music from this era, so this clip gives you a delicious taste of what a mind blowing experience it would have been if the Beatles toured the White Album.  Because youtube is horrible, they’ve broken up Mick and John’s hilarious intro video for the Dirty Mac, but don’t worry, I’ve included both the intro, and the searing performance.  I don’t know how else to describe the incredible majesty of these clips, so please, just sit back, hold onto your seats, and watch…over and over!

It’s part 26 of my youtube countdown, and we’re going to the circus…the Rock and Roll Circus that is.  In 1968, the Rolling Stones produced a concert movie that was never released called the..ta daaa… Rock and Roll Circus.  The ‘Circus,’ was sadly never released for some reason, that is until the past ten years when they finally gave it a proper DVD release, which you should all get, like I did.  It features performances by the Stones, the Who, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and a SLEW of others.  It’s fantastic, and I intend to post more videos from it in the near future.  This performance, expertly introduced by John Lennon, is the Stones playing their searing rock classic, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”  I love this version for several reasons.  First off, it features Brian Jones, soon to be deceased, and probably extremely high, playing with the group in full color and in awesome psychedelic clothing.  Second, I just love the way the Stones play it.  They obviously weren’t too comfortable playing it, like they would be 20 years and 10 million plays later, so they take it slow.  It comes off very sexy and sludgy, just perfect and menacing.  So enjoy ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash for Brian Jones, the clothes, Mick Jagger not being a total douche yet, and for John Lennon being a cool motherfucker.  Go!

UPDATE 10.20.13- Google/YouTube killed the original. Here is another performance from that era. (Willie)

I open part 17 of my youtube countdown with a very serious question, what the hell was going on in England in the 1960s?  The ratio of incredible music and cool bands to the rest of universal history makes one wonder about the nature of quarks, quasar radiation, and folded cosmic fabrics.  What the heck am I talking about?  All I’m saying is that it was an anomaly.  A freak of the space time continuum that allowed for the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and yes, the Who to flourish all at once.  “I Can’t Explain,” the first single released by the Who, using the name the Who, (previously the High Numbers, also a cool name), utterly owns.  Its an epic surging pulse of proto-power punk pop.  That’s right,5 P’s!  Its one of those perfect anthems of teen angst, and that’s it, and I can’t explain it any further.  And this video?  An incredible mishmash of early Who performances in all their mod glory.  English rock at its finest, enjoy.

Welcome to part 16 of my youtube favorites countdown.  In this edition we’ll be bringing down the house with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.  Helped out by his Famous Flames, this performance of Please Please Please, is from the TAMI rock show, a 1964 concert movie.  This performance, considered by Prince to be the greatest in rock and roll history, was the second to last act of the evening.  According to legend, the Rolling Stones had the option to appear before or after James, and they chose to close it out.  Keith Richards said it was the worst decision they ever made as Brown blew the roof off the joint, and the Stones, while playing well, couldn’t hope to match the energy JB created.  This video is worth watching from beginning to end.  James is in full control of his voice and body.  Every grimace, yelp, and shake is one of utter perfection, the true work of a master.  So, here you go, bow down to James Brown.

Welcome to part 10 of my youtube favorites countdown where we take a look at the rollicking 1978 single, “Respectable,” by the Rolling Stones.  Its appropriate that we take a look at this awesome song right after diving into Chuck Berry’s world.  This s0ng is basically a master course on what happens when you combine elements of Mr. Berry and classic punk.  I love this video because of its raw simplicity.  Its the Rolling Stones, looking cool, playing their balls off, in a dirty white room which they eventually tear apart.  Its basically what they were born to do and its fabulous.