Listen back to The Rolling Stones’ 1968 demo of ‘No Expectations’
I’ve never really been able to appreciate The Rolling Stones‘ more libidinous numbers. Tracks like ‘Honky Tonk Woman’, ‘Start Me Up’, and ‘Satisfaction’ have always felt a little sleazy, in my opinion. A bit hyper-masculine. A bit toxic.
For years, such songs put me off the band altogether. I just couldn’t understand what everyone had been obsessing over for so many years. Then I heard ‘No Expectations’, and it all made sense: all that pomp had been a facade. The Stones, much to my surprise, were capable of being sensitive, vulnerable and earnest.
This 1968 demo marks a watershed moment in The Stones’ career. As Mick Jagger later explained: “That’s Brian playing steel guitar. We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes. That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing. He was there with everyone else. It’s funny how you remember – but that was the last moment I remember him doing that, because he had just lost interest in everything.”
In June 1969, it was decided that Brian Jones should be asked to leave The Stones. After years of drug addiction and increasingly erratic behaviour, he was jettisoned. Less than a month later, he was found dead in his swimming pool. Following his death, ‘No Expectations’ took on a new significance, with lyrics like “Our love is like our music, it’s here and then it’s gone”, highlighting life’s transience and essential loneliness.
That being said, ‘No Expectations’ is also incredibly joyous – perhaps even transcendental. It frames death and heartbreak as a fundamental part of the human experience, not something to be mourned or feared. Money will come and go. Rich men may find themselves without a penny to their name. But our connections with one another – those small moments of profound intimacy between friends and lovers – will endure. M
ake sure you check out The Stones’ 1968 demo of ‘No Expectations’ if you haven’t already. It’s well worth your time.
