The 1972 Rolling Stones song Mick Jagger didn’t want to perform: “No one likes it”
Throughout the 1960s, The Rolling Stones did well to establish themselves as a dangerous force.
By the time the 1970s arrived, their rampant ways were far from over, and they soon started the hefty work of elongating their lascivious appeal. In 1972, the red-eyed, partying demonic presence had officially arrived, and its name was Exile on Main St.
The album arrived at a pivotal moment in the band’s career. Having already cemented their reputation as one of rock’s most notorious acts, The Rolling Stones were looking for new ways to expand their sound without sacrificing the rebellious spirit that had made them famous.
Exile was more than just an exercise in hedonistic and drug-fuelled themes; it also tested the minds of somewhat conservative-leaning rock fans by pulling from variations of rhythm and blues, soul, swing, country, and gospel. Though a definite expansion of everything the Stones had to offer and their fixation with sex, Exile represented both sides of the coin: Mick Jagger’s exhaustion with their previous rock framing and Keith Richards’ desire to inject rawness into the roots rock sound.
That creative tension ultimately became one of the record’s greatest strengths. Rather than pulling in a single direction, the competing influences gave Exile on Main St a restless energy that continues to fascinate listeners decades later.
As a result, many viewed the album as too inconsistent, mostly due to the way it oscillates between various visions and sounds. Others, on the other hand, found this to be revolutionary, its ability to blend different sensibilities a testament to the band’s ongoing dedication to innovative techniques and boundary-pushing interests, as opposed to a sign of great weakness.
Still, although diving head-first into the unknown, something the Stones know all too well, when it came to performing some of the songs live, Jagger wasn’t so sure. While some songs, like ‘Tumbling Dice’, needed no such deliberation, others, like ‘Loving Cup’, required a little more imagination. In fact, during the tour following Forty Licks, Jagger wanted to drop the song from the set entirely.
“When we were preparing the set list for a show in Yokohama, Chuck Leavell suggested we play ‘Loving Cup’,” the musician recalled. “I didn’t want to play the tune and I said, ‘Chuck, this is going to die a death in Yokohama. I can’t even remember the bloody song, and no one likes it. I’ve done it loads of times in America; it doesn’t go down that well, it’s a very difficult song to sing, and I’m fed up with it!'”
To his surprise, however, the song actually ended up being received exceptionally well, which encouraged him to reflect on how some of their songs have evolved and continue to resonate with new generations of audience members. “Chuck went, ‘Stick in the mud!’ So I gave in and put it in the set-list. Lo and behold, we went out, started the song and they all began applauding,” Jagger said. “Which just proves how, over time, some of these songs acquire a certain existence, or value, that they never had when they first came out.”
‘Loving Cup’ might have become lost in the mix of the Stones’ faster, more upbeat and demanding tunes, but its message soon hit home, likely due to its more calculated take on a tender love ballad. Considering the fact that the band also performed it a few years later with Jack White for Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light, it’s safe to say that this killer piano-led performance became a hard-hitting rare beauty.
