The lost Mick Jagger song produced by John Lennon
The year 1973 was a tumultuous one in the life of John Lennon. Following his split from Yoko Ono, the former Beatle saw his life descend into chaos as he lost grip on what mattered most. For two years, he allowed himself to be swept up in a reckless world of hedonism, with little care for anything apart from escaping reality through any means necessary.
This period of Lennon’s life, which largely saw him accompanied for the mayhem by singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, was famously later appropriately coined his ‘Lost Weekend’. While his appetite for illicit substances took precedence over almost everything, creating music was an itch that he continued to scratch.
While on paper, Lennon embarking upon his ‘Lost Weekend’ should have resulted in art of little substance, the result was quite the opposite. Creatively and professionally, it was a prolific time for Lennon, who used his work to escape from the brutal trappings of his newfangled life.
Additionally, Lennon opened his arms to the art of collaboration, showing a willingness to work with various musical icons. Admittedly, there was no grand plan for Lennon, who rolled with the punches instead, but it led to a string of impressive work.
Lennon’s work with Elton John and David Bowie is among his most notable from this time, but he also teamed up with The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. His effort with Jagger flew under the radar compared with the other two because it took until 2007 for the song to be released on a compilation album with relatively little fuss.
In addition to being produced by Lennon, the former Beatle recruited some of his favourite musicians to play on ‘Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)’, including Jack Bruce, Jesse Ed Davis, Bobby Keys, and Nilsson.
The blues track has all the ingredients to become a classic, with Jagger’s vocal performance on par with his best work in The Rolling Stones. Furthermore, the world-class musicians recruited by Lennon showcased their extraordinary skillset to produce a soulful masterpiece.
It is tragic that ‘Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)’ has sat desolate on the shelf for over 30 years, but one consoling factor is that it finally received a release, even if it was understated. Nevertheless, it captures the magic in the air that day in Los Angeles, which is now bestowed in the history books.
While Jagger and Lennon were close associates, they also had their fair share of disputes. Although there may have been some truth in the feud between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, it was also a publicity exercise that helped both bands immeasurably.
However, Lennon continued to share unflattering opinions about Jagger once The Beatles split up, which made their collaboration in 1973 somewhat surprising due to the circumstances.
Two years before they combined on the track, Lennon called Jagger an “imitator” during an interview with Rolling Stone. Furthermore, he also brutally claimed the singer hadn’t earned the right to criticise The Beatles, noting: “I was always very respectful about Mick and the Stones, but he said a lot of sort of tarty things about The Beatles, which I am hurt by, because you know, I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them.”
Lennon then took issue with The Rolling Stones as a whole, alleging they had no mind of their own and instead copied each move by The Beatles. He said, “I would like to just list what we did and what the Stones did two months after on every fuckin’ album. Every fuckin’ thing we did, Mick does exactly the same – he imitates us”.
There may be a hint of validity to his comments as Jagger seemingly didn’t take offence to the remarks either, hence why he employed Lennon as his producer. Away from the barbs and behind closed doors, Jagger and Lennon were always closer than they allowed the public to believe. Furthermore, the Beatle was genuinely proud of what they made together, telling Dennis Elsas in 1974: “We made a good track. I was so-called ‘producing’ it, meaning sitting behind the desk.”
The careers of Lennon and Jagger always seemed to intertwine to some degree, whether it was The Beatles handing The Stones their first hit or the quasi-rivalry, which still rumbles on to this day. However, the cover of ‘Too Many Cooks (Spoil The Soup)’ is further evidence that they had far more in common than the issues that appeared to divide them.
Putting the rivalry to bed permanently in 1988, Jagger inducted the Fab Four into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During his speech, he reflected on their battle, which by then was ancient history, noting: “We had a lot of rivalry in those early years and a little bit of friction, but we always ended up friends. I like to think we still are ’cause they were some of the greatest times of our lives, and I’m really proud to be the one that leads them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”.
Judging from Lennon’s comments, he adopted the laissez-faire Rick Rubin approach to producing. Still, nonetheless, he was the orchestrator responsible for putting those minds together to create a new spin on a blues classic.
