The Rolling Stones song they never played the same way: “It’s a mistake”
Anyone going into the studio with a group is usually looking to capture those few minutes of magic. No artist has to be perfect behind their instrument, but if they find a good riff where everyone is firing on all cylinders, that’s the take that becomes the hit that everyone is going to want to play every time they turn on the radio. The Rolling Stones usually had more than a few of those moments, but Charlie Watts knew that recording a hit like ‘Honky Tonk Women’ was something that could never happen again.
Then again, it’s not like it’s the most complicated song in the world. If any novice guitar player were to look at the chord sheet to the track, it’s only a handful of chords played in open-G tuning, which usually makets it that much easier to play those chords strong as Keith Richards does.
There are still a few intricacies before people start to play it at their next bar gig. Outside of being just a little bit sharp on the final recording, everything from the backup singers to the cowbell played by producer Jimmy Miller is an important part of the track, which is almost impossible to generate with just a traditional four or five members onstage.
Before the song even gets going, though, musicians are already lost in the woods when going through the intro. There’s a bit of rhythmic confusion as Watts starts his groove, taking some time to lock in before Keef comes in with that chord pulse before playing the opening guitar lick that’s slightly off-rhythm.
According to Watts, Richards had the right idea, but playing it live like that was never going to be replicated, saying, “We’ve never played an intro to ‘Honky Tonk Women’ live the way it is on the record. That’s Jimmy playing the cowbell, and either he comes in wrong, or I come in wrong – but Keith comes in right, which makes the whole thing right. It’s one of those things that musicologists could sit around analysing for years. It’s actually a mistake, but from my point of view, it works.”
That’s probably why when they eventually recorded the tune again for Sticky Fingers, they needed a completely new rendition. Titled ‘Country Honk’, the whole thing is just the same song played on an acoustic guitar and a little bit of twang, playing up the more Southern-fried version of the track that Richards was keen to do.
If anything, the fact that the version on the single is a mistake just gives it character. Sure, it’s not the most perfectly executed thing in the world, but it gives off the impression of a bunch of musicians riffing on an idea in a sweaty bar and then getting the entire place rocking within just a few bars.
The Stones may have had competition with The Beatles back in the day, but whereas the Fab Four were perfect in most respects, The Stones used their mistakes to their advantage. It’s not exactly right, and things sound a little bit messed up, and chances are rock and rollers wouldn’t want it any other way.
