TOPS

recorded: 1972
released: 1981
album: Tattoo You

Mick Jagger: vocals
Keith Richards: guitar
Mick Taylor: guitar
Bill Wyman: bass
Charlie Watts: drums
Nicky Hopkins: piano






I really love this song. So much soul and a pleasant song to listen to. Good composition.

Can someone else tell something about this song? History etc etc etc?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-04-12 23:00 by DiamondDog7.

warning! fake TrackTalk!

love the song and the moment he sings "don't let the world pass you by!"

it's a bit corny for my taste (meaning the lyrics). from tattoo, I prefer Worried About You (also corny lyrics i suppose, so can't explain why it is better to me) & Heaven on side 2.

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Amused
warning! fake TrackTalk!

love the song and the moment he sings "don't let the world pass you by!"

Fake TrackTalk??? I just want to talk about this lovely song. No harm intended.

I was half kidding - surely no offence intended

but it's nice not to call your threads "TrackTalks" - these are Renee's series and he's doing them kinda officialy & alphabetically. it's just to avoid confusion... never mind.

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Amused
I was half kidding - surely no offence intended

but it's nice not to call your threads "TrackTalks" - these are Renee's series and he's doing them kinda officialy & alphabetically. it's just to avoid confusion... never mind.

yeah but at the pace he's doing them, many of us will be long dead before we make it to the tops....

I love this song although I am not that much onto ballads.
When was it played on stage for the last time ?



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Keith's guitar work on Tops, and on the intro in particular, is absolutely sublime. No fancy fingerings (it's in open G by the way), but a sense of time that is out of this world. Those first 4 very fast "glissati" followed by the intro lick ... Enough to transform the ususal ballad in the usual masterpiece!

C



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-04-13 13:21 by liddas.

Excellent song, DiamondDog7. Well, it´s a Stones song. So, is excellent. :-)

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liddas
Keith's guitar work on Tops, and on the intro in particular, is absolutely sublime. No fancy fingerings (it's in open G by the way), but a sense of time that is out of this world. Those first 4 very fast "glissati" followed by the intro lick ... Enough to transform the ususal ballad in the usual masterpiece!

C

Spot on! Then add Mick Taylor's melodic smooth-yet-snarly lead guitar, and Jagger with one of my favourite opening lines ever: "Every man is the same. Come on, I'll make you a star". Plus the falsetto.

Tops would have been a cool track -- much like Through The Lonely Nights -- had it been finished in '73, but it seems like the early 80s Tattoo You-treatment made it even better. The Miss You-era falsetto style fitted this song so well.

But Tops wouldn't have taken any of the sixties-singles b-side IMO...

>> "Every man is the same. Come on, I'll make you a star". <<

isn't it "every man has the same come-on: 'i'll make you a star'" ?
not a big difference, but ...

I like Tops

Feel The Fear
And Do It Anyway

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SwayStones
I love this song although I am not that much onto ballads.
When was it played on stage for the last time ?

It was played only in Philly Sep. 25 and at the third stadium show in Buffalo two days later, I think. Both shows are available in great SBD quality fortunately.

>> It was played only in Philly Sep. 25 and at the third stadium show in Buffalo two days later <<

1981, that is ...

...and Boulder Oct 03 1981, which was its last appearance

Great song. Wish it would have been finished and released for Soup. This tune, Waiting On A Friend, Through The Lonely Nights and Save Me - damn, Soup would be insane if it had those on it.

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Sohoe
...and Boulder Oct 03 1981, which was its last appearance

Hmmm... I would love to hear this one! I've never heard this one live...


The first time I've heard TOPS was on Tattoo You tape. I've listened to it over and over and over, untill the tape was noisy and scrambled all over.
The remastered version of Tattoo You made me listen to it again. Full bass on my Monster headphones. Just lovely!! Love the smooth riff of the bass and Richards guitar!

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Monsoon Ragoon

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SwayStones
I love this song although I am not that much onto ballads.
When was it played on stage for the last time ?

It was played only in Philly Sep. 25 and at the third stadium show in Buffalo two days later, I think. Both shows are available in great SBD quality fortunately.

Thanks to you !
I am going to check on my bootlegs .
I guess I spent too much time on "photos from Philly " instead of going into the audio shows.....

great song , great guitar weaving (oops)!
the end is heavily edited , sometimes only two bars, I made a full length version out of three different tracks, one in mono, i'm hoping for better quality releases of them.

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liddas
Keith's guitar work on Tops, and on the intro in particular, is absolutely sublime. No fancy fingerings (it's in open G by the way), but a sense of time that is out of this world. Those first 4 very fast "glissati" followed by the intro lick ... Enough to transform the ususal ballad in the usual masterpiece!

C

You know the intro os two guitars right - It's Keith in open G doing the sliding part, and Taylor (or Jagger) doing the high pitched, chorused guitar.

By the way, the released track was recorded in 72, 79 and 81, not only '72. The instrumental outtake is from '72, the outtake with vocals but different lyrics from '79 (the best version!), and then there's 2 or 3 outtakes with vocals and as released lyrics from '81.

And it is reported to be played live on September 14, 1981 at the clu gig as well.

Mathijs

outtake is a misnomer with this, as with most stones songs. the stones rarely do multiple "takes," per se..

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T&A
outtake is a misnomer with this, as with most stones songs. the stones rarely do multiple "takes," per se..

I don't understand what you mean. The Stones are known for recording dozens and dozens of takes of a song, with each take extended to twice or double its normal length, and once a take has been chosen they do the overdubs and then edit it down to a 3.30 song.

Many songs from Some Girls are a perfect example of this method.

Mathijs

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liddas
Keith's guitar work on Tops, and on the intro in particular, is absolutely sublime. No fancy fingerings (it's in open G by the way), but a sense of time that is out of this world. Those first 4 very fast "glissati" followed by the intro lick ... Enough to transform the ususal ballad in the usual masterpiece!

C

Thanks, liddas - you made me listen again, and hear the great guitar work on a track I've never liked much (still don't enjoy Jagger's vocal though).

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Mathijs

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T&A
outtake is a misnomer with this, as with most stones songs. the stones rarely do multiple "takes," per se..

I don't understand what you mean. The Stones are known for recording dozens and dozens of takes of a song, with each take extended to twice or double its normal length, and once a take has been chosen they do the overdubs and then edit it down to a 3.30 song.

Many songs from Some Girls are a perfect example of this method.

Mathijs

you and i are not using the same definition of a "take," i think. the stones rarely do multiple takes. they do a take and then tweak it with overdubs. that's what they did with most of the SG songs - actually what they've almost always done.

even the "reggae" version of SMU is the same basic track as the finished product, contrary to what some think....

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Mathijs

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liddas
Keith's guitar work on Tops, and on the intro in particular, is absolutely sublime. No fancy fingerings (it's in open G by the way), but a sense of time that is out of this world. Those first 4 very fast "glissati" followed by the intro lick ... Enough to transform the ususal ballad in the usual masterpiece!

C

You know the intro os two guitars right - It's Keith in open G doing the sliding part, and Taylor (or Jagger) doing the high pitched, chorused guitar.

By the way, the released track was recorded in 72, 79 and 81, not only '72. The instrumental outtake is from '72, the outtake with vocals but different lyrics from '79 (the best version!), and then there's 2 or 3 outtakes with vocals and as released lyrics from '81.

And it is reported to be played live on September 14, 1981 at the clu gig as well.

Mathijs

Yes and done live in Europe, I think only once. I have a live version of it...
"are you ready keith?" "Woody are you going to tell a terrible joke" Then a false start, then into it. Sounds out of tune in the intro big time! Then goes into it...ok, but the open G seems out of tone with Ronnie...and no falsetto. I think they probably dropped it because they really struggled with the guitars being in tune, although it could be the speed of the tape as well:-) Some great backing vocals with Keith though...

Recorded in 72 - so is that during or after the EOMS sessions?

After -- it's a GHS outtake originally.

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VoodooLounge13
Recorded in 72 - so is that during or after the EOMS sessions?

Tops and Waiting on a Friend are both GHS outtakes.

Great song. Features in the 2009 film Adventureland.