Comments, input and alterations are very welcome!
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Stoned
(Nanker Phelge)

De Lane Lea Music Recording Studios, Holborn, London, UK, October 7, 1963

Mick Jagger - vocals
Keith Richards - electric guitar
Charlie Watts - drums
Bill Wyman - bass
Brian Jones - harmonica
Ian Stewart - piano

Stoned
Yeah
Out of my mind
Here I go
Ah, yeah
Where am I at?
Yeah, yeah

Produced by Eric Easton

First released on:
The Rolling Stones - “I Wanna Be Your Man / Stoned” 7” single
(Decca F 11764) UK, November 1, 1963

Finally!

Early favorite of mine since it were on my second Stones-single bought 1964.

This song had that darkness that pictures of Stones showed from that year 1964...

2 1 2 0

Read in Phelge's book how they came up with this one on the spot, since they needed a B-side for the single. Not much for lyrics, but then again it didn't need to be. Love this one, since there's not another like it in their whole catalog. Wasn't this among their earliest originals, if not the earliest?

A knocked off 12 bar that was presumably a warm up jam while they got acclimatised to being in a studio. And the use of the word Stoned sure didn't do any harm in laying down their bad boy credentials.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 11:47 by Silver Dagger.

I listened to this one the other day, and just love that creepy feeling when Mick comes in. Good stuff. The Stones's Green Onions

Indeed a great dark tune..... I was very surprised hearing this song the first time way back....

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 13:45 by NICOS.

Wow, in the past couple of weeks Track Talk has been see-sawing from the sublime to the ridiculous and now (with “Stoned”) back to the sublime. An utterly marvelous little track, trippy, daring, and even perhaps a bit spooky. I think if I had heard this in 1963 my head would have exploded.

Drew

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NICOS
Indeed a great darky tune..... I was very surprised hearing this song the first time way back....

I think you meant 'dark' there NICOS. Darky is not a nice word and is a derogatory term for black people.

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DandelionPowderman
I listened to this one the other day, and just love that creepy feeling when Mick comes in. Good stuff. The Stones's Green Onions

agree, completely!
it has been mine and liddas'group opening song ...
ciao
m.

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partnerincrime

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DandelionPowderman
I listened to this one the other day, and just love that creepy feeling when Mick comes in. Good stuff. The Stones's Green Onions

agree, completely!
it has been mine and liddas'group opening song ...
ciao
m.

That's awesome!

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Silver Dagger

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NICOS
Indeed a great darky tune..... I was very surprised hearing this song the first time way back....

I think you meant 'dark' there NICOS. Darky is not a nice word and is a derogatory term for black people.

Your right thanks.........changed it ...

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What a drag it is gettin' old

Years before this Zimmermann guy tried to convince everybody to get stoned, this band was already stoned...

Yeah, this was the first original - okay "Green Onions" might have inspired to a degree... - Rolling Stones put and released on a record. Probably the A-side also might have something to do for this sudden push for originality, after Lennon-MCartney had shown how easily than can be done. I recall reading in some Brian Jones biography how proud he was of the achievement in telling about it in a letter to his mother (?). Not the biggest win in originality, but still probably had some meaning for them in the early steps of their career. Not a bad start at all.

I think the time has been kind to it, and still it has a certain charm. It has aged better than the poppish A-side "I Wanna be Your Man" (despite its screaming performance to hide its stupidness). It is a great B-side - usually it was their B-sides in their early (UK) singles that most tell the real nature of the band, that is, what kind of raw rhythm&blues act they really are. It was not until "Little Red Rooster" they were brave enough to show that also in a A side.

Jagger's dramatic way of expressing those few lines is simply effective - probably the most original thing in the whole affair.

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 14:57 by Doxa.

<It has aged better than the poppish A-side "I Wanna be Your Man" (despite its screaming performance to hide its stupidness).>

Wow!

I wrote my bit above out of memory. Now when I actually listened it (thanks 68to72), two times actually, it is even better than I recalled. A really cool band effort. Stu and Brian are very much upfront, playing hearts out, one could say, even leading the band (even though teh whole thing is rather 'democratic'). But however, it is the cool guitar solo by Keith that is a real winner! That I had totally forgotten (I do now recall how huge impression it once did it for me). So damn spot on - especially the 'feedback' effect around 0:58 is so delicious! Together with Brian's slide solo guitar in A-side, this forms probably the best guitar solo single the Stones ever have released!

There is so much potentiality in there. Jagger is 'odd man out', but as it would be in future, he is taking his spot there, after the band had laid the 'backing track'. Not much yet, but he is getting there. Actually after Jagger/Richard had gone through their traditional song-writing phase, many Stones originals would take this 'Nanker Phelge' nature again, very much based on the band jamming the riffs out (and Jagger would finish them to masterpieces). It is very primitive and formal yet, but seeds for upcoming greats are to be heard there. But at the same time, there are also elements that never realized; for example, the combo of Brian and Stu having such a strong outfront role (or Jagger so small one).

An interesting song indeed!

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 15:28 by Doxa.

The Stones first rarity?



[www.45cat.com]

The very rare U.S. version is credited to "Jagger-Phelge"
[www.45cat.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 19:33 by Deltics.

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DandelionPowderman
<It has aged better than the poppish A-side "I Wanna be Your Man" (despite its screaming performance to hide its stupidness).>

Wow!

Well, I think the lyrics of "I Wanna Be Your man" are simply childish (Dylan made fun of them some day...) and the melody, with those mersey beat chord changes in the chorus, actually annoys me. A mediocre, if even bad pop song by nature (no wonder 'they' give it to Ringo to sing...). I think neither the Stones appreciated the song at all (of course, they know its commercial potentiality, Lennon-McCartney and everything...) and they sound like playing against it, and that 'punk' attitude - like that Pistlos dude once did to "My Way" - is what is so great in their version of the song. That tension between the form and the content. The Stones are 'raping' a pop song by their raw rhythm & blues.

- Doxa

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Doxa

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DandelionPowderman
<It has aged better than the poppish A-side "I Wanna be Your Man" (despite its screaming performance to hide its stupidness).>

Wow!

Well, I think the lyrics of "I Wanna Be Your man" are simply childish (Dylan made fun of them some day...) and the melody, with those mersey beat chord changes in the chorus, actually annoys me. A mediocre, if even bad pop song by nature (no wonder 'they' give it to Ringo to sing...). I think neither the Stones appreciated the song at all (of course, they know its commercial potentiality, Lennon-McCartney and everything...) and they sound like playing against it, and that 'punk' attitude - like that Pistlos dude once did to "My Way" - is what is so great in their version of the song. That tension between the form and the content. The Stones are 'raping' a pop song by their raw rhythm & blues.

- Doxa

The same thing can, to a degree, be said about Stoned. But after all, it is the outcome that matters, isn't it? Brian's guitar is like a chainsaw, sawing through your bone. Mick is sounding really freaky and scary in Stoned.

Both songs are splendidly performed in my book. Ringo and The Beatles' "happy naivity" is totally peeled off in IWBYM, imo. It's the real nitty gritty



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-10-20 16:06 by DandelionPowderman.

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Doxa

It is very primitive and formal yet, but seeds for upcoming greats are to be heard there.
An interesting song indeed!

- Doxa

You made me listen to it again Doxa and I've heard the seeds of Midnight Rambler, especially the part when they go into their amazing instrumental overdrive when Jagger starts playing the harp.

There's also that darkness, that Come On mentioned, and which again is the essential ingredient in colouring the sound of Midnight Rambler.

Both these songs aren't looking at the pop horizon or at the glittery bright lights and big city that Oldham took them to. These are songs born in the basement, inhabiting a space down there in the hole where the blues lives and where the ventilator don't work so well.

And more than anything this is the essence of the Stones, the soul of the band and the part that has been missing for so long.

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Silver Dagger

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Doxa

It is very primitive and formal yet, but seeds for upcoming greats are to be heard there.
An interesting song indeed!

- Doxa

You made me listen to it again Doxa and I've heard the seeds of Midnight Rambler, especially the part when they go into their amazing instrumental overdrive when Jagger starts playing the harp.

There's also that darkness, that Come On mentioned, and which again is the essential ingredient in colouring the sound of Midnight Rambler.

Both these songs aren't looking at the pop horizon or at the glittery bright lights and big city that Oldham took them to. These are songs born in the basement, inhabiting a space down there in the hole where the blues lives and where the ventilator don't work so well.

And more than anything this is the essence of the Stones, the soul of the band and the part that has been missing for so long.

An inspired Dagger

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DandelionPowderman

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Silver Dagger

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Doxa

It is very primitive and formal yet, but seeds for upcoming greats are to be heard there.
An interesting song indeed!

- Doxa

You made me listen to it again Doxa and I've heard the seeds of Midnight Rambler, especially the part when they go into their amazing instrumental overdrive when Jagger starts playing the harp.

There's also that darkness, that Come On mentioned, and which again is the essential ingredient in colouring the sound of Midnight Rambler.

Both these songs aren't looking at the pop horizon or at the glittery bright lights and big city that Oldham took them to. These are songs born in the basement, inhabiting a space down there in the hole where the blues lives and where the ventilator don't work so well.

And more than anything this is the essence of the Stones, the soul of the band and the part that has been missing for so long.

An inspired Dagger

Do you think any of them would in their wildest imagination have thought people would be discussing this song 50 + years later? I'm sure we've spent more time discussing than they spent writing and recording it.

A great tune BTW.

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treaclefingers

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DandelionPowderman

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Silver Dagger

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Doxa

It is very primitive and formal yet, but seeds for upcoming greats are to be heard there.
An interesting song indeed!

- Doxa

You made me listen to it again Doxa and I've heard the seeds of Midnight Rambler, especially the part when they go into their amazing instrumental overdrive when Jagger starts playing the harp.

There's also that darkness, that Come On mentioned, and which again is the essential ingredient in colouring the sound of Midnight Rambler.

Both these songs aren't looking at the pop horizon or at the glittery bright lights and big city that Oldham took them to. These are songs born in the basement, inhabiting a space down there in the hole where the blues lives and where the ventilator don't work so well.

And more than anything this is the essence of the Stones, the soul of the band and the part that has been missing for so long.

An inspired Dagger

Do you think any of them would in their wildest imagination have thought people would be discussing this song 50 + years later? I'm sure we've spent more time discussing than they spent writing and recording it.

A great tune BTW.

Mick would probably deny its existence (or claim it was on Black And Blue)...

This is so good, sounds like a psychedlic twist on Booker T & The Mg's. I can't believe they were barely 20 years old when they recorded this.

I just listened to "Nanker and Phelge" first raw song Stoned from the 1973 vinyl "No Stone Unturned", and still enjoy this 1963 song.

"Produced by Eric Easton"!

How many songs was Eric Easton credited with producing? And how much money can we estimate his estate has made over the years from his brief involvement as the Stones' manager?

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71Tele
"Produced by Eric Easton"!

[82.27.140.159]

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Erick Easton
2012 GRRR! The Rolling Stones Producer
2004 Singles 1963-1965 The Rolling Stones Audio Production, Producer
1989 The Complete Singles Collection: The London Years The Rolling Stones Producer
1975 Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones Producer
1972 More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies) The Rolling Stones Producer
1964 The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hit Makers) The Rolling Stones Producer

__________________________

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NICOS
Erick Easton
2012 GRRR! The Rolling Stones Producer
2004 Singles 1963-1965 The Rolling Stones Audio Production, Producer
1989 The Complete Singles Collection: The London Years The Rolling Stones Producer
1975 Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones Producer
1972 More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies) The Rolling Stones Producer
1964 The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hit Makers) The Rolling Stones Producer

A cut - however small - from all of those over the years would be a tidy sum. £250,000? Maybe more?

Wow, Heard this song for the first time today. Love it. I didn't know the Stones could do surf music so well. That reverb on the vocal is over the top.

If I didn't know who did the tune I would have never guessed. Sounds like a very early California surf band. Nice solid contribution by Stu on this one. Very cool. peace