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Miss You
(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Pathé Marconi Studios (EMI Studios), Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France,
October 10 - December 21, 1977

Mick Jagger - lead vocals, backing vocals, electric guitar
Keith Richards - electric guitar, backing vocals
Charlie Watts - drums
Bill Wyman - bass
Ron Wood - electric guitar, backing vocals
Ian McLagan - electric piano
Sugar Blue - harmonica
Mel Collins - saxophone

I've been holding out so long, I've been sleeping all alone, Lord, I miss you
I've been hanging on the phone, I've been sleeping all alone, I want to kiss you
Sometimes

Well, I've been haunted in my sleep
You've been staring in my dreams, Lord, I miss you, child
I've been waiting in the hall, been waiting on your call, when the phone rings
It's just some friends of mine that say:
Hey, what's the matter man, we're gonna come around at twelve
With some Puerto Rican girls that’s just dyin' to meet you
We're gonna bring a case of wine
Hey, let's go mess and fool around, you know, like we used to

Oh, baby, why you wait so long
Oh, baby, why you wait so long, won't you come on, come on

I've been walking Central Park, singing after dark, people think I'm crazy
Stumbling on my feet, shuffling through the street
Asking people: What's the matter with you boy?
Sometimes I want to say to, to myself, sometimes I say: I won't miss you child

I guess I'm lying to myself
It's just you and no one else, Lord I won't miss you, child
You've just been blotting out my mind
Fooling on my time, no, I won't miss you, baby, yeah
Lord, I miss you child, Lord, I miss you child, Lord, I miss you child

Produced by The Glimmer Twins

First released on:
The Rolling Stones - “Miss You / Far Away Eyes” 7” single
(Rolling Stones Records EMI 2802) UK, May 19, 1978

A great song that initially divided Stones fans. It's gone on to become a classic. The Stones kept their eye on black popular music from their beginning.

Be it soul, funk, reggae or disco they could get their chops round whatever was happening on the black music scene and do it just about better than any other white band. This track is a great example of that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 12:31 by Silver Dagger.

A classic from an excellent album!

Ahh, Miss You, perhaps the most famous post-1971 Stones track besides Start Me Up, and the one that obviously kicked off the band’s late-70’s resurgence. To my ears, it has unfortunately not aged as well as, say, Emotional Rescue. Maybe it’s because classic rock radio played it to death back in the days when I listened to the radio, and then the Stones tirelessly trotted out in their live shows, but I’ve long since grown bored with that four-on-the-floor beat and Mick’s rather tedious “oooh oooh oooh ooohs”.

So despite its massive popularity, Miss You does not rank with the Stones best work, IMO. Being a Mick Jagger dance (disco?) number, it lacks the rock-and-roll punch, the outlaw appeal that Keith brings to much of the rest of Some Girls; instead it must primarily rely on the swing of Charlie and Bill. And swing they do, but by Stones standards that beat is not particularly exciting, at least to me. Where things get interesting, of course, is the infamous early-rap section where Mick starts walkin’ Central Park, singin’ after dark, and people think he’s craaaaaaay-zeeeee. I used to find that part mesmerizing ... nobody can captivate the listener like Mick Jagger can … but alas, after hundreds upon hundreds of hearings, the novelty has worn off.

And so we’re left with Sugar Blue to take the song home. Sugar is a good harp-player, but let’s face it, he’s no Mick Jagger. Not even close. Mick, why the hell did you decide to relegate harp duties to someone else?? If you’d played the solo, surely it would have been electrifying, as opposed to merely adequate. It would have been the icing on the cake on a song that was yours from the start. Lord, I miss you child.

Drew

Through my years of puberty I've always dreamed about friends calling me to say they're
gonna come round at twelve with some Puerto Rican girls that's dying to meet me.
Anyway, this song did well at the school parties in my early years of being a Stones fan.

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

Agreed: the thing is Mick could have injected some Little Walter dynamics into Miss You, if he played the harmonica solo, as opposed to Sugar Blue.

Miss You can be very hit or miss live: I like the live versions from 1978 and 1989/90. I can remember Ronnie letting rip with a great solo on Miss You from 1990 at Wembley Stadium.

Great great song, particularly the 12 inch.

Should be played very very loud!

What a drag it is gettin' old

This is one of the worst Stones songs IMO that a lot of people seem to like.

I remember when it came out and Disco was all over the radio and I hear it and I think, the Stones are doing Disco.

I've got nothing against Disco and I don't mind Car Wash, Rubber Band Man, or whatever but after all the R&B Stones stuff, Miss You just seems out of place somehow.

They did give it some of the Stones thing, but that walking bass line and rhythm are all Disco.

If I wanted to hear Disco, I would listen to Donna Summer and not the Stones.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 14:47 by howled.

I really like the some, especially the extended 8 minute version. I don't often play iy anymore but won't turn it off of the radio. I think I've heard it enough but it is a good song. The liver versions lack punch and the song should not be played live. The only live versions that are any good are from 1978. I think Mick is very fond of this one and that is why it is still played. It is a classic song no doubt but it is somewhat tired.

Personally, I think it's more bluesy funk than disco: a continuation of Hey Negrita and Hot Stuff.

Amusing track. Perks's perception of funk and disco. I think it was meant as a parody on that style. Just like the entire "Some girls" album is a parody on their own style, imo. Most people call it the reinvention of themselves.

Didn't care for it much, when I was younger. It has been growing on me though. Especially live.

Time Warp back to 1976.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 15:50 by howled.

Didn't like it then and don't like it now. Not as bad live, though. Mick really seems to like it, doesn't he?

Second best Disco-song of all time....



2 1 2 0

fantastic song...pure stonesiness...one of a handful of their signature songs.

Gnarly blues that just happened to groove to a "4 on the floor" beat that was the trend at the time. Disco? Hardly. It sure created a buzz though, didn't it? Charlie and Bill are off the charts! An amazing fusion of all things that make The Stones great. This song dominated the summer of '78 and it still draws me in every time I hear it. I do agree that it has become a little tired live over the years, but what a unique track!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 17:00 by Ross.

The stain of a great album, boring disco crap, no melody, no rhythm, never liked it, and I would so pleased to hear it nevermore on the next tour(s).

It's a song I only listen when it comes up on the radio.......never play at at home...I think is not a very bad song, but it doesn't do anything for me..... I probably Miss somthing.....

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don't be afraid to try it at home, nicos. it plays just fine there....

No rythym!!! Please!!!

Love this song, always have. Not crazy about the live versions though.

I don't know the story behind the song too well, someone once told me it was written by Mick and he was referring to Keith in the song. As in since Keith was his partner but then got all strung out on drugs and Mick missed him. I don't know if that's true but I think about it when listening to the song.

The sound of Ian McLagan's distinctive keyboard opening this track was a far cry from Donna Summer and the Bee Gees. This wasn't the Stones doing Disco, it was the Stones "doing" Disco in their own rough and tumble way.

Mick's coy vocal was one of his best, and put this song over the top. This was the song of the summer, the cornerstone of the album that provided a bridge to the various sides of the 1978 music wars.

There was a lot of factions at the time, but there was one thing we all agreed on: The Stones were back and everyone could love them!


It's a great, funky, fun record that still sounds fresh.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 17:44 by loog droog.

Great song. Always loved it. One of the best Mick' vocal and artistic performances. I like songs that have a story you can literally see - like a little movie

Quote
proudmary
Great song. Always loved it. One of the best Mick' vocal and artistic performances. I like songs that have a story you can literally see - like a little movie

oddly, i like movies you can hear...like a big song.

Miss You was always great I thought, but even if I hadn't felt so, commercially the song, their last #1 on US Billboard pop chart I believe, gave Some Girls the jumpstart to their return to the top.

Fantastic song, I love everything about it, was just listening to it yesterday. One of the best album openers ever and the sleazy ah ah's always make me smile.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 18:20 by latebloomer.

The lyrics make this song for me. The disco groove is probably one of my least favorite Stones songs but Mick's vocals are cool enough to pull me in.

I can't hear this tune without thinking of sweaty bodies on the dance floor and white lines in the bathroom.

Thankfully the Stones never pursued this line of songwriting too much beyond Emotional Rescue or they would have completely lost me, because basically disco still sucks... peace

disco rocks

The Stones hit hard with four to the floor. Slithering opening with a jungle funk groove. The backing vocals sound like a remake of Sympathy with a new funk/punk sheen. Ronnie and Keith perfectly harmonize with their guitars, weaving a Curtis Mayfield groove with wonderfully economical funk grit. Mick's urgent call out to his agonized lonely friend with a cure of Puerto Rican girls, and a gorged love fest to shut out the loneliness of divorce and alienation from your long gone mate. Bianca is haunting his dreams, a picture of something Mick thought he was supposed to have but lost. That's what is so great about this entire album, the concept of loss and anger, grieving. Miss you ratchets it up with intensity to the chorus with propulsive gut bucket authority. Miss You was the perfect single of barn storming proportions. It was huge. The Stones slapped back at the Punks with a funk work out that was a massive hit. This creates a wave of interest that Some Girls surfed the entire summer. Perfect weather album for a hot summer of sensuality and humid Stones grooves. Every click and pop of that entire album became part of a deep hypnotic tance that to this day brings a shiver memory of the thrill of 1978.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-12-31 18:56 by whitem8.