Album of the Week: Goats Head Soup - The Rolling Stones

Goat’s Head Soup’. What an intriguing name. This 1973 album is the record that gave us ‘Angie’, one of the band’s most well-known tracks. Despite the melancholy of this beautiful song, however, it doesn’t necessarily set the tone for the rest of the album. Although its name alludes to where it was recorded (and a local delicacy): Jamaica; “Goat’s Head Soup” is also is quite representative of its contents.

The album was recorded in the context of a rapidly changing music scene. Whilst the Stones were already crowned “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” by this point, having outlived the Beatles, they still had to keep up during the musically transformative years of the 70s. At the same time, the Stones members were in very different places. Literally. Whilst Richards was in rehab in Switzerland, Jagger had just gotten married and other members were scattered around Europe (their US visas had expired, and they were avoiding the UK for… ‘tax reasons’). So, as the Stones each wrote stuff for the album separately, it’s no surprise then when everything was brought together, it ended up being quite a random mix of songs. But, although they might not seem like they all belong together, the end result was still a very successful album.

The Rolling Stones encountered the same problem all artists face when they reach the top. Once your music has peaked, it either stays absolutely incredible every time or, naturally, the next release isn’t quite as good. I can’t even imagine the pressure and toll that must take when trying to produce music. In any case, it’s the fact that “Goats Head Soup” wasn’t ‘the most incredible thing people had ever heard in their life’ and so wasn’t given as much initial praise as their previous album release, “Exile On Main Street “. But again, it’s the Rolling Stones; their “decent” is another band’s “amazing”.

I would agree that this album wasn’t anything the Stones hadn’t done before; but surely if you love a band’s music, you’d be happy to get more of it? Richard and Taylor’s guitar work is still excellent, Jagger’s vocals still iconic and Watts still nails the drums, so, what’s not to like?

Starting off with the most obvious song, “Angie” was previously released as a single and was an instant hit. Although the name was chosen quite randomly, the lyrics were inspired by the breakup Jagger had recently gone through. There was a strong belief though, that the song was written to appease Angela Bowie, David Bowie’s ex-wife, after she claimed she walked in on her then husband and Jagger having sex! They still deny it but I guess we’ll never know. Nonetheless, “Angie” is about the end of a relationship that was long overdue but made complicated by the love the couple still hold for each other. It’s one of the album’s melancholic songs, along with “Comin’ Down Again” and “Winter”. But when contrasting so strongly with the excited nature of the more upbeat and fun tracks, it feels like a rare sentimental sincerity that, accompanied by acoustic guitar and piano, let’s us see a different side to the usually “Rock and Roll” Stones. Jagger’s voice seems more like a sad cry rather than the usual drawl-y rock and roll shout, which adds to feeling that the Stones are allowing us to see their human side, rather than the usual but much loved crazy rock and roll stars. It's a gorgeous song, and no surprise it’s one of their most famous ones.

“Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”, a seemingly joyful song, tells tales of police brutality, and a child overdosing in the streets of New York City. Their denouncement of the harsh lives led in urban America are accompanied by saxophone, keys, and electric guitar, giving it a confusingly uplifting melody. Billy Preston actually joined them in the recording of the song by playing the clarinet in this song. Maybe the melody indicates the fact that these tragedies are deemed usual and barely stir any movement in the US.

Ending the album on a high is “Star Star” (originally “Starf*cker”); a song banned from being played on BBC radio stations for its profanity. The song starts off with this incredible Chuck Berry style guitar riff that just sets the mood for the rest of the track. It’s fun, it’s excitable and it’s underrated. The song is about a woman making her way through all the Hollywood stars like they’re on her bucket list (hence the original song title). It’s got the ringing guitar the whole way through and the iconic Rolling Stone sass. What better to end the album?

By Alice Charlton