Song #218: "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones

Date: Aug 23, 1969
Weeks: 4

Now here is some classic rock and roll. Guitar-driven rock, percussion, a little sax way in the background, and bold vocals. That's the way rock music should be.

The sound here seems particularly southern, mostly because of the percussion. In addition to drums, it sounds like they're playing pots, pans, and various other found objects, in classic skiffle style. Skiffle, if you don't know (and I didn't until recently) is that type of music where the instruments are found objects such as washboards, jugs, etc. I'm not sure I actually hear a washboard, but one wouldn't be out of place. This is a great sound that invokes the origins of rock and blues, and so the music winds up feeling classic and kind of timeless.

The lyrics are pretty minimal. There are two verses that seem to tell unrelated stories of being set upon by sexually aggressive women. The rest of the song is the chorus "Honky tonk women give me the honkty tonk blues." I guess "honky tonk" is intended as a synonym for "country," given the rest of the context. But "country" didn't fit the meter and isn't as much fun to sing as "honky tonk." Ultimately, it's a bit of a nonsense lyric song. But that's okay, because it's fun anyway.

Mick Jagger's voice is really entertaining. So many other acts on the charts seem to include a lead singer who is over-emoting in a fake way, or underemoting in an unmotivating way. Jagger gets it just right, and the music is much more fun to listen to because of it. He's a classic example of a singer who may not have raw vocal talent, but makes up for it by being fun to listen to.

My verdict: Like it. I've never gotten into the Rolling Stones, but I'm starting to think I need to.