It was the first Jagger-Richards composition to be released by the Stones, and the influences on the song stemmed from commercial-type Beatles songs and their Merseyside counterparts....a cross over into the pop mainstream. "Tell Me" is most notable for Keith Richards' cavernous, Hank Marvin-like twang during the break. Ian Stewart plays piano on a tune which sound and feeling were lightyears away from the Stones' American blues and R&B roots.
Adapted from the following sources:
Martin Elliott, The Rolling Stones. Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2002, Cherry Red Books, 2002.
James Hector, The Complete Guide To The Music Of The Rolling Stones, Omnibus Press, 1995.
February 24-25, 1964: Regent Sound Studios, London, England.
ReplyDeleteThe Rolling Stones: Good Times, Bad Times (Jagger-Richards) (2:35)
The Rolling Stones: Tell Me (You’re Coming Back) (Jagger-Richards) (3:52)
Mick Jagger: "Tell Me"
On Tell Me Keith was playing 12-string and singing harmonies into the same microphone as the 12-string. We recorded it in this tiny studio in the West End of London called Regent Sound, which was a demo studio. I think the whole of that album was recorded in there. But it's very different from doing those R&B covers or Marvin Gaye covers and all that. There's a definite feel about it. It's a very POP song, as opposed to all the blues covers and the motown covers, which everyone did at the time.
640224A February 24-25: London, Regent Sound Studios. Producer: Andrew Oldham. Sound engineer: Bill Farley.
- Good Times, Bad Times (Jagger-Richards)
- Over You (Toussaint-Orange) -unverified
- Tell Me (You’re Coming Back) (Jagger-Richards) - Ian Stewart on piano.
Line-up: Mick Jagger (voc)/Keith Richards (gtr)/Brian Jones (gtr, harm, bvoc)/Bill Wyman (bass, bvoc)/Charlie Watts (dr).