[Purchase @ Amazon]
“Winter”, from Goat’s Head Soup – the ’73 Rolling Stones
release – got this review from Bill Janovitz (one of my favorites): “ Here they were in sunny Jamaica, and the
Rolling Stones were writing and recording an entirely convincing and evocative
picture of a Northern Hemisphere winter. Perhaps they were so happy to be
escaping the season they felt that starting the sessions with
"Winter" could transition them out of the old and into the new
climate. Though it bemoans many of the negatives of the season [in the]
lyrics... "Winter" seems to simultaneously celebrate the season as
something inherently beautiful, with other evocations of holiday scenes and
wanting to wrap a coat and keep a lover warm…”
Wikipedia says
the song was probably a product of Jagger and Taylor, but that Taylor didn’t get
much credit for his efforts (seems to be a common thread about his role in the
Stones). Apparently, Keith Richards had nothing to do with this oevre.
From my own
perspective, Goats Head Soup – and “Winter” in particular – carry poignant
memories. I was a high school senior and the year was ’73 (Probably you had to
be there to relate, but it was a seminal place and time). Of course, this was
following on “Exile on Main Street”. Like the years (’73 is a distant memory),
seasons also come and go, but classics songs (like “Winter”) go on and on and ….
Back to Janovitzs’s
remarks (and the current condition of Star Maker Machine): winter comes and
goes. The wind blows cold, and then warm. Music is at heart a celebration:
musicians feel something, and as a result produce music. That’s the idea that has
driven Star Maker bloggers so far, too.