No Expectations

Last updated
"No Expectations"
Single by the Rolling Stones
from the album Beggars Banquet
A-side "Street Fighting Man"
Released
  • August 1968 (1968-08) (US single)
  • December 1968 (album)
RecordedMay 1968
Genre
Length3:55
Label London
Songwriter(s) Mick Jagger/Keith Richards
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller
The Rolling Stones US singles chronology
"Jumpin' Jack Flash"
(1968)		"No Expectations"
(1968)		"Honky Tonk Women"
(1969)

"No Expectations" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet . It was first released as the B-side of the "Street Fighting Man" single in August 1968. The song was recorded in May 1968. Brian Jones' acoustic slide guitar on the recording represents one of his last major contributions before leaving the band.

Contents

Inspiration and recording

This slow ballad was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Bill Janovitz says, "The loneliness expressed in the song is palpable; all about being left behind, the song is certainly a tribute in musical and lyrical tone to such Robert Johnson blues songs as "Love in Vain" – a favourite cover of the Stones – referencing such images as a train leaving the station." [2]

Jagger said in a 1995 interview in Rolling Stone , "That's Brian playing [the slide guitar]. We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes. That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing". [3] Accompanying Jones is Richards on acoustic rhythm guitar. Janovitz remarked that Richards, "play[s] the same open-tuned rhythm he would later use on 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', also contributing to that lonely ambience." The song is also noted for its simple claves-kept beat by Charlie Watts and Nicky Hopkins's "building single-chord organ" and ornamental turns on piano.

Personnel

Critical reception

Jim Beviglia ranked "No Expectations" the 51st best Rolling Stones song in Counting Down the Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs. [4] Complex.com praised its "mystical, evocative lyrics" and ranked it 25th in its Top 50 Rolling Stones songs. [5] Rolling Stone ranked it 39th in its countdown of the band's top 100 songs, calling it "an early, vital result of the Stones turning to rock's deeper roots." [6]

Classic Rock History critic Matthew Pollard rated "No Expectations" as the Rolling Stones' 8th best deep cut, calling it "the Rolling Stones at their most vulnerable." [7]

Performances

The song's first live performance was filmed for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus , which documents Jones' last live performance with the band. The band has since rarely played the song live. The second, and most notable performance, was at the Hyde Park free concert on 5 July 1969, which was held as a memorial to Jones, who died two days before. The third live performance was at the 18 January 1973, benefit concert at the Los Angeles Forum for victims of the 23 December 1972, earthquake in Nicaragua.

The Stones did not play it live again until 28 August 1994, in Cleveland, Ohio. On the 2002/03 "Licks" tour, they played it 11 times in total, and most recently they played it on their 50th anniversary tour in San Jose, California, on 8 May 2013, with Ronnie Wood playing the slide guitar. Former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, who replaced Jones, has also covered the song during his concerts, including his 2012 performances at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club. "No Expectations" is also included on the 1972 Stones compilation album More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) . The single version is available on Singles Collection: The London Years .

Cover versions

American banjo player Bill Keith recorded the song on his landmark album "Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass". American progressive bluegrass band Yonder Mountain String Band frequently covered the song. After the death of founding Yonder Mountain member Jeff Austin in 2019, their version of the song would come to be viewed as a tribute and memorial to him. Fellow progressive bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass added it to their repertoire after Austin's death. [8] Johnny Cash recorded it for his 1978 album Gone Girl . Joan Baez covered the song on her 11th studio album One Day at a Time, released in January, 1970.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Jones</span> British musician, founding member of the Rolling Stones (1942–1969)

Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones recordings and in concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street Fighting Man</span> 1968 single by the Rolling Stones

"Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrumentation contributed by Brian Jones, which has led to it being characterized as a raga rock song. It also features controversial and ambiguous lyrics about armed revolution. In the United States, it was released as a single in August 1968, while it was not released in the United Kingdom until four months later on the Beggars Banquet album, where it opened side two. The B-side of the American single featured "No Expectations", considered one of the final Stones tracks in which founding member Jones played a significant role in its construction.

<i>Beggars Banquet</i> 1968 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Beggars Banquet is a studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album produced by Jimmy Miller, whose production work formed a key aspect of the group's sound throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.

<i>The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus</i> 1996 British film

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was a British concert film hosted by and featuring the Rolling Stones, filmed on 11–12 December 1968. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who proposed the idea of a "rock and roll circus" to Jagger. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Mitch Mitchell on drums, and the Stones' Keith Richards on bass. The recently formed Led Zeppelin had been considered for inclusion, but the idea was rejected.

<i>Decembers Children (And Everybodys)</i> 1965 studio album by the Rolling Stones

December's Children (And Everybody's) is the fifth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in December 1965. It is primarily compiled from different released tracks from across the band's recording career up to that point, including the UK version of Out of Our Heads. Bassist Bill Wyman quotes Jagger in 1968 calling the record "[not] an album, it's just a collection of songs." Accordingly, it is only briefly detailed in Wyman's otherwise exhaustive book Rolling with the Stones. It features their then-recent transatlantic hit single "Get Off of My Cloud", as well as their own remake of Marianne Faithfull's Jagger/Richards-penned hit "As Tears Go By", which was released as the album's second single in the US.

<i>Metamorphosis</i> (Rolling Stones album) 1975 compilation album by the Rolling Stones

Metamorphosis is the third compilation album of the Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein. Released in 1975, Metamorphosis centres on outtakes and alternate versions of well-known songs recorded from 1964 to 1970.

"Ventilator Blues" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones that is included on their 1972 album Exile on Main St.

"Back Street Girl" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It first appeared on the UK version of their 1967 album Between the Buttons but was not included on the US version. It was first released in the US on the 1967 album Flowers.

"Midnight Rambler" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song is a loose biography of Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waiting on a Friend</span> 1981 single by the Rolling Stones

"Waiting on a Friend" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released as the album's second single, it reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US.

"You Got the Silver" is a song by the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was also released as the B-side to the "Let It Bleed" single in Japan.

"Moonlight Mile" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Credited to Jagger-Richards, it was written by Mick Jagger with assistance from Mick Taylor. It appears as the closing track on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The song features multiple musicians playing alternate instruments due to the frequent absence of Richards during recording sessions of the period.

"Salt of the Earth" is the final song from English rock band the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet (1968). Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song includes an opening lead vocal by Richards. It is the second official track by the group to feature him on lead vocal.

"Stray Cat Blues" is the eighth song on the Rolling Stones' album Beggars Banquet. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Jimmy Miller. Miller's production of the song is very representative of his style, featuring a very prominent hi hat beat, droning piano performed by Nicky Hopkins, a mellotron performed by Brian Jones, all electric guitars performed by Richards and vocals from Jagger kept even in the mix. According to Mick Jagger, the song was inspired by "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground, with the intros of both songs being particularly similar.

"Till the Next Goodbye" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on its 1974 album It's Only Rock 'n Roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stupid Girl (Rolling Stones song)</span> Song by the Rolling Stones

"Stupid Girl" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song featured on the band's 1966 album Aftermath. It was also issued as the B-side of the U.S. "Paint It Black" single.

"Jigsaw Puzzle" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.

"Parachute Woman" is a song by the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.

"Dear Doctor" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.

"I Am Waiting" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released on the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath.

References

  1. ↑ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1969". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 220–222. ISBN   9781493064601.
  2. ↑ Janovitz, Bill. "Rolling Stones: No Expectations – review" . Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  3. ↑ Wenner, Jann."Jagger Remembers" Archived 2007-07-14 at the Wayback Machine . Rolling Stone. 1995 (accessed 29 June 2007).
  4. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (2015). Counting Down the Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 89. ISBN   978-1442254473.
  5. ↑ "The 50 Best Rolling Stones Songs". Complex.com . July 10, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  6. ↑ "100 Greatest Rolling Stones Songs - No Expectations (1968)". Rolling Stone . October 5, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ Pollard, Matthew (28 December 2023). "10 Rolling Stones Songs That Are Fan Favorite Deep Cuts". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  8. ↑ "Greensky Bluegrass Dedicates 'No Expectations' To Jeff Austin". JamBase. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.