Rough Justice (Rolling Stones song)

Last updated
"Rough Justice"
RollStones-Single2005 StreetsofLoveRoughJustice.jpg
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album A Bigger Bang
A-side "Streets of Love" (double A-side)
ReleasedAugust 22, 2005 (2005-08-22)
RecordedJune 2005
Studio La Fourchette, France
Genre Hard rock
Length3:12
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Sympathy for the Devil (remix)"
(2003)
"Rough Justice" / "Streets of Love"
(2005)
"Rain Fall Down"
(2005)

"Rough Justice" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones that was released as a double A-side single with "Streets of Love" from their 2005 album A Bigger Bang . It is the opening track from the album. The single was released on 22 August 2005, prior to the album.

Contents

History

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Rough Justice" was a heavily collaborative effort like many of the lead singer and guitarist's latter-day compositions. On the writing, Richards said in 2005, "That came to me in my sleep. It's almost like "Satisfaction". Yeah, I almost sort of woke up and said, 'Where's my guitar?' Sometimes you do dream a riff, you know? I had to get up, and it's really hard to get me up. Once I go down, I go down, you know? But, I mean, it's only a song that could get me up and start running around the room, 'Where's my guitar, where did I put my guitar, before I forget it?' I don't often remember dreams, only when they're musical."

A straight ahead rocker, but sets the scene of a long time, up and down, love affair between the singer and the subject:

One time you were my baby chicken, Now you've grown into a fox; Once upon a time I was your little rooster, But now I'm just one of your cocks.

It's rough justice, oh yeah, We never thought it risky; It's rough justice, But you know I'll never break your heart; You're feeling loose and lusty, So if you really want me, Yeah, it's rough justice; And you know I'll never break your heart.

Recording

Recording began at La Fourchette, Posé sur Cisse, France in June 2005. With Jagger on lead vocals, Richards plays electric rhythm (including the riff). Ronnie Wood plays the song's distinct electric slide guitar, including the song's opening intro and solo. Charlie Watts plays drums. Additional musicians are included Darryl Jones on bass while Chuck Leavell on play the song's piano.

Release and aftermath

"Rough Justice" was released as a double A-side with "Streets of Love" on 22 August 2005. It charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the song peaked at number 25 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 5 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart.

Music critic Robert Christgau applauded the song as "a strikingly ironic/acerbic expression of both Jagger's musical gift and his romantic limitations". [1]

The song has been performed heavily by the Stones on their A Bigger Bang Tour and is featured on their latest concert DVD release, The Biggest Bang . It was also one of the three songs played by the Stones during the halftime show for Super Bowl XL although the word "cocks" was censored on the ABC broadcast.

It was included in their greatest hits album GRRR! .

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes. [2]

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians

Chart performance

Chart (2005)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [3] 15
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [4] 25
US Adult Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [5] 5

Related Research Articles

<i>Live Licks</i> 2004 live album by the Rolling Stones

Live Licks is a 2004 double CD by The Rolling Stones, their ninth official live album. Coming six years after No Security, it features performances from the 2002–2003 Licks Tour in support of the career-spanning, fortieth anniversary retrospective Forty Licks. The album includes "an entire side of songs never before recorded live", and features only one song recorded after 1981's Tattoo You.

<i>Dirty Work</i> (Rolling Stones album) 1986 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Dirty Work is the eighteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 24 March 1986 on the Rolling Stones label by CBS Records, their first under their new contract with Columbia Records. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album was recorded during a period when relations between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had soured considerably, according to Richards' autobiography Life.

<i>12 × 5</i> 1964 studio album by the Rolling Stones

12 × 5 is the second American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in 1964 following the success of their American debut The Rolling Stones . It is an expanded version of the EP Five by Five, which had followed their debut album in the UK.

<i>Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!</i> 1970 live album by the Rolling Stones

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert is the second live album by the Rolling Stones, released on 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the United States. It was recorded in New York City and Baltimore in November 1969 prior to the release of Let It Bleed. It is the first live album to reach number 1 in the UK. It was reported to have been issued in response to the well-known bootleg Live'r Than You'll Ever Be. This was also the band's final release under the Decca record label and not under its own label Rolling Stones Records.

<i>A Bigger Bang</i> 2005 studio album by The Rolling Stones

A Bigger Bang is twenty-second studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released through Virgin Records on 6 September 2005. It was the band's last album of original material recorded entirely with Charlie Watts on drums before his death in 2021.

<i>Undercover</i> (Rolling Stones album) 1983 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Undercover is the seventeenth studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 7 November 1983 by Rolling Stones Records. The band would move the label to Columbia Records for its follow-up, 1986's Dirty Work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streets of Love</span> 2005 single by the Rolling Stones

"Streets of Love" is a song by rock band the Rolling Stones which was released as a double A-side single with "Rough Justice" from the 2005 album A Bigger Bang. The single was released on 22 August 2005, prior to the album.

<i>Voodoo Lounge</i> 1994 studio album by The Rolling Stones

Voodoo Lounge is the twentieth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since their last studio album, Steel Wheels in 1989. Voodoo Lounge is also the band's first album without their original bassist Bill Wyman; he left the band in early 1991, though the Stones did not announce the departure until 1993. In 2009, the album was remastered and reissued by Universal Music. This album was released as a double vinyl and as a single CD and cassette.

<i>No Security</i> 1998 live album by the Rolling Stones

No Security is a live album by the Rolling Stones released by Virgin Records in 1998. Recorded over the course of the band's 1997–1998 worldwide Bridges to Babylon Tour, it was the band's eighth official full-length live release.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">As Tears Go By (song)</span> 1964 pop song

"As Tears Go By" is a song written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Marianne Faithfull recorded and released it as a single in the United Kingdom in 1964. Her song peaked at number nine on both the UK and Irish singles charts. Later, the Rolling Stones recorded their own version, which was included on the American album December's Children . London Records released it as a single, which reached number six in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Bigger Bang Tour</span> 2005–07 concert tour by the Rolling Stones

A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album A Bigger Bang. At the time, it was the highest grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,524, before being surpassed by U2's 2009–11 U2 360 Tour, and eventually Taylor Swift's 2023–24 Eras Tour. The tour was chronicled on the video release The Biggest Bang, compiling full performances, several recordings from shows and documentaries. Notable concerts on the tour included a two-night stand in the autumn of 2006 at the Beacon Theatre filmed by Martin Scorsese for Shine a Light, and their half-time performance at Super Bowl XL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biggest Mistake</span> 2006 single by The Rolling Stones

"Biggest Mistake" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 2005 album A Bigger Bang. It was released on 21 August 2006 as the third single from the album, and reached number 51 in the UK Singles Chart.

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is a track by English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The track is over seven minutes long, and begins with a Keith Richards open-G tuned guitar intro. The main song lasts for two minutes and 43 seconds, after which it transforms into an extended improvisational jam. The entire track was captured in one take, with the jam being a happy accident; the band had assumed the tape machine had been stopped, and were surprised to find the entire session had been captured. Originally they were going to end the song before the jam started, but were so pleased with the jam that they decided to keep it in. Besides the regular Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards, Mick Taylor (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums) and Bill Wyman (bass), the track also features conga player Rocky Dijon, saxophonist Bobby Keys, organist Billy Preston and additional percussion by producer Jimmy Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction</span> 1965 single by the Rolling Stones

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff by Richards is widely considered one of the greatest hooks of all time. The song's lyrics refer to sexual frustration and commercialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Got Me Rocking</span> 1994 single by the Rolling Stones

"You Got Me Rocking" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from their 1994 album, Voodoo Lounge. The song was released as a single in the UK in September 1994, where it reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also released as a single in the United States, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in 1995. A recording from the 1997–1998 Bridges to Babylon Tour opened the 1998 live album No Security. It was also included on the Stones' 2002 career retrospective, Forty Licks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Away Eyes</span> 1978 single by the Rolling Stones

"Far Away Eyes" is the sixth track from the English rock band the Rolling Stones' 1978 album, Some Girls. It was released, as the B-side of the single "Miss You", on Rolling Stones Records, on 9 June 1978. Rolling Stone magazine made it the 73rd song on their list of 100 Greatest Rolling Stone's Songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagger–Richards</span> Songwriting, music production partnership

Jagger–Richards is the songwriting partnership between English musicians Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, founder members of rock band the Rolling Stones. They are one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in history. In addition to Jagger and Richards's songwriting partnership, they have also produced or co-produced numerous Rolling Stones albums under the pseudonym the Glimmer Twins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Stop (Rolling Stones song)</span> 2002 single by the Rolling Stones

"Don't Stop" is a single by rock band the Rolling Stones featured on their 2002 compilation album Forty Licks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doom and Gloom</span> 2012 single by the Rolling Stones

"Doom and Gloom" is the lead single taken from GRRR!, the 50th anniversary compilation album by the Rolling Stones. It was premiered on BBC Radio 2 on 11 October 2012. The song's recording marked the first time that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood had been in the studio together for seven years, since completing their 2005 album A Bigger Bang. A lyric video was released on YouTube the same day.

References

  1. Christgau, Robert (June 16, 2021). "Xgau Sez: June, 2021". And It Don't Stop. Substack . Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  2. A Bigger Bang. Virgin Records. 2005. pp. 14–15.
  3. "The Rolling Stones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  4. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  5. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2021.