The Rolling Stones Top 75 Countdown (#24-22)

We're back to our weekend countdown of the top Rolling Stones songs. Today we'll get to hear Nos 24-22.

At #24 is a song that was co-written by Jagger, Richards, and the fabulous Marianne Faithfull, Mick's lover at the time. Debate still rages as to whether the song is about her.

"Here I lie, in my hospital bed" goes the creepy opening line, and from Richards' grim strums to guest Ry Cooder's sinister slide guitar, things only get more beautifully macabre. A nightmarish song about addiction and the attempts to kick the habit, it's one of the Stones' starkest, scariest recordings.

It was recorded in 1971 for the Stones' chef d'oeuvre, Sticky Fingers.

However, the first recorded version was by Marianne Faithfull. It was released as the b-side to her 1969 single Something Better.

Faithfull recorded the song again in 1979, during the sessions for her Broken English album, her triumphant return and reinvention; this version was subsequently released on a 12" single, and appears as a bonus track on the second disc of the 2013 deluxe edition of the album. It's this version that appears in all her "best of" collections.

We lighten up the mood with the song at #23: Come On is my second favorite Rolling Stones' song that's not their own composition. It is written by none other than Rock 'N' Roll legend Chuck Berry. His own version failed to chart in the US Top 100, but it's a classic. Telling the simple tale of car trouble and girl trouble (in that order of preference), it contains the great line "everytime the phone rings, sounds like thunder, some stupid jerk trying to reach another number". I mean, we've all been there, haven't we?

The Rolling Stones' version had the distinction of being their debut single, way back in 1963. It reached #21 in the UK. The Stones' version was speeded up and roughed up, giving it a sort of proto-Punk sound.

Finally for today, at #22, we have Under My Thumb. Recorded in March 1966, it appears as an album track on 1966's Aftermath. Although it was never released as a single in English-speaking countries, it is one of the band's more popular songs from the period, appearing frequently on best-of compilations. In 1968, it was released as a single in Japan.

Under My Thumb is best known for its lyrics, which came off like a misogynist screed, describing an aggressive woman subordinated into one who "talks when she's spoken to," and is alternately described as a "squirmin' dog," a "Siamese cat" and "the sweetest pet." Yet the music itself is supremely cool and seductive, defined by Jones' beguiling marimba and Richards' understated guitar, which add a vaguely swishy softness that undercuts Jagger's bravado. Jagger later said his lyrics were an honest reflection of "too many bad relationships" he was going through at the time. The song is like a Motown number that wound up at the dark end of the street, and indeed, a cloud seemed to follow it throughout the Sixties. Covered by the Who in solidarity when the Stones stood trial on drug charges in 1967, it was the soundtrack to the death of Meredith Hunter at Altamont two years later. Yet in terms of songcraft, it remains among their most undeniable moments.

Here's the Altamont live version:

Here's the version by the Who:

A version by Wayne Gibson, recorded in 1966, did not make the charts at the time, but later became a favourite on the Northern Soul scene. In 1974 it was reissued, and reached #17 in the UK.

In time, female singers reappropriated the song: Tina Turner covered the song for her 1975 album Acid Queen.

Also, Kim Carnes released a cover version of the song in 2015 from the album 80's Re: Covered. Here she is, performing the song live as the musical guest on the cult classic comedy show Fridays, in the early 80s.