Mick Jagger / Keith Richards / 2:06
Musicians
Mick Jagger: vocals
Keith Richards: lead guitar, 12-string (?) acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Brian Jones: rhythm guitar
Bill Wyman: bass
Charlie Watts: drums
James W. Alexander: tambourine
Unidentified musician(s): hand claps
Recorded
RCA Studios, Hollywood: September 5 or 6, 1965
Technical Team
Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
Sound engineer: Dave Hassinger
“Gotta Get Away” is the only Jagger-Richards song on the first side of the LP Out of Our Heads. Its narrator has had enough of his girlfriend as a result of all her lies. He can no longer stand to see [her] face, even in pictures of her on his wall. In short, he has decided: I got to get away. Mick Jagger sings the song in a tone of justified reproachfulness. The Stones’ singer is thus lifting the curtain on the nature of love: dishonesty in an affair of the heart can only end badly. This can perhaps be seen as a foretaste of the sexism displayed (or cultivated?) by the London gang.
“Gotta Get Away” is definitely not the best song written by the duo during this early stage of their career. This has led some people to suggest that it was mere filler. Be that as it may, it nevertheless possesses a particular atmosphere that enabled the Stones to stray off the path of blues, rock ’n’ roll, and soul and try something new. Could this explain why it was excluded from the track listing of the US version of the album and instead released as a single?
This is the third time the Stones had recorded for their new album at the RCA Studios. During early September 1965 they worked on a number of self-penned songs including “Gotta Get Away.” The feel of the song immediately brings to mind a combination of the Beatles and the Byrds. Jagger does not give his best vocal performance, with some passages lacking a certain assurance despite Keith Richards providing a helping hand with the harmonies. “Gotta Get Away” is actually dominated by the guitars. There seems to a 12-string acoustic on the recording, no doubt Keith’s Harmony 1270, as well as a rhythm part presumably played by Brian on his Gibson Firebird VII and an overdubbed lead guitar, also played by Keith on his Epiphone Casino. Charlie Watts, who is completely at ease in this type of groove, is supported by hand claps and tambourine provided by James W. Alexander (a talented musician, producer, and composer and a former producer of the Soul Stirrers and Sam Cooke). Bill Wyman also lends his support with a very pop-rock bass line, but overall, this number, likable though it may be, lacks conviction. Moreover, tighter timing would have helped. “Gotta Get Away” was selected for the B-side of “As Tears Go By,” which was released in the United States on December 18, 1965.