Mick Jagger / Keith Richards / 4:52
Musicians
Mick Jagger: vocals
Keith Richards: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Mick Taylor: slide guitar, bass
Charlie Watts: drums
Nicky Hopkins: piano, organ (?)
Unidentified musicians: backing vocals
Recorded
Dynamic Sound Studios, Kingston, Jamaica: November 23–December 14, 1972
Village Recorders, Los Angeles: January 27–30, 1973
Island Studios, London: May 28–June 8, 1973
Olympic Sound Studios, London: May 7–17, July 6–9, 1973
Technical Team
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Sound engineers: Andy Johns, Rob Fraboni, Baker Bigsby
Assistant sound engineers: Carlton Lee, Howard Kilgour, Doug Bennett
Goats Head Soup begins with a dance macabre. Lord, keep your hand off me/I’m dancin’ with Mr. D. Might this D stand for the devil, whom the Stones singer is so fond of invoking in his songs? And as it is only a short step from the devil to death, Mr. D. could equally be a symbol of the grim reaper, hence the lugubrious atmosphere, the cemetery in which the air is simultaneously sweet and sick. Hence, too, the lady in black, wearing black silk gloves and a black silk hat. Whoever Mr. D. may be, the character in the song is approaching his final encounter with him, and lists various ways in which he might meet his end: poison put in my glass, the bite of a snake, a drink of Belladonna on a Toussaint night, the settling of scores on a corner in New York City, a forty-four in West Virginia. “Dancing with Mr. D.” was chosen as the flip side of the single “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” released in December 1973.
For the opening track on their new album, the Stones chose a number with something of a funk-rock feel that hangs on a Keith Richards riff. The vibe has changed dramatically from Exile on Main St. The blues rock of Villa Nellcôte has given way to a more crafted and formatted and less spontaneous sound. Mick Jagger comes across as entirely in his element, although a glance at the 1973 promotional video reveals that he is pretty much the only member of the band who is really having a good time. Charlie Watts ensures a solid rhythm, supported on bass not by Bill Wyman, but by Mick Taylor, who also plays a number of nicely felt phrases on slide guitar. On piano is the unstinting Nicky Hopkins, who also seems to be playing the organ in the intro. What appears to be a fuzz bass can be heard in the refrains (for example, at 2:17), but unfortunately this does not come through clearly in the mix and might even be Billy Preston’s clavinet. Mick doubles himself on some of his phrases and is supported by various unidentified backing vocalists. Although a reasonably good track, “Dancing with Mr. D.” was perhaps not the best choice to follow immediately after Exile.