Deconstructing Honky Tonk Women (Isolated Tracks)

Single 1969
Drums and Intro Cowbell 0:04-3:02
Bass 3:05-4:48
Rhythm Guitar, Cowbell, Piano and Brass 4:51-7:47
Lead Guitars 7:49-9:42
Vocals 9:45-12:27
Instrumental 12:30-15:30
Personal
Mick Jagger-Lead and Backing Vocals
Keith Richards-1966 Gibson ES-330TD, Harmony Vocals
Mick Taylor-1961 Gibson SG Standard
Bill Wyman-1968 Vox Astro IV Bass or 1964 Framus 51/50 Star De Luxe Bass
Charlie Watts-1960 Gretsch Round Badge Black Nitron Kit, Cowbell
Ian Stewart-1800s Hamburg Steinway Grand Piano
Jimmy Miller-Cowbell
Steve Gregory-Saxophone
Bud Beadle-Saxophone
Doris Troy-Backing Vocals
Madeline Bell-Backing Vocals
Patreon- / hjnintendo09

[@HJsCorn909]

Single 1969 Drums and Intro Cowbell 0:04-3:02 Bass 3:05-4:48 Rhythm Guitar, Cowbell, Piano and Brass 4:51-7:47 Lead Guitars 7:49-9:42 Vocals 9:45-12:27 Instrumental 12:30-15:30

[@alzo7891]

Gotta love Charlie's drumming: only two crashes in the whole song- one at the start and one at the end.

[@bcoldwell1]

What I love is no click track on this old stuff. Allows him to push the tempo from instrumental til the end

[@douglasleon7793]

Love comments like this

[@snarecat3441]

Played only what’s needed to rock the shit out of it.. most of us hit way too many cymbals way too often, play fills that only feel good to drummers .Charlie had the secret sauce!

[@1991LR]

The man was a genius!

[@brotherWesley]

What Mick T added was very subtle, like he was finishing a sentence Keith started, a gut level teleconference, if you would. Instantaneous. Taylor followed Keith in exactly the same way that Charlie Watts did. It was Keith that set the tempo, whichever song they were playing. And Charlie never fought him over it. And Mick Taylor came into the Stones prepared to support Keith and make every one of his ideas work. The veteran riff-meister was the leader of the Rolling Stones, and Taylor didn't question that any more than Watts did, they just followed, and closely in the leader's charge. His judgement Illuminated their compass. If his course was divergent, his way forward oddly altered to Zig, "ZIG!" went young Mick and Charlie Watts. There is convincing evidence that Taylor was paying close attention to Richards, and made a quick read of Keith's aims and intentions and general direction from his first few performances as new supporting axeman. On the astounding version of "Sympathy for the Devil" from "Get Yer Ya-yas Out", Keith fired off a blistering solo at 3:12, but burns out a bit unexpectedly at 4:25. Mick Taylor does not leave his leader hanging. After no more than 3 beats, Taylor picks it up, and Jagger tosses his lytical thread into the bonfire or pyre for Brian Jones, and would not sing another word as Devil's advocate, but only demand more and more of the guitar onslaught. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpyqnYt6rN9nY7csi=-67B12RgjiyQ54rT

[@JoseRamirez-nw7pg]

Mick Taylor’s years with the Stone’s were the absolute best and my favorite Stone’s era of all time!🎸😎

[@douglasleon7793]

Ronny Wood plays in 5 times the material Mick just 6 albumns

[@luisgonzagarodriguez7662]

No hay ninguna duda , es su época dorada !!!

[@vitamindeeznutz4102]

@@douglasleon7793And the albums Mick Taylor played on destroy all the forgotten Ronnie Wood albums

[@cultfilmfreakreviews]

the guitar fill that changed the band forever, Mick Taylor: 7:51 and that's Keith's opinion; Taylor added so much of what would become The Stones Country Rock Sound which separated them from their old bluesy sound

[@ibberman]

As did Ry Cooder.

[@cc65000]

I never realized how country this song was until I heard these isolated guitar tracks.

[@bradparker9664]

Thank you for posting this. This is the song that made me say "I've gotta get a guitar!!" In junior high. It never sounded right until I realized Keith is playing in Open G tuning. Dissecting these songs as a teenager would have been a lot easier if we had things like this around back then. Fabulous job!

[@markmarkofkane8167]

I always enjoyed playing Honky Tonk stereo version right channel to hear what was going on. The other channel was the vocal side.

[@ae3898]

That little Mick T. lick right at 9:00-genius.

[@albertocroudo7680]

Cómo te extraño Charly suenan tus palos todas mis noches en mi cabeza nos vemos pronto abrazo

[@vintagedrummer79]

Only Charlie can push the tempo like that and still make it feel great and natural. Really starts to push just before the first chorus. Kind of keeps going from there.

[@Drow67p]

Indeed it does just started my metronome at the beginning of the song and it was off by that first chorus.😂

[@johnbarry1965]

Best Drum intro ever!!! Charlie xxxx

[@cultfilmfreakreviews]

don't forget how important the bass is, and when it comes in, ACDC built a career of that

[@davegaskell7680]

Jimmy Miller on the cowbell though

[@franktaconelli9095]

Damn! I’m gonna cut my version to Charlie’s drumming!

[@krisscanlon4051]

All Jimmy Miller in arrangement of percussion...his live feel is all over this literally.

[@Mark27472]

It's also him on the cowbell. He was very hands on.

[@Rick_Cleland]

@@Mark27472 _"I gotta' have more cowbell."_

[@jomppe2800]

Keef & Mick. What a guitar duo!

[@nylesfrench3568]

More Cowbell Baby...Yeeaaahhh.

[@GarlandStringedInstruments]

OMG yes! So glad to have found this. Perhaps the best song from my lifetime favourite band. So very many to choose from though...

[@snarecat3441]

Miss you Charlie 🥁🥁😎

[@axiomist4488]

Faaantastic !!! Never noticed Bill, as the incognito policeman, being paid off by Keith. Hilarious !

[@carloseugeniocarlos4287]

Charlie Watts rules the whole music. R.ip .

[@Jay-jm2hd]

Thank you. This is an awesome resource. Very much appreciated.

[@genericgeorge]

Speeds up at 1.07, but it adds to the excitement

[@bristolfashion4421]

Justt love this series - really lets you understand what went on - thanks ! 🙂

[@nurknanker6105]

If this single didn't blow my 8 year old brain in 69, the picture sleeve sealed the deal. Thanx for all the revelation!

[@SuchStuffStephen]

This is spectacular thank you!

[@littleglimmer2325]

Bum note at 8.45! Beautiful. A REAL band. Keep with the feel or do again for perfection? No, stick with the feel.

[@pabloalifano6237]

Its a right note.

[@recordguy4321]

producer Jimmy Miller on opening cowbell

[@conniep8616]

I never knew Doris Troy sang on this record. My, what an underrated singer

[@allenf.5907]

Everyone singing together here - Mick, Keith, Doris Troy and Nanette Workman. Putting it down. Love the Isolated tracks series. Listen to the live at Hyde Park without the backing vocal. It needed the fire in the backing.

[@nurknanker6105]

Just 1 look!!

[@hectordelgado5225]

Ian stu Stewart!!!

[@petermills542]

The song that 1st gave me goosebumps aged about 8 years old !! 💥 🤣🎉 ( Radio first, then brother bought it. It cost 7shillings & 6 pence . I paid the sixpence!😂 )

[@brotherWesley]

HJ for President! I swear to God I'm writing his initials on my ballot every time I vote from now on.

[@ericzarbaugh9679]

Lovely

[@neilmclachlan3931]

Great vid, fascinating

[@danielsalisbury245]

This one hell of an advertisement for the Patreon. Bravo.

[@gdholmfirth]

The timing of the release of this in '69 always made me wonder if it was Brian Jones or Mick Taylor on the song.

[@HJsCorn909]

Mick Taylor had join them by this point

[@lordofthemound3890]

His first single with The Stones, I believe.

[@MichaelCaliri]

No Brian first for Bobby Keys besides MT

[@alfredgismondi5123]

At about 6:40 Keith takes his solo

[@nungkieq6721]

Good job... Youngkruuu...

[@justinjefferson5831]

Wotta great vid. Many thanks for your good works.

[@adrianpierce3047]

surprising amount of reverb on the vocal, makes since though in the mix

[@mick5137]

Since when has it made sense?

[@adrianpierce3047]

@@mick5137 ask a producer if your not sure ?

[@bcoldwell1]

Stomps clicks and coughs during guitar break. Love it

[@redchandler]

Amazing tracks!

[@yarpkibbelz7663]

The parts sound simple, but try to put together a song this cool

[@gegeluc]

Fantastic! Raw!!

[@davidtoyzan3622]

Oh, Hell Yeah. Nicely done.👍

[@snarecat3441]

The stones are so kool

[@dwodo21]

Am I hearing Mick’s guide vocal on the isolated drum track? The lyrics are faint, but sound different than the official version.

[@HJsCorn909]

Yea, Mick’s guide vocals can be heard in the drum track

[@BigSky1]

The first photo of the lady next to Madeline Bell is Nina Simone and not Doris Troy.

[@HJsCorn909]

No I’m pretty sure it’s Doris Troy. It’s a photo of her from the session she did with George Harrison at Trident

[@BigSky1]

@@HJsCorn909 Yes you are right. My mistake. I just looked at my copy of Doris Troy Apple album. It is a similar shot. She looked uncannily like Nina. 😀

[@brianmiller7735]

Hey big how are you I was just wondering has this ever come up about tuning does anybody ever think it's kind of like cheating to tune your guitar like in the open tuning where makes it easier to play chords I was just wondering cuz I can't I play guitar for a lot of years but I've never tunes my guitar any other way other than normally I don't know if you like the band or if you play guitar by Big sky but if you ever try to play the song The Night They drove Old Dixie down I tried it once with the you know I never read the music but this time I said I wanted to try to see what the chords what a play it cuz know and it was impossible was impossible to play the chords was so difficult to play you had to have eight eight or nine inch long fingers to reach the freaking the with the cords were now that had me wondering when I was doing that maybe that song was played in and open tuning where the strings wood with a strings wouldn't have been impossible to get to just wondering your take on that thank you

[@martshankleman]

Does Charlie deliberately deliberately speed up at the end of each verse? If he does it’s a clever way up building excitement.

[@HJsCorn909]

It seems like it

[@martshankleman]

@@a_bored_english_guy is it possible drum track was laid down first? That would make sense, in which Charlie deliberately speeded up, which I think sounds rather good, because it keeps adding energy to the record. Thoughts?

[@DJDee101]

Back in the days with no click tracks. Timing was pretty much at the drummer's whim. The speedup is probably not deliberate but certainly accepted as part of the feel of the song. Also engineers typically wanted to record the entire band simultaneously if possible, precisely to capture the energy and nuances.

[@lordofthemound3890]

Charlie always said that Keith was the real timekeeper for the band, and that he (Charlie) played off him (Keith). So it’s likely that Keith was the one speeding up, and Charlie was just following.

[@domenicdipilla3704]

How many guitar parts including Bill's bass? 4 or 5?

[@fpopee]

If the sound of these two guitars dont make you want to pick up a guitar then you probably need a doctor.

[@curtis11214]

So many guitars.. are they all in open G? it’s so hard to tell

[@HJsCorn909]

Keith's guitars are in Open G and Mick's are in Standard Tuning

[@def717]

WOW!!!

[@def717]

If you are racking up the views, it could just be me because I can't stop listening to it! Crazy good. Thank you!

[@tomslick2058]

Bill is good. But his Amp is always low. The Stones wanted those guitars loud and proud.

[@denis1966ification]

Thnx! Beautiful! No Nannette Newman in backing vocals?

[@HJsCorn909]

Not that I could hear

[@carlosgutierrez9766]

Nick Hopkins play piano. No Ian

[@HJsCorn909]

Pretty sure it was Ian but whatever, you believe you

[@tomslick2058]

Sway?

[@HJsCorn909]

Maybe

[@brotherWesley]

Please do Sway....I need to hear Jagger and Taylor's 1st masterpiece before I die. The mix is so gritty I can't tell how much Jagger learned from Keith, but it sounds like a whole lot.

[@popguynj]

what did you use to make this sounds great ?

[@HJsCorn909]

I mostly try and find proper stems or multitracks from the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games. If I can’t find any, I usually put the song through mvsep.com separator software and give them a tweak in audacity

[@curtis11214]

How come the guitars sound out of tune? By out of tune i mean relative to open G and standard tuning for the guitars. I tried playing along with the rhythm and it just sounds out of tune if that makes sense. Is the recording raised or lowered a half step?

[@nelsonkerr1119]

It's sharp. Some Stone's songs have been sped up slightly, so they're slightly sharp. I believe this is one of them. I tune my guitar sharp by about 1/4 step and it gets it close then fine tune to the recording from there.

[@curtis11214]

@@nelsonkerr1119 That makes more sense thank you! I tried tuning a half step and it still sounded kind of off but I’ll try this now.

[@slaterslater5944]

..or Keith was out and they tuned to him. I read some article about the recording of Wild Horses and apparently that was all over the place pitch wise.

[@silverantler9072]

Keith was tuned to open 'G' Flat at 432Hz not the standard 440hz

[@alfredgismondi5123]

The isolated guitar at 8:35 is Mick Taylor soloing not Keith.When they played it live , Keith takes solo

[@JTCurtisMusic]

That’s Keith. The tone, the inflections in his playing are so obviously him. Mick Taylor is weaving with him beforehand and afterwards, his tone is a bit brighter. Though there’s a line he plays close to the end that I always assumed was Keith but is Mick T in these isolated tracks.

[@brianmiller5265]

Hi JT I'm going to ask this one to you cuz you look like you know what you're talking about long long time ago before the internet you know you got information from books and also people in the business I always was told early on that Nick Taylor was not on honky tonk Woman he was not on hockey talk woman so maybe the song was finished and he added just a little something cuz I grew up saying it's all Keith before Mick Taylor but maybe he did that one little thing or something but not the solo also I was told that Brian Jones arranged the horn part before he left the band he arranged the horns so do you know about it have you heard anything about those two items thank you by the way I did this on voice text so that there's probably mistakes

[@BigSky1]

@@brianmiller5265 Mick Taylor overdubbed his guitar parts after the basic song was recorded. Brian played on early versions of the song but his parts were wiped. He did not arrange any horn parts. That is a myth that was once erroneously written in a book.

[@ednorko5128]

​@@JTCurtisMusic This is totally wrong Mick Taylor didn't even play on this one it's Keith

[@ednorko5128]

​@@JTCurtisMusic This is from Let It Bleed ,Keith play double duty on most of the tracks GIMME Shelter Honky-tonk Women to mentions a few Brian played on 2 Mick played on 2 not these songs though

[@batmanrobin8310]

I always knew it...MT was playing lead guitar on this!

[@ptownscribe1254]

Some, but it's another Keith-dominated track, including the solo, which he ALWAYS played live.

[@deeg8849]

Timeline on the track Spring 69, band is recording HTW and Brian adds guitar to the track. Early June 69 Brian leaves or is fired and replaced by Mick Taylor. Mick and Keith want Brian’s parts removed and Taylor to play his riffs (8:00). July 3, Brian dies. July 4 (less the 10 hours later) Stones in obvious mourning tape tv appearance for HTW and it’s also released as a single. Dirty deeds - done dirt cheap

[@lordofthemound3890]

What’s your source for the erased Brian parts? I’m not doubting you, it’s just that Brian wasn’t playing guitar all that often by ‘69, so a Brian guitar part here would be unusual and incredibly rare.

[@deeg8849]

@@lordofthemound3890 I read it in a couple of books (one of the many that I have on the Stones from those years). Brian was very enthusiastic about the song in the spring and if memory serves me right, he spoke to people about really digging the new single they we piled be releasing in the summer. Wikipedia even states that Jones was present and likely added early to the sessions. Word is his parts were later removed. Can’t say for certain but that’s what ive read. Cheers

[@0w3n27]

9:03

[@JFABALL2022]

Bass drum...