Track Listing

1. Dancing With Mr D
2. 100 Years Ago
3. Coming Down Again
4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
5. Angie
6. Silver Train
7. Hide Your Love
8. Winter
9. Can You Hear The Music
10. Star Star

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13662 in Music
• Released on: 2009-05-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 47 minutes

CD Description
Originally issued in 1973, Goats Head Soup was another transatlantic chart-topper for the Stones. Recording started at Byron Lee’s Dynamic Sound Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, in late 1972 and was completed in London and Los Angeles the following year. Packaged in another iconic sleeve shot by photographer David Bailey, it’s fondly remembered for the ballad "Angie", a US number one, and the swear words on the raunchy closer "Star Star". The ominous opener "Dancing With Mr. D", the funky "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" and the gorgeous "Winter" have been a tad overshadowed by the rest of the group’s mighty canon and are well worth rediscovering.

Customer Reviews

5 stars for the music; 3 stars for the package
So the first batch of Stones remasters are upon us and what are we getting for our hard earned cash?

The packaging is the same as the previous Virgin issues from 1997, no extra photos from the cover shoot or sessions. No insightful sleeve notes from someone like Roy Carr or Charles Shaar-Murray whose long out of print Rolling Stones - An Illustrated Record is still required reading.

The mastering is an improvement over previous issues especially the bass and drums but in this case the original American master tape has been used complete with sloppy vocal overdub to mask the reference to "feminine freshness" that appears on Star Star. A case for retaining the previous Virgin issue which has the overdub missing and is as intended.

On the down side the discs have not been issued as hybrid s.a.c.d. like the A.B.K.C.O. issues of the Stones' Decca back catalogue from a few years back which set the bar higher for Stones issues.. The c.d. cases are also those flimsy super audio jewel boxes which seem to be the fashion these days and they break all too easily.

I don't have too much to say about the music other than that this is a much under rated album having initially been viewed as a major disappointment after the majestic hedonism of Exile On Main Street. It is worthy of reappraisal as it does still contain much of what The Stones do superbly; just not as up tempo as other albums.

A Stones nut like me will buy without hesitation. Others will have to decide if the sound improvement is worth the extra outlay. An opportunity missed?

Give the goat a chance!
There may be a smidge of nostalgia here, but Goat's Head Soup will always be my favourite Stones album. I have had the vinyl record since it was first released in the 70's and it has been played countless times. Silver Train starts the second side with a flourish, after the soulful Angie, and I've always felt this album's running order lent itself well to a short break after the hit song. But there is so much to this album besides Angie! In those days the Stones experimented with the longer track and more complex musical structures; the sublime Coming Down Again, Winter and Hide your Love are proof enough. This is a real album and should be enjoyed end to end!

A little more slick & polished, but still the Stones
Many years ago on Channel 4, as part of its art strand, there was a programme called 'J'accuse..'which took potshots at cultural icons and debunked legends. One such programme concerned the Stones and their musical output from the early seventies onwards was dismissed.
If 'Exile On Main Street' was the creative highpoint of the Stones Mark 2 (and it's far from perfect for some - vocals mixed badly, Keith cutting into Jagger's vocals off key) why should everything that followed be so easily dismissed.
'Goats Head Soup' has finally started to get its due respect as other reviews on this site have clearly seen fit to give it 5 stars.
Approached as a companion album to 'Sticky Fingers' rather than a follow up to 'Exile...' things to start to make more sense. Some of the songs follow the more sophisticated arrangements of 'Sticky Fingers' numbers - eg 'Winter' could be a sister to 'Moonlight Mile'. The rock ballad '100 Years Ago' features some of Mick Taylor's most expressive guitar playing as Billy Preston brings the song to a funky conclusion.
In spite of the good taste on show, the Stones still get lowdown dirty rude on a Chuckesque riff (see Star Star and it's lyrical content which wonderfully evokes everything right and wrong about the seventies.)
Don't take too much notice of the critical consensus of the time regarding the Stones seventies output or you'll miss out.