A Taylor Swift fan but also a Stones fan though, after seeing the band last December I can’t hel[ hoping they call it a career after this concert, I envied Chicago where Jagger brought out Taylor Swift to share a song.
But after hearing it, I wish they had chosen a different song to cover. Marianne Faithful performed “As Tears Go By” like an iceberg during global warming: chilly and melting at the same time. Taylor doesn’t need those sort of comparisons and perhaps needless to say, she does nothing at all to influence our memories of the young Miss Faithful.
Taylor is a greater talent, but not a greater singer and as attractive as Taylor is, she can’t compare with the aristocratic glamour girl so well beyond our reach that was faithful.
The Stones have mishandled their tour in strange, out of touch, ways. They overpriced tickets, they kept the dates too close to their chests, and from the extreme excitement of December 2012, they have fallen to earth with a bang. Once you don’t sell out tour dates, the additional money from overpriced tickets lose their cachet: a sell out breeds interest.
And they have mishandled Taylor, why not give us, I dunno “Dead Flowers” –something with a little grit to it, instead of this manifesto. Or if they wanted the Marianne comparison, why not “Sister Morphin”? Stretch her out a little. It has been a long time since “wha’ wha’ I love knitting y’all…”
But this is what we got. Nice legs. All four of them.