Ventilator Blues
Encyclopedia
"Ventilator Blues" is a song by English rock and roll
band the Rolling Stones
featured on their 1972 release Exile on Main St.
"Ventilator Blues" marks the first and only time guitarist Mick Taylor
would be given credit alongside regular Stones scribes Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
. While his exact amount of input is unknown, Taylor's contribution of the song's opening slide riff is considered the main reason he was given the credit, as it drives the song. The song itself is a low and lumbering blues
number, with Bill Janovitz
saying in his review, "the instrumental arrangement clearly aims for the Chess Studios
approach." Notable is Jagger's double tracked
lead vocal, double tracking being a rarely used studio device. Janovitz concludes, "Jagger takes the Muddy Waters
and Howlin' Wolf
inspiration of the song's origins and does his best to betray the fact that he is a skinny middle-class English kid, convincingly delivering the time-bomb lyric with appropriate swagger..."
On pianist Nicky Hopkins
notable contribution, Janovitz says, "[Hopkins plays] a rhythmically complex piano part on the verses, weaving in and out of the swooping guitar lick on the first verse and then building as the arrangement continues, playing nervous, jittery right-handed upper-register trills. The pianist creates scary tension on an already claustrophobic and malevolent-sounding song." The song is noted for its rising and falling chord progression, puncutated by the saxophone of Bobby Keys
and the trumpet and trombone of Jim Price
. Keeping beat is Charlie Watts
on drums and Bill Wyman
on bass who, although frequently absent during the recording sessions for Exile, made it on this occasion. Richards performs electric guitar as well as a low, echoing, strummed acoustic that shadows Taylor's running main riff. On top of that riff Taylor plays one of his famous outro solos over Jagger's lingering question to the listener;
The song then begins a slow fade-in to the following track, "I Just Want to See His Face
".
, Villa Nellcôte
. A well-known feature of the songs recorded in that basement for Exile was the tendency of the heat to distort the guitar's strings and the close atmosphere lending the songs a distinct, albeit undefined, sound. Richards said, "On 'Ventilator Blues' we got some weird sound of something that had gone wrong - some valve or tube that had gone. If something was wrong you just forgot about it. You'd leave it alone and come back tomorrow and hope it had fixed itself. Or give it a good kick." Recording concluded in the early months of 1972 at Los Angeles
' Sunset Sound Studios.
On the song, Watts said in 2003, "We always rehearse 'Ventilator Blues' [for tours]. It's a great track, but we never play it as well as the original. Something will not be quite right; either Keith will play it a bit differently or I'll do it wrong. It's a fabulous number, but a bit of a tricky one. Bobby Keys wrote the rhythm part, which is the clever part of the song. Bobby said, 'Why don't you do this?' and I said, 'I can't play that,' so Bobby stood next me to clapping the thing and I just followed his timing. In the world of Take Five
, it's nothing, but it threw me completely and Bobby just stood there and clapped while we were doing the track - and we've never quite got it together as well as that."
The Rolling Stones have only performed the song live once, at Pacific Coliseum
in Vancouver, B.C on opening night of the 1972 North American Tour in support of Exile on Main Street.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
featured on their 1972 release Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
"Ventilator Blues" marks the first and only time guitarist Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
would be given credit alongside regular Stones scribes Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
. While his exact amount of input is unknown, Taylor's contribution of the song's opening slide riff is considered the main reason he was given the credit, as it drives the song. The song itself is a low and lumbering blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
number, with Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz is best known as the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Buffalo Tom.-History:After enrolling at the University of Massachusetts, Janovitz formed Buffalo Tom with fellow students Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. A friendship with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr...
saying in his review, "the instrumental arrangement clearly aims for the Chess Studios
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
approach." Notable is Jagger's double tracked
Doubletracking
Double tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the...
lead vocal, double tracking being a rarely used studio device. Janovitz concludes, "Jagger takes the Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
inspiration of the song's origins and does his best to betray the fact that he is a skinny middle-class English kid, convincingly delivering the time-bomb lyric with appropriate swagger..."
On pianist Nicky Hopkins
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
notable contribution, Janovitz says, "[Hopkins plays] a rhythmically complex piano part on the verses, weaving in and out of the swooping guitar lick on the first verse and then building as the arrangement continues, playing nervous, jittery right-handed upper-register trills. The pianist creates scary tension on an already claustrophobic and malevolent-sounding song." The song is noted for its rising and falling chord progression, puncutated by the saxophone of Bobby Keys
Bobby Keys
Bobby Keys is an American saxophone player, and has performed with other musicians as a member of one of the notable horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by The Rolling Stones, The Who, Harry Nilsson, Delaney Bramlett, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, Eric Clapton and Joe...
and the trumpet and trombone of Jim Price
Jim Price
Jim Price may refer to:*Jim Price , former NFL tight end*Jim Price , former Detroit Tigers catcher and current sportscaster*Jim Price , manager of the New York Gothams...
. Keeping beat is Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
on drums and Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
on bass who, although frequently absent during the recording sessions for Exile, made it on this occasion. Richards performs electric guitar as well as a low, echoing, strummed acoustic that shadows Taylor's running main riff. On top of that riff Taylor plays one of his famous outro solos over Jagger's lingering question to the listener;
The song then begins a slow fade-in to the following track, "I Just Want to See His Face
I Just Want to See His Face
"I Just Want to See His Face" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1972 release Exile on Main St."I Just Want to See His Face" is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. On the recording, Jagger said in 1992, "'I Just Want to See His Face' was a jam with...
".
Recording and aftermath
Recording on "Ventilator Blues" began in late 1971. The Stones chose to record the majority of the song deep in the poorly ventilated basement of Richards' home in the south of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Villa Nellcôte
Nellcote
Nellcôte is a 19th century sixteen-room mansion on the waterfront of Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Côte d'Azur region of southern France...
. A well-known feature of the songs recorded in that basement for Exile was the tendency of the heat to distort the guitar's strings and the close atmosphere lending the songs a distinct, albeit undefined, sound. Richards said, "On 'Ventilator Blues' we got some weird sound of something that had gone wrong - some valve or tube that had gone. If something was wrong you just forgot about it. You'd leave it alone and come back tomorrow and hope it had fixed itself. Or give it a good kick." Recording concluded in the early months of 1972 at Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' Sunset Sound Studios.
On the song, Watts said in 2003, "We always rehearse 'Ventilator Blues' [for tours]. It's a great track, but we never play it as well as the original. Something will not be quite right; either Keith will play it a bit differently or I'll do it wrong. It's a fabulous number, but a bit of a tricky one. Bobby Keys wrote the rhythm part, which is the clever part of the song. Bobby said, 'Why don't you do this?' and I said, 'I can't play that,' so Bobby stood next me to clapping the thing and I just followed his timing. In the world of Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
, it's nothing, but it threw me completely and Bobby just stood there and clapped while we were doing the track - and we've never quite got it together as well as that."
The Rolling Stones have only performed the song live once, at Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum is an indoor arena, at Hastings Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Completed in 1968, at the former site of the Pacific National Exhibition, the arena currently holds 16,281, for ice hockey, though capacity at its opening was 15,713....
in Vancouver, B.C on opening night of the 1972 North American Tour in support of Exile on Main Street.