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Name: Fender Bender
E-Mail:
Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Keith's greatest riff?
Date: Friday, February 17, 2017
Time: 7:29:00 AM
Remote Address: 174.208.4.162
Message ID: 306622
Parent ID: 306612
Thread ID: 306606
The "Satisfaction" riff was a transposition of Martha & The Vandellas' vocal refrain from their 1965 hit single "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide". Keith was not beyond borrowing from others around this time, as evidenced by the Stones earlier '65 hit "The Last Time" which was mostly lifted from The Staples Singers recording of "The May Be The Last Time", courtesy of Keith's taking note that there was a hook or two (or chorus) for the taking.
One of the things that makes the "Satisfaction" riff unique is not only the originality so much as the tone, which centered around Keith's pioneering use of a fuzz box on the recording. I remember a lot of discussion as to whether it was even a guitar playing the riff. Some (incorrectly) insisted that it was a saxophone, and it did mimic the tone of a sax but discerning ears could tell the difference. At any rate, the riff on that song had as much to do with its success as Mick's lyrics and vocal.
"Brown Sugar" popped in my head first since Keith's riffs are largely associated with open chord tunings on guitars with the 6th string removed, something that first surfaced on "Beggars Banquet". There have been plenty of those over the years, but "Satisfaction" certainly stands out as a memorable riff before the later transformation in playing style, which appears to have been further developed by Keith's association with Ry Cooder during the "Let It Bleed" sessions. Not to mention the addition of Mick Taylor to the band, where the division of labor had Keith coming up with chord riffs while Taylor handled most of the lead work.
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