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| "Rocks Off" | |
|---|---|
 Japanese single picture sleeve | |
| Song bythe Rolling Stones | |
| from the albumExile on Main St. | |
| Released | 12 May 1972 (1972-05-12) |
| Recorded | July 1971 – March 1972 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:32 |
| Label | Rolling Stones Records |
| Songwriter | Jagger/Richards |
| Producer | Jimmy Miller |
"Rocks Off" is the opening song on theRolling Stones' 1972 double albumExile on Main St. Recorded between July 1971 and March 1972, "Rocks Off" is one of the songs on the album that was partially recorded atVilla Nellcôte, a houseKeith Richards rented in the south of France during the summer and autumn of 1971. Overdubs and final mixing for the song were later done atSunset Sound studios in Los Angeles, California, between December 1971 and March 1972.
The lyrics to the song, difficult to hear since the vocals were mixed very low, describe subjective dissociation, as if from intravenous drug injection. The song features a sudden divergence near the two minute fifteen second mark into a psychedelic jam of sorts, withMick Jagger's vocals electronically distorted and phased, and the guitar chords stretched.
I feel so hypnotized, can't describe the scene
It's all mesmerized, all that inside me
The song also contained an early use of the word "fuck" in recorded popular music, with the lyric: "Plug in, flush out and fire the fuckin feed". This is a reference to intervenous drugs.[2]
The song's mix is notoriously haphazard, as many instruments, and even the lead vocals, fade in and out of prominence.[3] The villa's basement, where many of the songs were recorded, was extremely hot and many of the guitars could not stay in tune as a result.Jimmy Miller produced the track, and it features session menNicky Hopkins on piano,Jim Price on brass, andBobby Keys on saxophone, as well as regular band members Jagger (lead vocals), Richards (backing vocals, guitar),Charlie Watts (drums),Mick Taylor (guitar), andBill Wyman (bass).
"Rocks Off" was released as a single in Japan. It was played through the album's1972 North American Tour and1973's Winter Tour of Australasia, during which it was the third song in-between "Bitch" and "Gimme Shelter". The song was only played at the first of two opening shows in Baton Rouge during the1975 Tour of the Americas, and then dropped from any setlist until theVoodoo Lounge Tour of 1994. A live recording was captured during the band's 2002–2003Licks Tour and released on the 2004live albumLive Licks.
AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny claims that the song "perfectly sets the mood for what's to follow – murky, gritty, and menacingly raw, its strung-out incoherence captures the record's debauched brilliance with marble-mouthed eloquence."[3] AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine considers the song a masterpiece.[4] Jonathan Zwickel ofPitchfork considers it "some of the Rolling Stones' most enduring and soulful work".[5]
