MovieChat Forums > The Rolling Stones: She's a Rainbow Discussion > Have you seen a lady fairer?

Have you seen a lady fairer?

posted 5 days ago by agentalbert (3389)
8 replies | jump to latest

Funny that there's an IMDB entry for this song. Apparently Mick filmed some footage for some promo video at the time? Whatever.

But the song is one of my absolute favorites. Can anyone tell me, is there any meaning behind that that weird atonal violin breakdown towards the end that sounds like a fiddle player having an epileptic fit? That seems like a Brian Jones idea to me. Just not sure if anyone in the band has ever commented specifically on that and what if anything it was supposed to mean.

[–] Satan2016 (26194) 5 days ago

The PR team are entering all their youtube content on Imdb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va87qt0VZ2M

[–] BKB (11287) 5 days ago

Such a great song and out of the 1000's of songs the Stones have, I'm surprised they never did this one in Concert as opposed to all of the commercial tunes they play

[–] agentalbert (3389) a day ago

Probably not a song that would work for their typical stadium shows. Maybe they could have done it in one of their smaller theater shows. I don't know what their touring was like around 1967or why they never did it then. Maybe they just didn't travel with the backing musicians that would be needed to really do the song justice.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1584) a day ago

Here’s a video of them playing it in concert https://youtu.be/pMi221xb2UQ

They prob don’t play it that much since the album it came from was maligned by critics at the time.

[–] agentalbert (3389) 20 hours ago

Thanks for posting that, it's good to know they did it at least once, even if many years later. Not a band rendition. Mick does shorten the vocal phrasing, and unfortunately they don't really do that weird section with the strange manic fiddle. It's a song that has such a specific sound in it's original studio incarnation that just doesn't translate to the live stage, particularly the large stages they've mostly played.

I don't know if the band really cares or cared that the album got maligned at the time. So did plenty of other albums in their career, and they've played from everything. "2000 Light Years from Home" is from the same album, and that's one they did live quite a bit. I remember it being frequent on the Steel Wheels tour.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1584) 20 hours ago

Yeah those were the only two songs from their weird psychedelic period they played, but fairly late in their career. The stones were a little embarrassed by it at the time, people accused them of trying to copy the Beatles and Sgt Peppers. I think the music is just difficult to replicate on stage without all the weird production techniques and string sections. Also it’s pretty Brian Jones-y, and they try to downplay his contributions quite a bit and concentrate on other material from their career.

[–] agentalbert (3389) 20 hours ago

True enough. I wasn't around at the time. But their sound shifted in the next few years with Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and then the Mick Taylor era. But "She's A Rainbow" was included on the hits compilation they released in 1969, Through The Past Darkly. So even if the album wasn't considered a success, it seems like "She's A Rainbow" as a single was. I don't really find the album Satanic Majesties album a good listen, despite the two already mentioned tracks and "2000 Man". Listening to "Sing This All Together" drone on for near 8 minutes is painful. Psychedelic wasn't their strong suit.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1584) 20 hours ago

Satanic Majesties is a mixed bag, but a curious oddity of them venturing down a path they never touched again. I also quite enjoy their double A-side single We Love You/Dandelion, which was a hit in a lot of countries. Certainly better than anything they’ve released in the past 30 years!