Almost Hear You Sigh
Encyclopedia
"Almost Hear You Sigh" is a Grammy-nominated song by The Rolling Stones
from their 1989
album Steel Wheels
.
, Keith Richards
and Steve Jordan
, the song was first written and recorded for possible inclusion on Keith Richards' first solo album Talk is Cheap
. A year or so later Richards played the track for Chris Kimsey
and Jagger while recording in Montserrat
from March through June for the Steel Wheels sessions. Jordan's writing credit stems from his work with Richards in 1987 and 1988.
Jagger changed some of the lyrics as evidenced in comparison to popular bootlegs of the Richards-Jordan collaboration, but the mood and melody of the song remain in the Rolling Stones track. Charlie Watts
adds a thumping bass march to the later song where Richards' sharp, slashing, trademark rhythm guitar
is the main percussion on the slightly slower, meandering jam that extended to ten minutes with uncredited piano playing.
in the US, going slightly higher in the UK, and number one for one week on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The fact that the B-side was a Steel Wheels retread, "Break the Spell," and the Rolling Stones comeback 1989 North American tour had finished in December, the song got limited radio airplay. A music video was shot in black and white during the band's 1989 visit to Toronto for two shows at the Skydome.
USA Today music critic Edna Gundersen noted that Jagger's vocals and Richards' guitar playing sounded best on slower Steel Wheels tracks such as "Almost Hear You Sigh." SF Weekly marks it as one of the Stones' best ballads recorded after 1971. However, Parry Gettelman of the Orlando Sentinel marked the track's Grammy nomination as that of a relatively uninspiring song.
The song has been performed rarely since its release, being featured only on the Urban Jungle Tour leg of the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
. It has failed to yet appear on any Rolling Stones compilation offerings.
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...
from their 1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
album Steel Wheels
Steel Wheels
Steel Wheels is the 19th British and 21st American studio album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1989. Heralded as a major comeback upon its release, the project is notable for the patching up of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' relationship, a reversion to a more classic style of music and...
.
Composition and recording
Written by Mick JaggerMick 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....
, 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...
and Steve Jordan
Steve Jordan (musician)
Steve Jordan is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, musical director and Grammy Award-winning artist, who has made a name for himself as a producer from the Bronx in New York City. A graduate of the Fiorello H...
, the song was first written and recorded for possible inclusion on Keith Richards' first solo album Talk is Cheap
Talk Is Cheap
Talk Is Cheap is the solo album debut by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released following a brief creative and personal fallout with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received glowing reviews upon its release....
. A year or so later Richards played the track for Chris Kimsey
Chris Kimsey
Christopher Kenneth Kimsey is a record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' Undercover and Steel Wheels albums...
and Jagger while recording in Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
from March through June for the Steel Wheels sessions. Jordan's writing credit stems from his work with Richards in 1987 and 1988.
Jagger changed some of the lyrics as evidenced in comparison to popular bootlegs of the Richards-Jordan collaboration, but the mood and melody of the song remain in the Rolling Stones track. 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:...
adds a thumping bass march to the later song where Richards' sharp, slashing, trademark rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
is the main percussion on the slightly slower, meandering jam that extended to ten minutes with uncredited piano playing.
Release and reception
Released as the album's third single on January 1990, "Almost Hear You Sigh" made it halfway up the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the US, going slightly higher in the UK, and number one for one week on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The fact that the B-side was a Steel Wheels retread, "Break the Spell," and the Rolling Stones comeback 1989 North American tour had finished in December, the song got limited radio airplay. A music video was shot in black and white during the band's 1989 visit to Toronto for two shows at the Skydome.
USA Today music critic Edna Gundersen noted that Jagger's vocals and Richards' guitar playing sounded best on slower Steel Wheels tracks such as "Almost Hear You Sigh." SF Weekly marks it as one of the Stones' best ballads recorded after 1971. However, Parry Gettelman of the Orlando Sentinel marked the track's Grammy nomination as that of a relatively uninspiring song.
The song has been performed rarely since its release, being featured only on the Urban Jungle Tour leg of the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo,...
. It has failed to yet appear on any Rolling Stones compilation offerings.