In Another Land
Encyclopedia
"In Another Land" is a song by Bill Wyman
, and the third track on The Rolling Stones
album Their Satanic Majesties Request
. It was released as a single a week before the album.
Written by bassist Bill Wyman, "In Another Land" is the only Rolling Stones song to feature Wyman on lead vocals, and one of only three Rolling Stones songs to be written by him (the other being "Downtown Suzie" and the unreleased "Goodbye Girl"). The single was released in December 1967, credited to Bill Wyman, with the Stones' "The Lantern" as the B-side
. It peaked at number 87 on the United States pop chart.
asked him if he had anything that he'd like to record. "...I'd been messing with this song. It was a bit... what I thought was kind of spacy, you know... a bit kind of Satanic Majesties-like. And psychedelic in a way."
Lyrically, Wyman stated that "The idea for the song is about this guy who wakes up from a dream and finds himself in another dream." The song describes events that transpire in a dreamlike state:
Johns showed the song to singer Mick Jagger
, and guitarists Keith Richards
and Brian Jones
who all liked it and decided to include it on the record.
The musicians on the song are Wyman on lead vocals and bass, Small Faces vocalist Steve Marriott
on 12-string acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Ronnie Lane
of the Small Faces on backing vocals, Nicky Hopkins
on harpsichord
, mellotron
and piano
, Charlie Watts
on drums, with Jagger and Richards adding backing vocals at a later stage of the recording and Richards also plays guitar.
At the conclusion of the track as heard on the album, Wyman himself can be heard snoring. He was unaware this had been tagged onto his song until he first played the completed album. He learned later that one night when he had fallen asleep in the studio, Jagger and Richards miked him up and recorded him snoring, and stuck it onto his track as a joke. This does not appear on the single.
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...
, and the third track on 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...
album Their Satanic Majesties Request
Their Satanic Majesties Request
Their Satanic Majesties Request is the sixth British and eighth American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released on 8 December 1967 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States by London Records...
. It was released as a single a week before the album.
Written by bassist Bill Wyman, "In Another Land" is the only Rolling Stones song to feature Wyman on lead vocals, and one of only three Rolling Stones songs to be written by him (the other being "Downtown Suzie" and the unreleased "Goodbye Girl"). The single was released in December 1967, credited to Bill Wyman, with the Stones' "The Lantern" as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. It peaked at number 87 on the United States pop chart.
Background
The song was recorded on a night when Wyman had shown up to the studio and found that the session had been cancelled. Feeling frustrated that he had potentially wasted time in driving to the studio, engineer Glyn JohnsGlyn Johns
Glyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
asked him if he had anything that he'd like to record. "...I'd been messing with this song. It was a bit... what I thought was kind of spacy, you know... a bit kind of Satanic Majesties-like. And psychedelic in a way."
Lyrically, Wyman stated that "The idea for the song is about this guy who wakes up from a dream and finds himself in another dream." The song describes events that transpire in a dreamlike state:
Johns showed the song to singer 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 guitarists 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 Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
who all liked it and decided to include it on the record.
The musicians on the song are Wyman on lead vocals and bass, Small Faces vocalist Steve Marriott
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
on 12-string acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Ronnie Lane
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands; the Small Faces where he was nicknamed "Plonk", – and, after losing the band's frontman, Faces, with two new...
of the Small Faces on backing vocals, 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....
on harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, 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, with Jagger and Richards adding backing vocals at a later stage of the recording and Richards also plays guitar.
At the conclusion of the track as heard on the album, Wyman himself can be heard snoring. He was unaware this had been tagged onto his song until he first played the completed album. He learned later that one night when he had fallen asleep in the studio, Jagger and Richards miked him up and recorded him snoring, and stuck it onto his track as a joke. This does not appear on the single.
Personnel
- Bill WymanBill WymanBill 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...
– Vocals, bass guitar - Charlie WattsCharlie WattsCharles 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:...
– Drums - Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas 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....
– Piano, organ, harpsichord, Mellotron - Ronnie LaneRonnie LaneRonald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands; the Small Faces where he was nicknamed "Plonk", – and, after losing the band's frontman, Faces, with two new...
– Backing vocals - Steve MarriottSteve MarriottStephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
– Backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar - Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir 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....
– Backing vocals - Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith 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...
– Acoustic guitar, backing vocals