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Mick Jagger — Memo From Turner
Album: Performance
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2000









Released: 1970
Length: 4:00
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Didn't I see you down in San Antone on a hot and dusty night?
We were eating eggs in Sammy's
When the black man there drew his knife
Aw, you drowned that Jew in Rampton
As he washed his sleeveless shirt
You know, that Spanish-speaking gentlemen
The one we all called "Kurt"

Come now, gentleman, I know there's some mistake
How forgetful I'm becoming, now you fixed your bus'ness straight

I remember you in Hemlock Road in nineteen fifty-six
You're a faggy little leather boy with a smaller piece of stick
You're a lashing, smashing hunk of man;
Your sweat shines sweet and strong
Your organs working perfectly, but there's a part that's not screwed on

Weren't you at the coke convention back in nineteen sixty-five
You're the misbred, grey executive I've seen heavily advertised
You're the great, gray man whose daughter licks policemen's buttons clean
You're the man who squats behind the man who works the soft machine

Come now, gentleman, your love is all I crave
You'll still be in the circus when I'm laughing, laughing on my grave

When the old men do the fighting and the young men all look on
And the young girls eat their mothers meat from tubes of plasticon
Be wary of these my gentle friends of all the skins you breed
They have a tasty habitthey eat the hands that bleed

So remember who you say you are and keep your noses clean
Boys will be boys and play with toys so be strong with your beast
Oh Rosie dear, doncha think it's queer, so stop me if you please
The baby is dead, my lady said, "you gentlemen, why you all work for me"
Comments (149)add comment
Absolutely the best Mick ever did.  The scene from Performance is Mick at his best, the quint essential rock star.
Ry Cooder is why this song sounds so good, such an amazing versatile musician.
Some songs are ageless portraits; priceless rocking jams -- and THIS is one of them!
1970: Mick invents rap.
Posted 5 years ago by unclehud:

Well, well, well.  A movie with Mick Jagger (Mr Turner) and Anita Pallenberg (playing his live-in woman)?  I'll be burning Netflix down looking for this one!

..................................................

From IMDB's Trivia section:  Keith Richards was so angry about the sex scenes between Mick Jagger and his (Keith's) girlfriend Anita Pallenberg that he refused to play while The Rolling Stones recorded "Memo from Turner" for the soundtrack. Ry Cooder filled in, giving the song its signature slide guitar accompaniment.


Found it, but not in Netflix's DVD collection.  Search your streaming services, because I think it's available.    

Performance, 1970,   IMDB rating 6.7.  Reasonably good movie featuring the typical "psychedelic" treatments of edgy movies from that era.   Ms Pallenberg and Michele Breton are tres sexy, while James Fox is unrelentingly sinister as a mobster laying low.  

It's worth $5 to watch, just to claim that experience.  The resulting Keith-Mick dustup is widely documented -- and after watching the movie -- I understand why.
Truly exceptional one of a kind performance by Mick and a group of very talented friends.  Easy nine!
Ry Cooder slide guitar is killer.
 eileenomurphy wrote:

GREAT TUNE! IT'S been a LONG time since I have heard it. ....Thanx RP!



same!!!
 unclehud wrote:

Well, well, well.  A movie with Mick Jagger (Mr Turner) and Anita Pallenberg (his live-in woman)?  I'll be burning Netflix down looking for this one!

..................................................

From IMDB's Trivia section:  Keith Richards was so angry about the sex scenes between Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg that he refused to play while The Rolling Stones recorded "Memo from Turner" for the soundtrack. Ry Cooder filled in, giving the song its signature slide guitar accompaniment.



New Respect for Richards, if its true.
Early songwriting AI?  lol
This is different, pretty good
GREAT TUNE! IT'S been a LONG time since I have heard it. ....Thanx RP!
This one would be Stones worthy.
Original music by Jack Nitzsche
Conductor: Randy Newman
Singers: Mick Jagger, Merry Clayton, Buffy Sainte-MarieSantur: Nasser Rastegar-Nejad
Moog synthesiser: Bernard Krause

Music performers

Ry Cooder - guitar
Amiya Dasgupta - sitar
Lowell George - guitar
Milt Holland - drums and percussion
Gene Parsons - drums and guitars
Russ Titelman - percussion
Bobby West - bass
Thanks to Wikipedia
 FeatFanMike wrote:

Lowell George?

That got my attention.

;)


Got my attention too, but I can't pick out which parts are his.  :<
 oldfart48 wrote:
a TASTY slice of RY......
Thanks BillG - great period piece. More of these pls! A definite 10
 bam23 wrote:
I have  always thought the guitar playing here is superb. As Ry Cooder is not someone whose music I have listened to a great deal, this really stands out. In some ways it reminds me of John McLaughlin's playing on the Carla Bley work Escalator Over the Hill, in which he was one of a cast of numerous great musicians and in which he did what I consider to be some of his most arresting work. Likely very few people listen to this album anymore or even know who Carla Bley is, but it's definitely worth the excursion. Linda Ronstadt also was a participant.
 
Thanks for the heads up re Carla Bley. Spotify is my friend..
I have  always thought the guitar playing here is superb. As Ry Cooder is not someone whose music I have listened to a great deal, this really stands out. In some ways it reminds me of John McLaughlin's playing on the Carla Bley work Escalator Over the Hill, in which he was one of a cast of numerous great musicians and in which he did what I consider to be some of his most arresting work. Likely very few people listen to this album anymore or even know who Carla Bley is, but it's definitely worth the excursion. Linda Ronstadt also was a participant.
Great, haven't heard this song in years, cool movie too...
 unclehud wrote:
Well, well, well.  A movie with Mick Jagger (Mr Turner) and Anita Pallenberg (his live-in woman)?  I'll be burning Netflix down looking for this one!

..................................................

From IMDB's Trivia section:  Keith Richards was so angry about the sex scenes between Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg that he refused to play while The Rolling Stones recorded "Memo from Turner" for the soundtrack. Ry Cooder filled in, giving the song its signature slide guitar accompaniment.
 
I hope you can find it.  This song is a "10", a youthful Jagger performing it dancing with a 4 foot florescent light bulb.  The rest of the movie is almost as good.
I could have kept listening to that one Teasing lyrics still relevant today
Can’t separate the music from the movie. In this case the movie makes the music better.
 phhht wrote:
Great lyrics. You're the man who squats behind the man who works the soft machine. William S. Burroughs?
 
Saw The Soft Machine open for Hendrix and they jammed "We Did It Again" for a half
hour as their set...Dr. Frankenstein's Sense Laboratory did the light show...8-)
What a great song! If there was a vote for such kinda things, Mick Jagger could possibly, maybe, I dunno, take it all for Best Artist of 20th Century.  
Fantastic slide guitar riff on this song! Great track on all fronts. 
 Shaggy27 wrote:
My fav Mick song. Freaky movie.
 

Only watched it once and your right
My fav Mick song. Freaky movie.
 thewiseking wrote:
nice slide. is this mick taylor. i am digging it BIG TIME
 
It's probably Ry Cooder.
Nice drumming on this track 
 Sweet_Virginia wrote:
The first rap song? Go Mick!

 
I once heard a DJ say that Blondie's Rapture was the first rap song.  Discuss.

The first rap song? Go Mick!
 Al_Koholic wrote:
Great song, Stupid movie.
 
I thought it was quite a good film, but a lot of people never got Nicholas Roeg's stuff.
The director  / co-director of Performance, Nicholas Roeg, just passed on, late November 2018. He also directed several other unique and memorable movies, among them Bowie's finest cinema moment, The Man Who Fell to Earth. Also Walkabout and perhaps one of the scariest movies ever, Don't Look Now. 
9. Only because it’s so politically incorrect. Love it.
 FeatFanMike wrote:

Lowell George?

That got my attention.

;)

 
Randy Newman got mine!
Average rating SIX ? REALLY folks ? This is incredibly well-written / beautifully played/masterfully sung by Jagger. {#Clap} With some of the best slide-men EVER -- in my humble opinion. I wish there was a TWELVE rating.
excellent song from great  "rated X" film  : )  Performance (film)
 oldman wrote:
Original music by Jack Nitzsche
Conductor: Randy Newman
Singers: Mick Jagger, Merry Clayton, Buffy Sainte-MarieSanturNasser Rastegar-Nejad
Moog synthesiserBernard Krause

Music performers

Ry Cooder - guitar
Amiya Dasgupta - sitar
Lowell George - guitar
Milt Holland - drums and percussion
Gene Parsons - drums and guitars
Russ Titelman - percussion
Bobby West - bass
Thanks to Wikipedia

 
Lowell George?

That got my attention.

;)
 unclehud wrote:
Well, well, well.  A movie with Mick Jagger (Mr Turner) and Anita Pallenberg (his live-in woman)?  I'll be burning Netflix down looking for this one!....
 
It's not streaming there (yet).  I saw it a few times - years ago.  I'm surprised you never heard of it before.
Well, well, well.  A movie with Mick Jagger (Mr Turner) and Anita Pallenberg (his live-in woman)?  I'll be burning Netflix down looking for this one!

..................................................

From IMDB's Trivia section:  Keith Richards was so angry about the sex scenes between Mick Jagger and his (Keith's) girlfriend Anita Pallenberg that he refused to play while The Rolling Stones recorded "Memo from Turner" for the soundtrack. Ry Cooder filled in, giving the song its signature slide guitar accompaniment.
Nice tune...is that Justine Bateman from Family Ties on the cover?
The "tiny Todger" comments were not that funny, i guess.
That's excellent...
 Xeric wrote:
Mick solo, eh? That explains why the guitar's better than usual. . . .

 Original music by Jack Nitzsche
Conductor: Randy Newman
Singers: Mick Jagger, Merry Clayton, Buffy Sainte-MarieSanturNasser Rastegar-Nejad
Moog synthesiserBernard Krause

Music performers

Ry Cooder - guitar
Amiya Dasgupta - sitar
Lowell George - guitar
Milt Holland - drums and percussion
Gene Parsons - drums and guitars
Russ Titelman - percussion
Bobby West - bass
Thanks to Wikipedia
Damn I love Ry Cooder!
Love the guitar work on this. Initialy thought it was Mick Taylor, thanks for the clarification. Ry Cooder kickin some azz, right here.
 calypsus_1 wrote:


 
It's not the age; it's the mileage.
Wonderfully dark psychedelic tale of conformity and, oh yea, the music sound track was pretty good.
 calypsus_1 wrote:

Jagger 2008 by ~JSaurer
©2008-2012 ~JSaurer

Mick today water colours, 2008.

.
     
  

 
got a mile or three on 'em........he earned 'em.
 oldfart48 wrote:

and Keith got a whole lot better after Ry jammed with him and showed him the open tuning that became his trademark.

 
Nice bit of info OF48
a TASTY slice of RY......{#Guitarist}...MORE RY IS NEEDED{#Clap}
This song was on my very first "playlist" tape. Its still a favorite of mine, 30 years on...
 Randomax wrote:
Still on my top 10 favorite films!!!!!!! Old Rubber Lips himself!!!!!!!

 
Not to mention Ry Cooder's perhaps personal best bottleneck work.
Still on my top 10 favorite films!!!!!!! Old Rubber Lips himself!!!!!!!
 kingart wrote:
One of Jagger's relatively few tunes of great vocals, imo. He's really singing here, not just being Jagger. 
 
I like him to be Jagger.
One of Jagger's relatively few tunes of great vocals, imo. He's really singing here, not just being Jagger. 
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Good question! My fave director back in the day. "Bad Timing" was nothing short of (very dark) genius. Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Insignificance . . . all great. And then somehow, mediocrity crept in and he became just another director, making forgettable and occasionally quite bad movies. Alas, like so many musicians who burned brightly for a few years and then started churning out generic "product", we'll just have to be grateful for the good stuff, while it lasted.
 
Saddened to read that, OTB.  All of the flics you mentioned were excellent.  "Performance" is still my fav, although the others are contenders, mos' def'.  And "Memo from Turner" is my only "10".
 joelbb wrote:
. . . what ever happened to Nicholas Roeg, anyway? . . .
 
Good question! My fave director back in the day. "Bad Timing" was nothing short of (very dark) genius. Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Insignificance . . . all great. And then somehow, mediocrity crept in and he became just another director, making forgettable and occasionally quite bad movies. Alas, like so many musicians who burned brightly for a few years and then started churning out generic "product", we'll just have to be grateful for the good stuff, while it lasted.
This is the hippest tune for 30 years on either side.  You frickin' pups never got the extreme rock-n-roll satori of seeing Jagger in his prime dance with a 4 ft. dark light and sing this in the movie (which was way cool in and of itself - what ever happened to Nicholas Roeg, anyway?).  "When the old men do the fighting and the young men are the cause and young girls eat their mother's meat from tubes of plasticon."  That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!!  There were GIANTS in those days.  I agree w/ "Gone Dead Train" comment below.
 Stewed_Mulligan wrote:
Please play "Gone Dead Train" from that same album!!
probably the best thing Randy Newman ever sang (well....maybe not the best....but for sure the wildest!)
 
That was one of the first songs I tried uploading and it was rejected without even a spin on the LRC.   That was five years ago someone should try it again.
 
 Xeric wrote:
Mick solo, eh? That explains why the guitar's better than usual. . . .
 

1. What planet are you from criticizing Rolling Stone's guitarists?
2. Ry Cooder is a terrific guitarists but Ketih, Mick, Brian and Ronnie can play a bit too.
 ceviche wrote:
"Are you woman or are you man,
I'm your best funked up fan..."
 
Yes indeed!  When is RP going to play a little Candy Slice?


Much better lip gloss control re comment earlier today on Robert Smith's rather lack of a steady hand.
 Xeric wrote:
Mick solo, eh? That explains why the guitar's better than usual. . . .
 

Ry Cooder on (slide) guitar, if I'm not mistaken.

"Are you woman or are you man,
I'm your best funked up fan..."
This was my favorite song off Metamorphosis, (along with "I Don't Know Why") although that version is faster than either this or the movie version. I'm curious if Keith played on that version because the riffs seen like Keiths. I have no idea how I ever ended up with that album, but I thank God I did. I don't know what happened the Stones over the years...but early Stones connected with me.
How come RP doesn't play any of Keith's solo stuff? Main Offender is rather good.
Mick solo, eh? That explains why the guitar's better than usual. . . .
sutcliff wrote:
never...never hire the Hell's Angels for concert security. 
RedGuitar wrote:

Mick's "note to self" the day after Altamont. 

 
Weak.


PERFORMANCE!  One of my top 10 all time favorite movies!!!  You have GOT to see this song in context!!!
OLD RUBBER LIPS!!
 yellowfly wrote:
that's a good looking woman on that album cover.
 
a littly prickly for my taste


Jagger 2008 by ~JSaurer
©2008-2012 ~JSaurer

Mick today water colours, 2008.

.
     

  
 sutcliff wrote:
never...never hire the Hell's Angels for concert security.
 
Mick's "note to self" the day after Altamont. 

If this was on Let it Bleed, it would probably be in the 8's
OMG, one of my favorite movies of all time!  Worth checking out this scene on YouTube!
Very reminiscent of Stray Cat Blues and Live With Me.
classic nasty/nice mick!
Funny - thought it was Beck at first...
badass
damn, i love this.
 A great song and a wild story about how a love triangle between Mick and Keith's girlfriend, at the time Anita Pallenberg, leads to a falling out between Mick and Keith. Keith refuses to play on the track and Ry Cooder gets brought in and the rest is tasty music history.

"I can beat that album cover."

Sincerely

Michael



 sharkartist wrote:
I have to respectfully disagree on this point, most definitely Ry's slide work. Lowell is my favorite of all times slide guitarist. His style depended much more on subtle nuance and sustain whereas Ry's work on this cut is brash and gritty. That being said, I absolutely love Ry's work on this track.
 
It sure ain't Keith!

nice one. had forgotten about it.
handsome good shit!! love the guitar playing, too
alanb wrote:
It sounds more like a weak attempt to imitate Dylan. Sincerest form of flattery and all that aside, I must say that Jagger is no Dylan. But then, Dylan is no Jagger either. ;-)
Agree that Jagger isn't in Dylan's lyrical league, but Mick does still write some good poetic lyrics on occassion surprisingly, and this is one of the better ones, IMO.
Please play "Gone Dead Train" from that same album!! probably the best thing Randy Newman ever sang (well....maybe not the best....but for sure the wildest!)
sutcliff wrote:
never...never hire the Hell's Angels for concert security.
Errr, amen to that bro...........
winter wrote:
This song has a very "Jagger channels Dylan" feel to it to me. Not sure why ...
It sounds more like a weak attempt to imitate Dylan. Sincerest form of flattery and all that aside, I must say that Jagger is no Dylan. But then, Dylan is no Jagger either. ;-)
goatshow wrote:
Brangelina?
Dreck.
yellowfly wrote:
that's a good looking woman on that album cover.
Brangelina?
Mick always was a better country blues singer than a rock-n-roller. 7
yellowfly wrote:
that's a good looking woman on that album cover.
Yeah, looks just like Bianca!
yellowfly wrote:
that's a good looking woman on that album cover.
I thought the same thing. maybe not good looking...
that's a good looking woman on that album cover.
One of the better Jagger songs. No kowtowing to the corporate boys... in fact the movie from which this comes is a direct slap in the face to Corporate. And a bizarre but awesome movie 'Perfomance' is.
sharkartist wrote:
... I absolutely love Ry's work on this track.
Word.
vandal wrote:
Memo to Mick: lose the lipstick
but the mascara is hot! lol
Memo to Mick: lose the lipstick
Huh... who'da thunk that he was one of the runners-up in casting for The Rocky Horror Picture Show?
Whoa. Dude. One toke too many there. wade44 wrote:
Reminds me of Bob Dylan too much. Yuck.
Scary album cover. Good song.
never...never hire the Hell's Angels for concert security.
a new understanding of the genius that is mick jagger most outstanding
The music is fine. The guy singing will never catch on.
Reminds me of Bob Dylan too much. Yuck.
I got a memo from Ike Turner once. He told me to rush down to the conservatory, and when I got there, he was all, "We're gonna hafta hold more spaghetti dinners if we want the left wing radicals to stop spoofing Mick Jagger!" He dropped me like a sack of pampers.
I am sitting down in San Antonio on a hot and dusty night. This song reminds me of when the Stones played their "Rodeo" concert here circa 1964. Nobody was there as nobody had heard of the Stones....then. Years later, I went to hear the Stones here and Mick was still scoffing at the audience for their absence back then. Reflecting back now, this song and the album cover conjures up images of a cross dressing drug dealer on the City's East Side, near where the Old Rodeo Coliseum and the new A.T.& T. Center stand.
Dude wrote:
Other sources say that the slide guitar was Lowell George. It certainly sounds like Lowell George's work.
I have to respectfully disagree on this point, most definitely Ry's slide work. Lowell is my favorite of all times slide guitarist. His style depended much more on subtle nuance and sustain whereas Ry's work on this cut is brash and gritty. That being said, I absolutely love Ry's work on this track.
elduderino wrote:
This great song is from the 1975 Rolling Stones Record Metamorphosis. I love that one!
Not the same version as this one.
From the 1969 movie "Performance" starring Mick Jagger, James Fox. This tune is one of the better that Mick wrote on his own (without Keith Richards). Great session musicians on this recording : Jack Nietsche, etc. Really great to hear this one after many years. Thanks RP!
This great song is from the 1975 Rolling Stones Record Metamorphosis. I love that one!
winter wrote:
This song has a very "Jagger channels Dylan" feel to it to me. Not sure why ...
I could get on board with that.
This song has a very "Jagger channels Dylan" feel to it to me. Not sure why ...
Brilliant song, terrific playing. Terrific, weird film. Cool memories of university days...
beelzebubba wrote:
I recieved a memo from Ted Turner once. It instructed me to come directly to his office in Atlanta. When I arrived, however, Ted was in the elevator. He was his usual lunatic self and started screaming at the elevator buttons about global warming, Fox News and Republican Nazis.
Sounds like he was pretty lucid to me. Well, other than the elevator buttons bit.
Boyfriend is cooking dinner and yelps "Whoa, turn it up!" when this song starts. "This is one of the best songs of all time." He wants me to post the following: "I'll get in a bathtub with Anita Pallinburg anytime."
mocowbell wrote:
The slide work belongs to Ry Cooder. Jack Nitzsche produced the haunting soundtrack.
Other sources say that the slide guitar was Lowell George. It certainly sounds like Lowell George's work. (click here)
Ah yes, the wonders of chemically-enhanced lyrics... great tune, bizarro movie. My favorite lyric (hard to chose, this song has so many)... "Come now, gentleman, your love is all I crave. You'll still be in the circus when I'm laughing, laughing on my grave. "
Outstanding! Classic R&B sound, great rhythm, killer bass lines, amazing slide guitar... and classic Mick vocals.