The Rolling Stones - Goats Head Soup

Goats Head Soup is the tenth studio album by British rock band The Rolling Stones, originally released in August 1973 via Rolling Stones Records.

For the bands follow up to the sprawling double album Exile On Main Street (1972), the band who remained UK tax exiles wrote and recorded most of Goats Head Soup in Jamaica with producer Jimmy Miller. Miller had worked with the band since their 1968 sessions for Beggars Banquet, and this would be the last album he would produce.

The album is best known for the first single released from the album “Angie”, which is a beautiful ballad with Nicky Hopkins on piano and string arrangements by Nicky Harrison. The second single “Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” didn’t perform as well in the charts, however both songs are not particularly reflective of the overall calibre of the album.

The opener “Dancing With Mr. D” is a cracker and “Winter” is a shining gem in the Stones catalogue. “Winter” although credited with writing credits as Jagger / Richards, was written by Jagger and Mick Taylor, and the recording on the album doesn’t feature Richards on guitar, the only track not to do so.

Goats Head Soup tends to be overlooked in the overall Stones studio albums catalogue sandwiched between Exile On Main Street (1972) and It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll (1974), but is an essential element of the bands recorded works.

Long out of print as an individual vinyl album, 2020 sees the album reissued with half speed remastered audio with an expanded edition with demos and three previously unreleased tracks, which have been completed by the band for this special reissue.

This double album 2LP record set is a 2020 reissue on 180 gram black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves and remastered audio, with the second disc containing three previously unreleased songs plus demos and alternative mixes, pressed in Europe via Rolling Stones and Polydor Records.