February of 2007 saw the long-awaited DVD release of the 1970 psychedelic/schizophrenic gangster-meets-pop star tale Performance. Famously known as Mick Jagger’s on screen debut, Performance expertly captures the late sixties decadence and decline into hard drugs and paranoia.But for many of us, long before we saw a grainy VHS bootleg copy of the film, we knew Performance as the vehicle that housed the tune “Memo From Turner.”
Legend has it that Richards was so distraught over Jagger’s love scenes with his then girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, he refused to play guitar on the track. In his stead, a young Ry Cooder and a band of session players (including Drunkard hero Lowell George) laid down the track from L.A. and sent it to England. It is also said that Richards would not step foot on the set because he knew if he saw Jagger and Pallenberg together it would be the end of the Stones. Makes sense as, allegedly, the films depiction of sex and drugs were not “simulated” at all, but real.
There are two recordings of “Turner” foating around, the Performance take, and the Stones take which can be found on the Metamorphasis compilation. Both great. Don’t miss the video of Jagger below performing “Memo From Turner,” in Character, from Performance.
Download:
MP3: Rolling Stones :: Memo From Turner (Metamorphosis version)
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Amazon: Rolling Stones – Metamorphosis
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Love the old music posts. I would like to see massive quantities of outtakes posted (i.e. reposts of the David Crosby, Bob Dylan – Freewheelin’, etc.) and new (unposted old or new in age) ones.
1 | Funky Rutabaga (Grant) December 31st, 2008 at 1:05 pmI thought Anita was Brian Jones’ girlfriend. Or did they just kind of pass her around?
2 | barry December 31st, 2008 at 3:58 pmshe was initially Jones’ ladyfriend.
3 | Satisfied '75 December 31st, 2008 at 4:20 pmAnd a very happy new year. Many thanks for the clip and the tune.
4 | doom December 31st, 2008 at 9:11 pmThe song is awesome – perfect for late night roadtrips through the desert.
5 | DJ Max Power January 2nd, 2009 at 8:41 pmThe movie is…strange at best. I defy you to watch it on a double bill with “Christmas On Mars” and stay awake through the whole thing.
The mp3 post is actually the Performance version (which I prefer, anyway). The Stones’ take on Metamorphosis is faster and a bit more of a rock song.
6 | WB January 10th, 2009 at 9:05 amActually there are 3 versions of Memo, including a slow bluesy one that, IMHO, is better than them all.
7 | Jim January 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm[...] Click here to go to AD to check The Rolling Stones “Memo From Turner (Metamorphosis Version)”…there are a couple of versions out there of this song…all good. [...]
8 | The Rolling Stones “Memo From Turner (Metamorphosis Version)” « Rock God Cred January 26th, 2009 at 8:07 pm