The Worst

Album: Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is one of two tracks sung by Keith Richards on Voodoo Lounge. The other one is "Thru and Thru." Said Keith Richards, June 1994: "(The songs I sing on this album)... they're more or less sort of just a feeling, really. They're little bits of your life that just come back to you, and suddenly you say, Oh, that little situation. Yeah. Now I can finally finish it off, tail it off, because now I can write a song about it. But you don't think about it. It's something that maybe happened maybe 20 years ago, 10 years ago, whatever, just a little incident here or there, or somebody told you something. It's just in a way trying to transmit a certain feeling."
  • The album was recorded in Dublin, Ireland. Said Richards, 1994: "It's funny, but a lot of these songs were written in kitchens. That one I wrote in the kitchen in Barbados, and I thought, That's a pretty melody, but what to do with it, I really didn't know. I guess that's where Ireland comes in, because Ireland has its own traditional music, and it's not country music as such, but it's the roots of it, you know? It's that Irish feel."
  • This features Chuck Leavell on piano and Frankie Gavin on violin. Fiddle player and flute player Frankie Gavin is a member of the well-known traditional Irish folk music group De Danaan. While recording in Dublin in 1993 for Voodoo Lounge, The Stones got him to contribute on "The Worst and New Faces." Gavin also later worked on Keith's Wingless Angels project. In November 2002, Gavin guested onstage with The Stones at their Oakland concert, performing on "Sweet Virginia." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France, for all above

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.