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As Tears Go By

I bought my 7" copy of Marianne Faithfull's rendition of 'As Tears Go By' a couple of years ago. Beyond just enjoying the song, I don't have any other opinions about it, and refer to wikipedia for the information that follows. It was one of Jagger & Richard's first compositions, in which they were aided by Stones manager Andrew 'Loog' Oldham. Richard recalls the pair initially taking a dim view of their handiwork: "We thought, what a terrible piece of tripe. We came out and played it to Andrew, and he said 'It's a hit.' We actually sold this stuff, and it actually made money. Mick and I were thinking, this is money for old rope!"

Nor was Faithfull especially fond of the tune, originally earmarked as a B-side, but promoted after failed efforts to record a satisfactory take of Lionel Bart's 'I Don't Know (How To Tell You).' She has said "God knows how Mick and Keith wrote it or where it came from ... In any case, it is an absolutely astonishing thing for a boy of 20 to have written a song about a woman looking back nostalgically on her life."

Jimmy Page was reputedly among the musicians involved in the recording, though it's the uncredited cor anglais player who gives the song its most memorable instrumental ingredient. The B-side is a version of 'Greensleeves', given a symphonic pop arrangement by Oldham.

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