Plundered My Soul

Album: Exile on Main St. (2010 re-release) (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This soulful rock tune is one of ten tracks pulled from the Rolling Stones' archives and re-recorded by the band for release on the 2010 update of their 1972 album, Exile on Main St.. It was the first song released by the band from the new recordings and 7-inch limited-edition copies of the single were sold in independent stores on April 17, 2010, in honor of Record Store Day. The song was the Stones' first single release since "Biggest Mistake" came out on August 21, 2006.
  • The track features several former members of the Rolling Stones. Bill Wyman, who left the band in 1993, played bass, and Mick Taylor, who left in 1974, performed lead guitar. Also, the late Nicky Hopkins, who previously featured on earlier Rolling Stones albums and recordings, is featured on piano. Mick Jagger recorded new vocals in March of 2010. The Stones vocalist said: "The (Exile outtakes) weren't all recorded in the same place. Some of them I really remembered, but some of them I didn't remember at all. Some of them were really together - 'Plunder My Soul' that was perfect, you didn't have to edit, it was all perfect. Some of the others were much more loose jams."
  • Keith Richards told Billboard magazine: "I hadn't really realized how much was left over until I started going into this project. I automatically assumed that anything good [and unused] that we'd done on 'Exile' would roll over to Goat's Head Soup." "I knew there was loads of stuff lying around," Mick Jagger added. "But I didn't know what time period it came from. I wanted to be faithful to the time period - I didn't want to take things out of context, so [I've tried] to pick things that were recorded in that time frame. Some of them are of interest and fun, but some of them are really good, so I hope people like them."
  • Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle sang backup on this track. They were called in to perform on the re-worked versions of the Exile outtakes. They were backup singers on The Stones 1989-90 Steel Wheels tour and have performed on albums for a variety of artists, including Luther Vandross, Carly Simon and Freddie Jackson. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • Mick Taylor told Gibson.com that it didn't take him very long to record his overdubbed guitar licks for this track. Said Taylor: "That was very quick. I mean, because the track was already there for me to overdub on, and Mick had already done a rough vocal, so it didn't actually sound too much like an outtake from Exile on Main St. Well, it did, except Mick had added vocals and back-up vocals and all it needed was some lead guitar, which I did… very quickly. I think it took about two hours for me to do about four or five different passes on the guitar."

Comments: 4

  • Dawn from Montreal Canadathis was always one of my favorites They could do it today and it would hit the top of the charts its
  • Mike from Grand Rapids Mi.Plundered my soul is so good. I don’t know how they missed this one. Maybe because it was a double album. Hard to decide what makes the cut. Can’t believe it wasn’t on another album.
  • Ando from Toronto, On"(Of the new Exile bonus tracks), one of them had some kind of vocals on it, I'm Not Signifying. The rest had no vocals or words, just [rhythm] tracks. There was nothing in terms of melody or lyrics. So I wrote them for So Divine (Aladdin Story), Following the River, Plundered my Soul, and started from scratch on vocals. (Some of the tracks in the archives) were a bit loose, they were unfinished and very raw. But Plundered my Soul surprised me, it was very together, no mistakes, no messing about, very arranged, very thought out, obviously very together." - Jagger.
  • Erika from Shelby Twp Mich, MiLove this soulful tune--although I can't understand barely one word Mick is saying......
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.