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

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?