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You’re going out of your brain, out of your mind/ Going insane, you’re going blind…
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Studio France, West Indies, Nov- 2004; Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, USA, March 7-9 and June 6-28 2005 Guest musicians: Darryll Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (piano) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book: A car is being driven at breakneck speed while the elements rage all around. The occupants, a couple, are risking a fatal accident at any moment. Rain lashes the windshield, the headlights cannot pierce through the night… there is a sense of doom about the situation. Driving too fast/Hang on to the wheel/I think you’re gonna crash: the words are unambiguous. Going beyond the tale of an impending accident, however, it is possible to sense another message when Jagger sings: Too many roads lead to nowhere. Can this be interpreted as an admission of the impasse the couple has strayed into, an acknowledgment that the relationship has reached the point of no return? With the apparently inevitable accident as the breakup? “Driving Too Fast” is a rock number that does not add a great deal to the Stones’ catalog, other, perhaps, than the chaotic rhythm that makes us feel that an accident could occur on Keith Richards’s very next chord. One thing is for certain: the Stones have never performed “Driving Too Fast” live.
It could perhaps be claimed that A Bigger Bang commits the sin of having too many songs, that it might have been advisable to cut the track listing down. “Driving Too Fast” is a good rock track, but by this stage of the disc, the formula seems to have grown a little repetitive. Charlie once again launches into a vigorous tempo. Mick and Keith play the main riff together, before splitting off into their respective rhythm parts. Mick then launches into his lyrics over a drum-dominated accompaniment, his impressive phrasing merely punctuated by the interjections of the two guitarists and Darryl Jones on bass. And finally we get to the refrain, where everyone joins in—Mick picking up the maracas and Chuck pounding the piano keyboard. This is all very well, but there is not a big enough element of surprise about the track, which is a shame. “Driving Too Fast” is good, but from the Stones, we have come to expect excellence. Ronnie gives another very fine demonstration of distorted slide (from 1:35), probably on his black Zemaitis, and plays a superb solo that deserves to be more prominent in the mix. In the coda (3:24), he also doubles the main riff on slide; it is a shame he doesn’t do this right from the intro.
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