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She knows just how to please her man/ Softer than a baby lamb…
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA, Aug. 3-7 1966; Olympic Sound Studios, London, England, Nov. 9-Dec. 6 1966 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals, tambourine Keith Richards: guitar, backing vocals Brian Jones: guitar, organ Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums, percussion Guest musicians: Ian Stewart or Jack Nitzsche
Some Rolling Stones songs explode instantly, while others reveal their charm slowly. Complicated, from Between the Buttons, belongs to the second category. At first listen it feels like a quirky slice of late-’60s pop, but the more you dig in, the more layers you find—studio experimentation, playful melodies, and a hint of emotional tension beneath the surface.
Much of that tension connects to Mick Jagger’s turbulent relationship with Marianne Faithfull, which quietly colors the song’s lyrics. Lines that sound light and sarcastic also carry a sharper edge, reflecting the complicated push and pull between admiration and frustration that often defined their romance.
Musically, the track captures a band in motion. With Keith Richards, Brian Jones, and the rest of The Rolling Stones experimenting in the studio, Complicated becomes a fascinating snapshot of a restless creative period—messy, inventive, and unmistakably part of the band’s evolving sound.
More about Complicated by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
The Chaotic Beauty of Complicated
Among the many songs that define The Rolling Stones in the late 1960s, Complicated stands out as one of the most curious and revealing. Released on the album Between the Buttons, the track captures a moment when the band’s creative world felt restless, experimental, and occasionally chaotic. At first listen, it seems like a playful pop song filled with flower-power brightness, yet beneath that surface lies a web of emotional tension and artistic exploration. Much of that tension circles around Mick Jagger and his turbulent relationship with Marianne Faithfull, a romance that colored the lyrics with equal parts fascination and frustration. Jagger delivers lines like “She’s educated, doesn’t give a damn, she’s underrated” with a sharp edge that hints at admiration while exposing deeper irritation. Rather than presenting a polished statement, the song reflects a moment when inspiration, personal drama, and experimentation collided—creating something messy, energetic, and strangely captivating.
Personal tensions behind the lyrics
Part of what gives Complicated its emotional spark is the influence of Marianne Faithfull on Mick Jagger’s songwriting during this period. Their relationship was widely known for its intensity, and its echoes can be heard throughout the song. The lyrics sketch a portrait of a woman who fascinates and frustrates the narrator at the same time, an emotional push-and-pull that mirrors the dynamic between Jagger and Faithfull.
Faithfull later reflected on this tension in her autobiography, recalling that Jagger sometimes blamed her for certain difficulties in his life and described her words as “dangerous.” That sense of unease lingers in the song. Instead of presenting a straightforward love story, the lyrics reveal a mixture of attraction, admiration, and irritation. The narrator is intrigued by the woman’s independence yet unsettled by it. This layered portrayal adds complexity to what might otherwise be a simple pop track.
Because of this emotional undercurrent Complicatedfeels less like a neat narrative and more like a snapshot of a relationship caught in motion. The charm of the song lies in that ambiguity. Rather than offering resolution, it captures a moment when feelings were tangled and unpredictable.
A sound shaped by experimentation
Musically Complicated occupies an unusual space withinThe Rolling Stones catalog. The arrangement blends pop brightness with rougher rock textures, reflecting a band still experimenting with different sonic directions. Producer Andrew Oldham played a role in shaping that sound by reusing the guitar-and-drum texture from My Obsession, which gives the track a buzzing, slightly raw character.
At the center of the instrumental mix is Keith Richards, whose guitar work leans into that rough energy. The fuzzed electric guitar frames the melody and contributes to the slightly jagged tone of the recording. Meanwhile Brian Jones adds contrast with bright organ lines that lift the track and introduce a playful dimension.
There is even a vocal-free outtake circulating among collectors where Jones’s high-pitched organ dominates the arrangement, transforming the piece into something almost dreamlike. These variations highlight how the band was exploring sound rather than aiming for strict polish. The combination of organ textures, fuzzy guitar, and pop melody creates a track that feels experimental without completely abandoning accessibility.
A restless recording session
The creation ofComplicated in the studio reflects the band’s hectic pace during 1966. Initial recording took place at RCA with engineer Dave Hassinger, and the song developed in fragments rather than as a single continuous performance. Like many Rolling Stones recordings from that era, it evolved through layers of overdubs and adjustments.
Charlie Watts opens the track with a distinctive reverb-heavy drum introduction and contributes two brief solo breaks that help define the rhythm. Later, Mick Jagger added tambourine during overdub sessions in London, expanding the percussive texture.
Keith Richards was especially active throughout the session. In addition to his guitar work, he played a Fender Precision bass in the introduction alongside Bill Wyman’s Vox bass. Richards also provided rhythm on a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar and layered fuzz guitar on top of the arrangement. The vocal harmonies between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards occasionally drift slightly off-key, but that roughness contributes to the song’s character rather than diminishing it.
Meanwhile Brian Jones moved between organ and guitar, while Ian Stewart or Jack Nitzsche (unconfirmed) filled out the arrangement with piano. The result feels almost like a musical collage, each musician adding pieces that gradually shaped the final track.
A curious misfit in Between the Buttons
Within the context of Between the Buttons, Complicated illustrates the album’s sometimes unpredictable personality. Critics have often described the record as stylistically divided, shifting between pop experimentation and more traditional rock sounds. In that sense, the song reflects what some listeners call the “schizophrenic” character of the album.
Its structure and melody even resemble what might have sounded like a lost outtake from The Yardbirds, with a slightly Eastern-tinged atmosphere and a fuzz-driven guitar framing the arrangement. The melody itself has a somewhat clumsy, hurried quality, suggesting it may have been written quickly during the band’s demanding 1966 schedule.
Yet that roughness is also part of the track’s charm. The song offers a small character study centered on one of the band’s recurring lyrical themes—confused or enigmatic women. While the flower-power tone never fully settles into a clear direction, it still leaves a memorable impression.
In the endComplicated may not represent The Rolling Stones at their most refined, but it reveals something equally valuable: a band willing to experiment, take risks, and allow imperfections to remain. The result is an intriguing outlier in their catalog—an ambitious, slightly unruly song that captures the restless spirit of a transformative moment in rock history.
Mick Jagger (1967): “Recorded in the US again – it’s all about a groupie.”
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