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Rolling Stones songs: I’m Gonna Drive

*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

I’ve seen fire, disaster and hurricane/ And sad eyed people and dirty dreams/ And battered suit cases and cryin’ kids/ And resignation at how life is…

B-side of the Out of Tears single
Written by: Jagger/Richards
Recorded: Ronnie Wood’s Sandymount Studios, Kildare, Ireland, July 9-Aug. 6 and Sept. 1993; Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland, Nov. 3-Dec. 10 1993; Don Was’ Studio and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, USA, Jan. 15-Apr. 1994
Guest musicians: Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards)
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs, The Story Behind Every Track book:
I’ve got itchy fingers, I’ve got muddy feet/And my mind is wanderin’ in the steamy heat. The protagonist of this song has had enough of the world in which he lives. He therefore plans to escape at the wheel of his car—with a tank full of gasoline, with the oil topped up, and with the air-conditioning switched on—in order to discover the exhilaration of wide-open spaces. He does not want to see any more fires, disasters, hurricanes, or sad eyes, or to have any more bad dreams. “I’m Gonna Drive” was left off the track listing for Voodoo Lounge, but is on the “Out of Tears” single and maxi single and is also included in the box set The Singles 1971–2006 (2011)

“I’m Gonna Drive” has an emphatic blues-rock and almost J. J. Cale vibe, with a superb vocal from Mick Jagger. This song, although occupying a relatively minor place in the Stones’ catalog when all is said and done, also confirms Ron Wood’s brilliance on slide guitar (stereo left). “I’ve always used the black Zemaitis 6-string for slide,” he would later explain. He plays a very good accompaniment, perfectly complementing Keith’s guitar without either guitarist interfering with the playing of the other. Ronnie may be no Mick Taylor, but he certainly knows how to shape a phrase, and this can be heard in the solo he shares with Keith (2:02)

Meanwhile, the riff master delivers a fantastic rhythm part, encouraging the track to breathe with a series of well-judged, loosely woven interventions (stereo right). Mick seems to be playing the Dobro, as he was on “The Storm,” and given that the two tracks were laid down during the same session (most probably during the weekend of December 10–11), there is every reason to suppose that he would have picked it up again. The snare drum roll in the intro heralds a superb contribution from Charlie from the beginning to the end of “I’m Gonna Drive.”

He plays with a very pronounced swing and lays down a fearsomely efficient groove. The bass playing and sonority are not easily attributable to Darryl Jones and it is quite possible that Don Was, himself a bassist, is responsible for them. Finally, it is most likely Ronnie’s husky voice, rivaling Keith’s as an illustration of the ill effects of tobacco on the vocal cords, that can be heard in the backing vocals…