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Watch out baby, I put a spell on you/ You can’t resist it, I just hoodoo you…
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Studio Guillaume Tell, Paris, France, May 13-June 8 2002 Guest musicians: Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
“Keys to Your Love” is another of the songs recorded by the Stones during the May–June 2002 sessions at the Guillaume Tell Studios in France. This track reveals another important facet of the Glimmer Twins’ career—their work as composers of soul ballads. I’ve got the keys to your love/I’ve got the secret of your heart: Mick Jagger plays the part of a lover whose love is so intense that he has put a spell on the object of his affections, a woman whose every code and every pin he claims to know… “Keys to Your Love” is a love song whose music recalls the sophisticated, romantic soul of Curtis Mayfield’s Impressions. Hence the falsetto voice adopted by Mick here and there… Remarkable as it may seem, this song has never been performed live…
Listening to “Keys to Your Love,” one could be forgiven for wondering whether the song may have been written during the Black and Blueperiod. Mick Jagger’s falsetto is reminiscent of “Fool to Cry” although not as good. The Stones had taken five years to get back into the studio, and despite its virtues, this song does not quite live up to the occasion— especially as a new track on an album celebrating forty years of the Rolling Stones. The song features three guitars, but their roles are poorly defined. Mick seems to be on electric rhythm guitar, which can be heard on the left, with Keith on acoustic and Ronnie on lead, playing some very good licks and a clear-toned solo at 2:36 (on a Stratocaster?)
Charlie Watts lays down an effective rhythm as always, with Darryl Jones on bass, and the talented instrumentalist and backing vocalist Blondie Chaplin, who had contributed so brilliantly to the 1997 album Bridges to Babylon, back with the band on tambourine. Another excellent musician, Chuck Leavell, is on electric piano, adding that special sonority that is so characteristic of the Stones ballads. Inspired by the soul of Curtis Mayfield, Mick Jagger delivers a mixed performance. His vocal is split between a falsetto on the one hand and rich, mellow tones on the other, but he never really convinces as he had on the band’s two previous albums. An agreeable enough song, but hardly unforgettable.
