More Rolling Stones’ Lost Tracks: ‘A Different Kind’ (1977)

By Marcelo Sonaglioni on June 27, 2025

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Rolling Stones Unreleased: A Different Kind

Also known as: Thinking About You
Written by: Jagger/Richard
Recorded: EMI-Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Oct 10-Dec. 1977, Jan. 5-March 2 1978 (Some Girls sessions)

From Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012:
A slow tempo song over six minutes in length. It’s mainly an instrumental although there are some spoken Jagger vocals performed in a guide style. The prominent sound is the Hawaiian steel guitar or bottleneck dobro played by Ronnie Wood.

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rolling stones unreleased a different kind 1977

A Laid-Back Groove from the Vault

Buried deep in the Some Girls sessions, A Different Kind is one of those unreleased Rolling Stones tracks that feels like a hazy, late-night jam caught on tape—unpolished, intimate, and strangely hypnotic. Recorded between late 1977 and early 1978 at EMI-Pathé Marconi Studios in France, it’s a six-minute, slow-tempo drift into sound and atmosphere. While not built around a traditional vocal performance, Mick Jagger does add a few spoken phrases in a relaxed, guide-style delivery—more mood-setting than storytelling. What really steals the spotlight here is Ronnie Wood’s laid-back, twangy slide work on the Hawaiian steel guitar or bottleneck dobro, giving the track its unique flavor. Also known by the alternate title Thinking About You, this one feels less like a fully fleshed-out song and more like a moment—one where the Stones were just playing around with textures and tones, experimenting with space and restraint in a way that rarely made it to final albums.

When The Rolling Stones Get Experimental

Though not officially released, A Different Kind showcases a side of The Rolling Stones often hidden behind the swagger and strut. It’s loose, ambient, and strangely soulful. The band wasn’t aiming for radio play or arena-sized choruses here—this was about feel. It’s the kind of track that makes you want to close your eyes, let your mind wander, and appreciate the subtler shades of the Stones’ musical palette. In its unfinished state, it still manages to pull you in. Sometimes, what they leave off the record says just as much as what they put on it.

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