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Some Rolling Stones songs arrive fully formed; others seem perfectly happy to sit in a vault for decades, apparently waiting for someone to remember they exist. Never Let Her Go belongs firmly in the second category. Recorded in Paris during the prolific 1977 sessions that eventually feed into Some Girls, this Jagger-Richards composition reveals a softer, more relaxed side of the band’s creative process. Ian Stewart’s piano helps establish the loose atmosphere, while Mick Jagger’s understated vocal gives the track an intriguingly unfinished character. It never makes the album, but that is precisely the point: it offers another glimpse into just how much Stones material remained hidden.
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Oct. 10-Nov. 25 and Dec. 9-16 1977 (Some Girls sessions)
By the late 1970s, The Rolling Stones have learned that sometimes the best way to make noise is to escape from it. Pathé Marconi Studios in Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside Paris, becomes their preferred recording hideaway, offering the band a relatively secluded environment far removed from the distractions surrounding one of rock’s biggest names. After completing the extensive European tour in 1976, the Stones regroup in early 1977 with new ideas, new energy and plenty of unfinished business. The Paris sessions soon become an important turning point, providing the creative groundwork for Some Girls while producing far more material than the eventual album can contain. Instead of simply polishing a predetermined collection of songs, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest of the band use the studio to experiment, reshape arrangements and follow whatever musical direction happens to grab them. Conveniently, they end up creating a small mountain of material in the process.
The making of Some Girls
Although the 1977 Pathé Marconi sessions eventually feed directly into Some Girls, the connection is about more than simply recording another Rolling Stones album. The band is operating in a musical landscape that is changing rapidly, with punk, disco and other contemporary influences challenging established rock conventions. Rather than pretending none of this is happening, the Stones absorb some of it and push their own sound in new directions. The result is an album that feels leaner, tougher and more restless than some of their earlier work.
The sessions capture that creative tension. Mick Jagger brings increasingly sharp and provocative lyrical ideas, while Keith Richards supplies the gritty guitar foundation that keeps everything unmistakably Stones. The chemistry is still there, but the environment is different—and so is the music. Perhaps most importantly, the sessions demonstrate how much work happens behind the scenes before a finished Stones album reaches the public. Not every recording becomes a classic, obviously. Some songs are discarded, some are reworked, and others simply disappear into the vaults. Because apparently even The Rolling Stones occasionally have too many songs.
Ronnie Wood settles into the band
The 1977 sessions also represent an important stage in Ronnie Wood’s development within the group. Following Mick Taylor’s departure, Wood has increasingly established himself as Keith Richards’ guitar partner, bringing a different musical personality and helping reshape the Stones’ instrumental chemistry. His presence contributes to the loose, collaborative feel surrounding the Pathé Marconi recordings. Rather than functioning as a newcomer still trying to find his place, Wood is becoming an increasingly natural part of the band’s sound.
That makes the Paris material particularly valuable for understanding this period of Rolling Stones history. The recordings capture a band adjusting to internal changes while responding to a rapidly shifting musical world. The Pathé Marconi sessions ultimately produce much more than the songs heard on Some Girls. They leave behind alternate takes, unreleased compositions and other recordings that remain fascinating precisely because they reveal the Stones in the workshop rather than on the finished product. For anyone interested in the creative process behind The Rolling Stones, Paris in 1977 is where the messy, experimental and surprisingly productive work really happens.
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