Like what you see? Help keep it going! This ad-free site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh content coming your way every day. Thank you!
Some songs don’t get rejected—they just quietly switch teams. During the chaotic creative swirl of The Rolling Stones in the late ’70s, a slow-burning groove slipped through the cracks and found a second life elsewhere. Enter Ronnie Wood, who clearly wasn’t about to let a perfectly good riff go to waste. What started as a moody, bass-driven idea evolved into something entirely his own, eventually resurfacing as Redeyes. It’s less about what the band left behind and more about how ideas refuse to stay put—especially when someone’s paying attention. Turns out, in the Stones’ world, even the leftovers have a habit of aging pretty well.
*Early version of When You’re Gone Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Oct-Dec. 1977 (Some Girls sessions)
From Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012: Ron Wood was making the most of the time in Paris recording his next solo album. Inevitable there was some cross-pollination and this was one track that remained with Ron until 1981 when it was released as an instrumental called Redeyes. When You’re Gone was a slow boogie with a pronounced bass sounding guitar by Ronnie and a lead guitar further back in the mix.
When the Stones Boogied into Redeyes
In the closing months of 1977, while the Rolling Stones were deep into the Some Girls sessions at EMI Pathé Marconi Studios in France, something a little different started brewing. Amid the gritty rock grooves and disco flirtations of the era, a slow-boogie number with a thick, bass-driven guitar line emerged—laid down by Ronnie Wood. Though the song would later evolve into When You’re Gone, this early version never made it onto a Stones album. Instead, it floated somewhere in the margins—raw, textured, and unmistakably shaped by the laid-back groove Ronnie brought into the studio. At the time, Wood was also crafting his next solo project, and the creative energy was bouncing back and forth. The Stones’ sessions weren’t just about the band anymore—they became a sandbox of sonic ideas, where a leftover riff could find a second life elsewhere. That’s exactly what happened with Redeyes.
From the Vault to Wood’s Hands
According to Martin Elliott’s must-have book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions, the track ultimately stuck with Ronnie Wood. He later reworked and released it as an instrumental titled Redeyes on his own in 1981. The original version of When You’re Gone featured Wood’s distinct bass-heavy rhythm and a more distant lead guitar—giving it a moody, layered quality. While it didn’t make the final Stones cut, it’s a perfect example of the musical “cross-pollination” that happened during this fertile creative period. Sometimes, a song doesn’t need to be polished to be powerful—it just needs the right moment, or the right artist, to carry it forward. In this case, that artist was Ronnie Wood.
Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
Stones Data on Substack
