JJF is a song about "having a hard time and getting out". And the "Gas" term is sixties slang for a "good time or thing". "I love the way Lex rocks out to music, it's a gas!" 😎👍
Jack was Keith Richards gardner at his house at Villa Nellcote (South of France) Mick and Keith used to see him popping up in the window from the outside. They called him Jumping Jack Flash.
The song is about overcoming obstacles, adversity and smiling about it. "I was born in a crossfire Hurricane." Mick Jagger and Keith Richards kind of literally were. They're both born in Dartford, England in 1943 - east of London and still kind of like the front lines during the blitz in WWII - constant air-raids and a bombed out place at the time... Jumping Jack
I've never been a huge Rolling Stones fan, although I'm old enough to be in their demographic. But this song definitely showcases a rock group on the top of their game. These boys know what they're doing and they are in control.
Funny you say that because “Jumpin Jack Flash” was a comeback song for the Stones in 1968 after a period of baroque pop and psychedelic recordings during Between the Buttons (1967) and Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). Ultimately, they would record Beggar’s Banquet (1968) and start to hit their creative peak, producing a stretch of masterful rock albums that only the Beatles could rival.
It kinda took me awhile back in the early '70 to really like the Stones, but eventually they got to me and I've been a huge fan ever since. Some music is like that.
Every one of my girlfriends in high school were huge Rolling Stones (meaning, Mick Jagger) fans and would always go to their concerts when in my city. I didn't see the attraction. But I do like some of their music. I really like Gimme Shelter.
The Stones were SO stoked- They had so much imagination and energy- and genius overflowing in every direction--- nobody had such good stuff going... love them.
Born in 1951 and watching these two trying to figure out this song just makes me so glad that my time was the 60's onwards. I was so lucky to be there when it was all happening....Fact Was A Gas!!!
The Rolling Stones are the apex for Rock n Roll, no one did it better for longer. The list of songs you should hear of theirs is endless but you should hear Can You Hear Me Knocking ASAP! Enjoy. 🎸
This is my "Best Rock 'N' Roll Song Ever!", but I can't really say why, I just feel it. It's partly the music; the rollicking rhythm, the unique tones, the strong vocals, the simple short structure, the absence of pretension. And it's partly the story; public pleasure as a victory, as a repudiation of denial, as a defeat of the evil forces of repression. JJF has endured and emerged victorious! For me it's the essence of '60s hedonistic freedom. I recall some critic's phrase, "the Rolling Stones at their thuggish best"- it applies here!
A classic from my childhood & youth; still sounds as fresh today as it did when I first heard it as a child! This was a staple at every party back in those days, and was on the radio all the time.
When I was growing up, playing this and "Satisfaction" would guarantee getting people on the dance floor. I remember once going to a New Year's Eve party and nobody was on the dance floor. We requested the DJ play those two songs and almost everyone got up to dance. Then the songs ended and the DJ played something else that completely killed the mood and everyone sat down again.
@@fritzbrooks4277 Unfortunately, I and my friends had nothing to do with the hiring of the DJ and weren't about to effectively do his job by constantly suggesting what songs he should play.
I was alive back then, so this isn't the only time I've heard it's a gas, it got used semi-frequently by hip folks. Modern day equivalent would be along the lines of it's a blast. "I was born in a crossfire hurricane, but I'm alright now, in fact it's a blast."
@@waynemoe3823 I'll take your word for it. I only saw beatniks in movies and Dobie Gillis reruns. When I was new in the world, the world was full of hippies. Sometimes they said "gas", in a context of it being something positive, advantageous or joyous. Maybe the parallel is drawn from the effect of laughing gas. I think it might be easier to compile synonyms than eliminate them.
You did a good job figuring out the meaning of the song from context. I'm so old I didn't realize younger people wouldn't know the slang meaning of "gas."
From what I have read, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was a nickname that Keith Richards gave to his gardener. I guess the guy was kinda weird and he was either slow moving or hopped around, something like that. So Keith came up with a riff and he and Mick just made up the lyrics about this gardener's imaginary life history. It's a total goof, as Brad said.
Historic. This classic single ushered in The Rolling Stone's "Imperial Phase". this was followed by the Beggar's Banquet album and led to their adult rock sound that reigned for 12 years atop the musical mountain....
Probably my favorite song.... heard it a thousand times and never get tired of it... funky, punky and more... thanks!... Jumping Jack Flash was Mick and Kieth spying Kieth's haggard old gardener one day while songwriting and imagining a back story for him... the bassist, Bill Wyman came up with the bar chord riff... 1968, I think...
From 1968 to 1972 the Rolling Stones were the greatest rock band on the planet. No contest. The run of albums they released in that time (Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street) is legendary.
Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, when they were awoken one morning by the clumping footsteps of his gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. Surprised, Jagger asked what it was, and Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack." The lyrics evolved from there.
Jack was Keiths gardener at his place in England, Mick saw him walk past the window and said to Keef "Who's that?, and Keef said "thats Jack, Jumpin Jack" and from such simple things classics are born.
Used to play my mom's 45 of this all the time when I was little. The B side was "Child of the Moon" which is pretty good in its own right. Amazingly, neither one was included on "Beggar's Banquet," their album for 1968.
Jack Flash. His name is Jack Dyer. He was Keith Richard's gardener. It's a long story. I don't have enough time to explain it at all. Keith and Mick were up all night, The next morning they saw Jack Working on a cold rainy day In the garden. Keep Keith and Mick sat down and began writing the song.
The Greatest RnR band ever, with a never ending catalogue. Give Get Off Of My Cloud, Out Of Time, Satisfaction, Mothers Little Helper, Gimme Shelter a listen.
I loved how Lex was just Jamming out, to the song towards the end. She was definitely feeling the vibe and in to it! No hidden message, just a fun song to enjoy! 😉👍🤘
This song is awesome live. They did some great live versions with Mick Taylor as lead guitarist. You see, for the studio version Keith used an acoustic guitar but recorded it in a way that made it sound electric. So when performed live you get an extra jolt of energy. The same happened with “Street Fighting Man”.
So, Mick Jagger had slept over at Keith Richards place and in the morning, the gardener was out trimming the hedges and making a racket. Mick asked Keith: “Who is that?”, and Keith responded: “Jumping Jack!” Because the gardener’s name was Jack. What is most significant about this song is that it heralds The Stones return to their R&B roots. After their previous album, “Their Satanic Majesty’s Request” (from which you reviewed 2 songs, 2000 Light Years from Home and She’s Like a Rainbow) and it’s dismal review by critics, The Stones wanted to return to their origins. They’d tried their chops at psychedelia, in line with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which The Beatles had just put out and which seemed to indicate a new musical direction for the times. Jumping’ Jack Flash brings The Stones back and sets them on the path to musical dominance for the next decade or so. It also embroils them in more controversy, something which they never shied away from, as critics read Demonic undertones in the lyrics. When they released “Sympathy for the Devil”, critics labelled them as Devil Worshippers which made parents hate them even more, and teens love them more. Acoustically, this song is unique and that’s because of Keith’s wizardry. The main riff is played on an acoustic guitar which is first recorded on a tape recorder then run through an amplifier to give it that fuzz box sound. Backed up by an electric guitar, it’s hard to discern where one instrument takes over where the other leaves off.
Adding (unless they've heard some of them) Beast of Burden, Angie, Start Me Up. There are a lot, I'm drawing a blank now. They had close to the number of great songs as the Beatles, reasonable that they were the original either/or. The Stones are also the only big band I've ever seen live, and even then, around 2000, they blew the doors off with an over 3 hour show (after Blues Traveler already played a 45 minute set).
This was the opening song from their Adelaide concert back in 2014. First time I saw them was 1973. Still working and drawing huge crowds. The Rolling Stones 1962 - 2022.
1968....We did this in our Junior high rock band as main song on our limited set list....from 1968 to 1971. Esp 1970-71. One of the Stone's best, just rocks to me. It's got a back beat laid down by the recently late drummer Charlie Watts that you just can't beat or improve on. He was like a perfect metronome, him and Ringo of the Beatles. one funny note: We would throw in a line changed to see if people noticed: "Jumpin' Jack Flash, he's got gas...." and would giggle at the idea.
An anthem of the 60s every time I hear it I go back in time to the groovy 60s! Stones in the park, a film you should watch see what 60s were like! Also Woodstock the movie, Far Out Man! ✌️🧐🇬🇧
The Rolling Stones, for me, are the most iconographic group for anti-establishment for the time. They were considered the bad boys to The Beatles being equally popular and appearing on the same time line. For this era, as I've seen mentioned numerous times, the instrumentality of music was becoming forefront and vocalist styles started to adapt with the movement towards instrumental virtuosity, blending and evoking sounds never heard before. Hearing Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and here, Mick Jagger, you get a sense of how the early blues styles were so easily able to be captured in voices singing about the ills of the day (racism, The War, drugs and crossed relationships). This era allowed music to blend and it was new. People probably didn't expect to see The Fifth Dimension doing Hair! :)
Best Land Scaping song ever~~~!!! 😂😁 The boys saw Jack Dyer Keith's gardener walking past the window, Mick - who is that? Keith - thats Jumpin Jack Flash. What a song, it is a gas gas gas man. Love the Stones.
That's one of the most hilarious speculative analyses of this song I've ever heard. Wow, but yeah Brad basically nailed it. So funny, all the meanings you guys came up with.
I read a story a long time ago that this was inspired by an old gardener who had lost most of his teeth. Jagger and Richards started the song by writing a story about what kind of crazy life they thought the old man could have had. "It's a gas" was 60's British slang for "fun"... like 'The party last night was a total gas!" So in essence, the song is a series of life struggles, but end the end thinking that their long journey ended up ok, and at an old age, looking back on their life as it being kind of fun and adventurous... I think... ? "But it's alright now, in fact it's a gas"! Great song. I saw the Stones in 1989 on their "Steel Wheels" tour. Jumping Jack Flash was their very last song of the night. It brought the house down!
"There was only one road back to L.A., U.S. interstate 15. Just a flat-out high speed burn through Baker, and Barstow, and Berdoo. Then on to the Hollywood freeway straight into frantic oblivion. Safety... obscurity... just another freak in the freak kingdom." Raoul Duke speeding down the highway at the end of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. When I hear this great Stones song I thinks of the great Terry Gilliam movie.
The story I heard was that Mick and Keith were sitting around at an estate somewhere, and an old caretaker was talking about how hard they had it when he was a kid, and how the current young people didn't know how good they had it. And their punch line was "But it's alright now...", a snarky way of saying "should everything stay shitty so you can feel better about it?"
In this episode of Brad & Lex, the classic cut commits to creating collective confusion amongst the duo as they search for meaning to to this 1968 rock tune. Brad and Lex seem to trade places as the ever so analytical Brad unusually sums up Jagger's lyrics to just being a "fun" song while Lex adds unseen dimensions and possibilities to the legendary track exhibiting a jolly "bop" as Brad's physical form contradicts his synopsis with a tame "side to side sway".
I've noticed, over the last few videos I've watched, that Brad has started to get into the music a bit more than he used to. It's funny because I used to scream at him to just have fun. Now I miss his lyrical analytics.
This was the Stones return to bluesy rock after their 'psychedelic' period and they have performed this more times in concert than any other song. The story is that 'Jumpin' Jack' was Mick Jagger's gardener at his country home, and he and Keith Richards very quickly wrote a song around that phrase. I think the exaggerated verses are an homage to some American blues songs.
I have a VHS tape I recorded of Jumpin' Jack Flash from PBS many years ago. It's really great to watch because of all the CGI involved from the time. I doubt anyone else has it. Look at the song in this manner: No matter what life throws at you it's all right because you can come out of it just fine. Life is a gas because you can come out of it better for it.
Back in the Day, "It's a Gas" was our version of "It's a Vibe" or "That's Awesome". The Song was about "You can do what you want to me, I don't care because I'm Chillin". In Your Background you have the Himalayan Salt Lamp, but for US, it was Lava Lamps. Today you have Raves... for us it was hanging out at a friends place, Mellowing out to some heavy tunes with either Black lights (or NO lights if we had our girlfriends with us). We'd stay up all night talking about hypotheticals, Fantasies and "Nuthin". For Rolling Stones FUNK, Try "Honky Tonk Woman"... LEGENDARY!
When a kid today, says this is lit! Well, back in London in the 60's it was a Gas!!!!!! know what I'm sayin'? is that better? Thumbs up for ole time classic!
Gas is term commonly used in England meaning a good time.The song is about being a survivor and coming out of hard times and now everything is a gas.The title was inspired by a British cartoon of the era named Jumpin Jack.
Most people don't understand the lyrics because Mick was at Keth's country estate. They were trying to write music for there next album with no luck because of bad case of writer's block. One cold foggy England morning after being up all night and drunk and high they were sitting in the house when Mick hears boots scraping on the stone walkway out side and ask Keth " What's that ?" Keth reply's " That's just the estates care taker Jumping Jack Flash ". Mick sits u and says what a grate name for a song, Tell me all about him. The lyrics are short snip its about Jack's life time It's a gas is a shorten down version of the saying, "Now were cooking with gas". That comes from when the country started going from wood stoves to gas stoves that were easier, faster and HOTTER.
I remember that in that time - the late sixties - once Steve Marriott in an interview said about Mick Jagger "He's a gas", which meant, that he's fantastic ..
Both Mick and Keith were born during the German bombings of London. Hence, the beginning, “ I was born in a crossfire hurricane.” It was about being born and living a hard life, but then enjoying life.
There is a children's rhyme story about jumping jack flash sat on a candlestick, jumping jack got up quick because the candle was lit he became a flash. A gas is a good time. A party could be called a gasser or a humorous person was a gasser. Someone who is frequently full of themselves is called full of hot air or full of gas, too.
There are a few stanzas of Don Maclean's "American Pie" that reference this song as a shorthand for Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, the Altamont tragedy, and the general darkening of late 60's counterculture: "Oh, and there we were all in one place A generation lost in space With no time left to start again So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spell And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died."
I love this song, Sympathy For The Devil and Gimme Shelter (which you can hear in a LOT of Scorsese's movies). I also get flashbacks of Whoopi Goldberg trying to suss out the lyrics to this song and yelling "Mick! Speak ENGLISH!" Lol!
Linda Ronstadt did this song in concert…it was pretty good….no surprise here….whatever genre she tried came out great…..from country….to rock…to Spanish influences (she is half Mexican/German)…..to opera…..to jazz….you get the idea…..
Love me some Stones! You guys should watch some of their live performances. Mick Jagger's stage presence with the rest of the band will make you appreciate them more.
JJF is a song about "having a hard time and getting out". And the "Gas" term is sixties slang for a "good time or thing". "I love the way Lex rocks out to music, it's a gas!" 😎👍
Jack was Keith Richards gardner at his house at Villa Nellcote (South of France) Mick and Keith used to see him popping up in the window from the outside. They called him Jumping Jack Flash.
This chick likes Classic Rock.
@@arautus yeah she's why they have as many viewers as they do because the dude there is catatonic.
@@t-bone6467 I like her too, but the only thing that matters is, that she is with him for a reason.
@@davidcohen1424 So, Jack would suddenly appear in a flash? It's a great song.
Released as a single in 1968. "It's a gas" was a fairly common saying in England in the 60s for a party atmosphere.
Not just England
They could have also said "it's a blast" same thing
Reminds of Pink Floyd song, "Money, it's a gas....."
It was used in America too.
today "it's a gas" is when people fart
Greatest Rock n' Roll Band Ever... Ever !
Truly one of the great rock n roll singles of all time. Such a groove.
The song is about overcoming obstacles, adversity and smiling about it.
"I was born in a crossfire Hurricane." Mick Jagger and Keith Richards kind of literally were. They're both born in Dartford, England in 1943 - east of London and still kind of like the front lines during the blitz in WWII - constant air-raids and a bombed out place at the time...
Jumping Jack
Margret Thacker was born in Dartford, England.
I've never been a huge Rolling Stones fan, although I'm old enough to be in their demographic. But this song definitely showcases a rock group on the top of their game. These boys know what they're doing and they are in control.
Funny you say that because “Jumpin Jack Flash” was a comeback song for the Stones in 1968 after a period of baroque pop and psychedelic recordings during Between the Buttons (1967) and Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). Ultimately, they would record Beggar’s Banquet (1968) and start to hit their creative peak, producing a stretch of masterful rock albums that only the Beatles could rival.
It kinda took me awhile back in the early '70 to really like the Stones, but eventually they got to me and I've been a huge fan ever since. Some music is like that.
Every one of my girlfriends in high school were huge Rolling Stones (meaning, Mick Jagger) fans and would always go to their concerts when in my city. I didn't see the attraction. But I do like some of their music. I really like Gimme Shelter.
"It's a gas" is basically slang for "it's lit"
He's talking about hardship growing up, but now everything is lit.
Lit gas = neon 😎
@@mr.knowitall6440 lit gas = combustion
The Stones were SO stoked- They had so much imagination and energy- and genius overflowing in every direction--- nobody had such good stuff going... love them.
Gas: nitrous oxide
Born in 1951 and watching these two trying to figure out this song just makes me so glad that my time was the 60's onwards. I was so lucky to be there when it was all happening....Fact Was A Gas!!!
Me too.
Me too!!!!
The Rolling Stones are the apex for Rock n Roll, no one did it better for longer. The list of songs you should hear of theirs is endless but you should hear Can You Hear Me Knocking ASAP! Enjoy. 🎸
It's two great songs in one!!!
And Monkey Man too. I do not see any reactions to this song and it is such a classic!
The second half is as good as music gets if you ask me. Classic.
This is my "Best Rock 'N' Roll Song Ever!", but I can't really say why, I just feel it. It's partly the music; the rollicking rhythm, the unique tones, the strong vocals, the simple short structure, the absence of pretension. And it's partly the story; public pleasure as a victory, as a repudiation of denial, as a defeat of the evil forces of repression. JJF has endured and emerged victorious! For me it's the essence of '60s hedonistic freedom. I recall some critic's phrase, "the Rolling Stones at their thuggish best"- it applies here!
When the Stones hit a groove like they do in JJF, particularly the outro, they do it like no other. It can become almost mesmerising.
You sure got that right!
A classic from my childhood & youth; still sounds as fresh today as it did when I first heard it as a child! This was a staple at every party back in those days, and was on the radio all the time.
When I was growing up, playing this and "Satisfaction" would guarantee getting people on the dance floor.
I remember once going to a New Year's Eve party and nobody was on the dance floor. We requested the DJ play those two songs and almost everyone got up to dance. Then the songs ended and the DJ played something else that completely killed the mood and everyone sat down again.
😂😆🤣
Time for a new DJ
@@fritzbrooks4277 Unfortunately, I and my friends had nothing to do with the hiring of the DJ and weren't about to effectively do his job by constantly suggesting what songs he should play.
On July 26, 1965, this song was #1 on the charts. It was Mick's birthday. And it was the day I was born. I love having that connection.
how? . .it wasnt released until 1968 😆@@stevefriery9086
I was alive back then, so this isn't the only time I've heard it's a gas, it got used semi-frequently by hip folks. Modern day equivalent would be along the lines of it's a blast. "I was born in a crossfire hurricane, but I'm alright now, in fact it's a blast."
Even more currently would be, "it's lit".
I think it was used by beatniks and carried over to the hippie movement before groovy became the word
I was not alive back then but I still know the phrase. It's still used today in some circles... apparently not their's, but that's okay.
@@waynemoe3823 I'll take your word for it. I only saw beatniks in movies and Dobie Gillis reruns. When I was new in the world, the world was full of hippies. Sometimes they said "gas", in a context of it being something positive, advantageous or joyous. Maybe the parallel is drawn from the effect of laughing gas. I think it might be easier to compile synonyms than eliminate them.
but i'm alright now, in fact its bussin, respectfully"
You did a good job figuring out the meaning of the song from context. I'm so old I didn't realize younger people wouldn't know the slang meaning of "gas."
It is jarring when suddenly you realize your terms are now antiquated. Dang whippersnappers...
Welcome to the older than sin network. I am also very old and it's nice to know that music is still like by the young ones.
From what I have read, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was a nickname that Keith Richards gave to his gardener. I guess the guy was kinda weird and he was either slow moving or hopped around, something like that. So Keith came up with a riff and he and Mick just made up the lyrics about this gardener's imaginary life history.
It's a total goof, as Brad said.
The story I remember is Mick said we're gonna call it Jumpin Jack and Keith added Flash. Correct me if I'm wrong, going by my ever fading memory.
It’s just a song about having a hard time and then getting out of it.
Correct it was based on Keith's Gardener in terms of the title
Actually "Bill Wyman" the bass player, came up with the riff on piano in the studio and no he didn't get credit for it. Keith nicked it. :)~
who cares, music is for the listener.
This is one of their great ones. When they played it live they took a completely different approach. A good example is on "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out."
Loved that album way back when.
There best live album ever midnight rambler sympathy for the devil and honky tonk woman
Historic. This classic single ushered in The Rolling Stone's "Imperial Phase". this was followed by the Beggar's Banquet album and led to their adult rock sound that reigned for 12 years atop the musical mountain....
Probably my favorite song.... heard it a thousand times and never get tired of it... funky, punky and more... thanks!... Jumping Jack Flash was Mick and Kieth spying Kieth's haggard old gardener one day while songwriting and imagining a back story for him... the bassist, Bill Wyman came up with the bar chord riff... 1968, I think...
From 1968 to 1972 the Rolling Stones were the greatest rock band on the planet. No contest. The run of albums they released in that time (Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street) is legendary.
This is the only song that can make me FEEL a sense of movement even when I am sitting down...there is an ENERGY in it like no other song.
An Old Nursery Rhyme: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the Candlestick!
Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, when they were awoken one morning by the clumping footsteps of his gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. Surprised, Jagger asked what it was, and Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack." The lyrics evolved from there.
Jack was Keiths gardener at his place in England, Mick saw him walk past the window and said to Keef "Who's that?, and Keef said "thats Jack, Jumpin Jack" and from such simple things classics are born.
Looks like Brad gets the deep meaning this time. "It's a gas" = "sh*t is LIT" And the Flash is DC. sheesh
Used to play my mom's 45 of this all the time when I was little. The B side was "Child of the Moon" which is pretty good in its own right. Amazingly, neither one was included on "Beggar's Banquet," their album for 1968.
Jack Flash. His name is Jack Dyer. He was Keith Richard's gardener. It's a long story. I don't have enough time to explain it at all. Keith and Mick were up all night, The next morning they saw Jack Working on a cold rainy day In the garden. Keep Keith and Mick sat down and began writing the song.
Jumpin' Jack Flash was a gardener that had size 14 shoes (apparently). Bassist Bill Wyman wrote the iconic riff for this song.
The Greatest RnR band ever, with a never ending catalogue. Give Get Off Of My Cloud, Out Of Time, Satisfaction, Mothers Little Helper, Gimme Shelter a listen.
I loved how Lex was just Jamming out, to the song towards the end. She was definitely feeling the vibe and in to it! No hidden message, just a fun song to enjoy! 😉👍🤘
Charlie Watts & Bill Wynan are DEEP in the pocket and drive this grove hard!!!
One of the best rock n roll songs ever!!!
The older I get, the greater this song gets.
And it was always pretty great to start with.
This song is awesome live. They did some great live versions with Mick Taylor as lead guitarist.
You see, for the studio version Keith used an acoustic guitar but recorded it in a way that made it sound electric. So when performed live you get an extra jolt of energy. The same happened with “Street Fighting Man”.
A classic. It's so beautifully raw it's almost like punk... way before punk was created of course.
So, Mick Jagger had slept over at Keith Richards place and in the morning, the gardener was out trimming the hedges and making a racket. Mick asked Keith: “Who is that?”, and Keith responded: “Jumping Jack!” Because the gardener’s name was Jack.
What is most significant about this song is that it heralds The Stones return to their R&B roots. After their previous album, “Their Satanic Majesty’s Request” (from which you reviewed 2 songs, 2000 Light Years from Home and She’s Like a Rainbow) and it’s dismal review by critics, The Stones wanted to return to their origins. They’d tried their chops at psychedelia, in line with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which The Beatles had just put out and which seemed to indicate a new musical direction for the times.
Jumping’ Jack Flash brings The Stones back and sets them on the path to musical dominance for the next decade or so. It also embroils them in more controversy, something which they never shied away from, as critics read Demonic undertones in the lyrics. When they released “Sympathy for the Devil”, critics labelled them as Devil Worshippers which made parents hate them even more, and teens love them more.
Acoustically, this song is unique and that’s because of Keith’s wizardry. The main riff is played on an acoustic guitar which is first recorded on a tape recorder then run through an amplifier to give it that fuzz box sound. Backed up by an electric guitar, it’s hard to discern where one instrument takes over where the other leaves off.
One of the catchiest guitar riffs in rock music. Love the way Mick says "I was bone, in a crossfire hurricane".😄
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
@@dolfin98 I know what he's actually saying. It's just his pronounciation to my ears, sounds like bone instead of born.
This has gotta be the greatest interpretation of "Jumping Jack Flash" ever!
Brad & Lex, their "Honky Tonk Women", "Lets Spend The Night Together" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want"(NOT live) are next for you!!
Adding (unless they've heard some of them) Beast of Burden, Angie, Start Me Up. There are a lot, I'm drawing a blank now. They had close to the number of great songs as the Beatles, reasonable that they were the original either/or.
The Stones are also the only big band I've ever seen live, and even then, around 2000, they blew the doors off with an over 3 hour show (after Blues Traveler already played a 45 minute set).
and Far Away Eyes
@@mage1439 Thru and Thru is my favourite stones song.
And dead flowers
@@L.A55 and Sweet Virginia.....its the Stones so this can go on indefinitely haha
This was the opening song from their Adelaide concert back in 2014. First time I saw them was 1973. Still working and drawing huge crowds. The Rolling Stones 1962 - 2022.
1968....We did this in our Junior high rock band as main song on our limited set list....from 1968 to 1971. Esp 1970-71. One of the Stone's best, just rocks to me. It's got a back beat laid down by the recently late drummer Charlie Watts that you just can't beat or improve on. He was like a perfect metronome, him and Ringo of the Beatles. one funny note: We would throw in a line changed to see if people noticed: "Jumpin' Jack Flash, he's got gas...." and would giggle at the idea.
An anthem of the 60s every time I hear it I go back in time to the groovy 60s! Stones in the park, a film you should watch see what 60s were like! Also Woodstock the movie, Far Out Man! ✌️🧐🇬🇧
We still use the term in Ireland. A good time is still often referred to as " a great gas" as a person who's good fun to be around.
The Rolling Stones, for me, are the most iconographic group for anti-establishment for the time. They were considered the bad boys to The Beatles being equally popular and appearing on the same time line. For this era, as I've seen mentioned numerous times, the instrumentality of music was becoming forefront and vocalist styles started to adapt with the movement towards instrumental virtuosity, blending and evoking sounds never heard before. Hearing Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and here, Mick Jagger, you get a sense of how the early blues styles were so easily able to be captured in voices singing about the ills of the day (racism, The War, drugs and crossed relationships). This era allowed music to blend and it was new. People probably didn't expect to see The Fifth Dimension doing Hair! :)
Best Land Scaping song ever~~~!!! 😂😁 The boys saw Jack Dyer Keith's gardener walking past the window, Mick - who is that? Keith - thats Jumpin Jack Flash. What a song, it is a gas gas gas man. Love the Stones.
That's one of the most hilarious speculative analyses of this song I've ever heard. Wow, but yeah Brad basically nailed it. So funny, all the meanings you guys came up with.
I read a story a long time ago that this was inspired by an old gardener who had lost most of his teeth. Jagger and Richards started the song by writing a story about what kind of crazy life they thought the old man could have had. "It's a gas" was 60's British slang for "fun"... like 'The party last night was a total gas!" So in essence, the song is a series of life struggles, but end the end thinking that their long journey ended up ok, and at an old age, looking back on their life as it being kind of fun and adventurous... I think... ? "But it's alright now, in fact it's a gas"! Great song. I saw the Stones in 1989 on their "Steel Wheels" tour. Jumping Jack Flash was their very last song of the night. It brought the house down!
Early Stones is the best Stones. So much density and energy, verve and vigour!
this song was the template for 70's rock....in 1968
one of the greatest songs ever written
Back in the day 'GAS' meant FUN.... like "I had a gas(fun)at that party"
Please react to " She's a Rainbow".
Another favorite of the Stones!
Possibly my favorite by the Stones, a great song.
Rolling Stones are quite a top fav of mine.. but this song is fn perfect. Everything about it. Stunning.
A "gas" is a good time! A blast .
You guys are down the Stones rabbit hole for real .
when this song was written gas was a popular slang expression for a fun time
Exactly!
"There was only one road back to L.A., U.S. interstate 15. Just a flat-out high speed burn through Baker, and Barstow, and Berdoo. Then on to the Hollywood freeway straight into frantic oblivion. Safety... obscurity... just another freak in the freak kingdom." Raoul Duke speeding down the highway at the end of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. When I hear this great Stones song I thinks of the great Terry Gilliam movie.
The story I heard was that Mick and Keith were sitting around at an estate somewhere, and an old caretaker was talking about how hard they had it when he was a kid, and how the current young people didn't know how good they had it. And their punch line was "But it's alright now...", a snarky way of saying "should everything stay shitty so you can feel better about it?"
Thanks, I love learning new stuff...
In this episode of Brad & Lex, the classic cut commits to creating collective confusion amongst the duo as they search for meaning to to this 1968 rock tune. Brad and Lex seem to trade places as the ever so analytical Brad unusually sums up Jagger's lyrics to just being a "fun" song while Lex adds unseen dimensions and possibilities to the legendary track exhibiting a jolly "bop" as Brad's physical form contradicts his synopsis with a tame "side to side sway".
I've noticed, over the last few videos I've watched, that Brad has started to get into the music a bit more than he used to. It's funny because I used to scream at him to just have fun. Now I miss his lyrical analytics.
Will Brad finally chill to the vibe? Will Lex ever find a song that tastes like vomit jelly beans? Tune in next stream to find out!
You've been waiting for months to use that alliteration, haven't you? :-)
I look forward to your reaction synopsis @Smitty
The confusion on this one is killin me 🤣😂 love it. 👍
It's a Gas watching you two! It's a blast watching you two! It's a thrill watching you two! It's a pill watching you two!
Man Lex you're a little doll.... Loved watching you get into it..... Pure rockin....
The Stones are definitely top 3 of my classic rock bands! 🤘😈🤘
Gotta listen to Sway, Stray Cat Blues, You Got The Silver, I got The Blues, Moonlight Mile. All great Stones songs
My favorite Rolling Stones song, Keith Richard's opening Riff makes this song, Keith is underrated a as guitarist.
This was the Stones return to bluesy rock after their 'psychedelic' period and they have performed this more times in concert than any other song.
The story is that 'Jumpin' Jack' was Mick Jagger's gardener at his country home, and he and Keith Richards very quickly wrote a song around that phrase. I think the exaggerated verses are an homage to some American blues songs.
I have a VHS tape I recorded of Jumpin' Jack Flash from PBS many years ago. It's really great to watch because of all the CGI involved from the time. I doubt anyone else has it.
Look at the song in this manner: No matter what life throws at you it's all right because you can come out of it just fine. Life is a gas because you can come out of it better for it.
The beatles wanted to hold your hand the rolling stones wanted to sleep with your daughters.These guys ripped up the rule book they are epic.
Jack Flash was guitarist Keith Richard's gardner at Villa Nellcote in the South of France.
Back in the Day, "It's a Gas" was our version of "It's a Vibe" or "That's Awesome".
The Song was about "You can do what you want to me, I don't care because I'm Chillin".
In Your Background you have the Himalayan Salt Lamp, but for US, it was Lava Lamps. Today you have Raves... for us it was hanging out at a friends place, Mellowing out to some heavy tunes with either Black lights (or NO lights if we had our girlfriends with us). We'd stay up all night talking about hypotheticals, Fantasies and "Nuthin".
For Rolling Stones FUNK, Try "Honky Tonk Woman"... LEGENDARY!
I love this song. Whenever I'm feeling down it gets me up. Johnny winter does a great cover version. The stones at their peak with Brian Jones.
I believe the title refers to an old nursery rhyme. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick.
*LOL...I do remember Punkin' this one OUT in our band in the early 80s. GAS = Blast = Good Time.*
I your reactions to Rolling Stones songs. Please keep 'em coming. So very entertaining and insightful :)
You worked it out and for a song that is 54 years old it still communicates to you.
When a kid today, says this is lit! Well, back in London in the 60's it was a Gas!!!!!! know what I'm sayin'? is that better? Thumbs up for ole time classic!
Can You Hear Me Knocking and Beast of Burden are such great songs in an immense great catalogue.
Gas is term commonly used in England meaning a good time.The song is about being a survivor and coming out of hard times and now everything is a gas.The title was inspired by a British cartoon of the era named Jumpin Jack.
Most people don't understand the lyrics because Mick was at Keth's country estate. They were trying to write music for there next album with no luck because of bad case of writer's block. One cold foggy England morning after being up all night and drunk and high they were sitting in the house when Mick hears boots scraping on the stone walkway out side and ask Keth " What's that ?" Keth reply's " That's just the estates care taker Jumping Jack Flash ". Mick sits u and says what a grate name for a song, Tell me all about him. The lyrics are short snip its about Jack's life time
It's a gas is a shorten down version of the saying, "Now were cooking with gas". That comes from when the country started going from wood stoves to gas stoves that were easier, faster and HOTTER.
It's a gas means it's great, it's high, it's good. You two are really fun to watch. Keep it up!!
I remember that in that time - the late sixties - once Steve Marriott in an interview said about Mick Jagger "He's a gas", which meant, that he's fantastic ..
Both Mick and Keith were born during the German bombings of London. Hence, the beginning, “ I was born in a crossfire hurricane.” It was about being born and living a hard life, but then enjoying life.
Good insight Brad! Once again I must say love you guys!!
"Marshmallows! Those are good..."
LOL
It's a gas = it's groovey, cool, awesome...That era talk.
This is one of my favourite songs by the Rolling Stones.
Late 60's through the 70's. Every Garage band that ever was played this song.
Stones song "It's Only Rock and Roll" is their most forgotten classic but "Beast Of Burden" is also great.
"It's a gas"-millennial translation: "Off the chain."
There is a children's rhyme story about jumping jack flash sat on a candlestick, jumping jack got up quick because the candle was lit he became a flash. A gas is a good time. A party could be called a gasser or a humorous person was a gasser. Someone who is frequently full of themselves is called full of hot air or full of gas, too.
It’s a gas is slang
Slang changes
A gas is something fun fueled - it’s “hyped”
Brad and Lex love that you get into the music so quickly. None of this promo bullshit.
My favorite intro to any song including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
There are a few stanzas of Don Maclean's "American Pie" that reference this song as a shorthand for Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, the Altamont tragedy, and the general darkening of late 60's counterculture:
"Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died."
I love this song, Sympathy For The Devil and Gimme Shelter (which you can hear in a LOT of Scorsese's movies).
I also get flashbacks of Whoopi Goldberg trying to suss out the lyrics to this song and yelling "Mick! Speak ENGLISH!" Lol!
I will never again think of The Flash without imagining him doing jumping jacks.
Linda Ronstadt did this song in concert…it was pretty good….no surprise here….whatever genre she tried came out great…..from country….to rock…to Spanish influences (she is half Mexican/German)…..to opera…..to jazz….you get the idea…..
One of the most iconic Rifts in rock and roll.
You could spend the next year listening to the stones and go WOW !! 😎
One of best rock n roll songs of all time!
This song was such a PARTY STARTER back in the day!
Love me some Stones! You guys should watch some of their live performances. Mick Jagger's stage presence with the rest of the band will make you appreciate them more.