Single, 1968
. . .
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” isn’t just on the shortlist of my all-time favorite Rolling Stone songs; as far as I’m concerned, it’s on the shortlist of the greatest songs in rock ‘n’ roll history. If aliens came down and asked me to provide an example of this “rock and roll” that I’ve been on about for my entire life, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” immediately jumps to the head of the line.
I’ve listened to it hundreds — maybe even thousands — of times in my life, and it never not once fails to thrill me with its primeval visceral power and utterly relentless drive.
So let me start with an embarrassing confession: it wasn’t until just a few weeks ago when I discovered that I’d had the chorus wrong since 1975. I’d always thought that it was “Uh, jumpin’ jack flash, it’s a gas, gas, gas” when in reality Mick is singing “I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash, it’s a gas, gas, gas.”
Apparently, the backbone riff of the song — the one you hear on the verses — originally came from something Bill Wyman was noodling with on an electronic keyboard, but of course run through the Keith filter. Which in this case was Keith overloading a cassette tape recorder with an acoustic guitar so it sounded like something in between an acoustic and a full-blown electric. And so, the basic track was recorded with Keith on acoustic and Charlie on snare and built from that. It’s interesting: while the Rolling Stones never got the same kudos for their studio wizardry that the Beatles did, a lot of the things they tried during their classic period were pretty fucking revolutionary. You just never noticed it because the songs rocked so hard.
Like the utterly thrilling intro to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” which is all fuzzed-out fucked-up menace. First we hear the distorto acoustic, then Keith’s overdubbed bass, and finally Charlie’s snare, building up to an almost unbearable tension climaxed by Keith’s yaggerdangs and then broken by Mick shouting “watch it!”
At which point “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” well and truly begins.
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain
Of course, the riff proper for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” has kicked in — electric guitar credited to Brian Jones, but really? — and it’s a fucking tidal wave, destroying everything in its path except for Charlie’s snare drum beats, which are walls of granite over which nothing can wash, and are accompanied by Keith playing the floor tom for the thump. Hmm: floor tom and snare drum for the beat? They’re Maureen Tucker!!
This all makes me think that maybe “Stray Cat Blues” wasn’t the only Rolling Stones song influenced by The Velvet Underground. But I’m getting ahead of myself when we haven’t even gotten the chorus, a thing of beauty beyond time and space, where the main riff disappears, replaced by an almost jangly, twirly guitar, spinning around the chorus.
But it’s all right now, in fact, it’s a gas
But it’s all right, I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash
It’s a gas, gas, gas
That’s Keith singing the high harmonies, which you already knew, but it’s also Jimmy Miller singing the lower harmonies — the first of many many many material contributions would make to the Stones’s music, outside of his insane production chops — on “it’s a gas gas gas.”
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
Obviously “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is a character, but he was also kinda sorted based upon a real guy: Mick and Keith were at Keith’s country estate, Redlands, and after being up all night, a sleeping Mick was awoken by Keith’s gardener, Jack Dyer, whom Keith called “jumping Jack,” as you do. It all flowed from there, though history doesn’t seem to record what Dyer felt about inspiring such a dark fantasy. He shoulda at least asked for a raise.
The Stones didn’t put any solos into “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Instead, where you expect a guitar solo, you get a maraca (or two), probably played by Rocky Dijon (who will figure heavily in tomorrow’s post), over yet another variation of the riff and ending almost immediately as another pair of Keith yaggerdangs introduce the final verse, which doubles down on the already considerable darkness.
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled
Yeah, yeah
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head
My, my, yeah
I remember learning those words for my high school band — which numbered “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” as one of the numbers we attempted — and wondering briefly what they meant, before realizing that I really didn’t care, because somehow the best part was to come. I’ve written before about how one of things that started happening when Mick and Keith started feeling their songwriting oats was the killer codas they came up with. And with the possible exception of “Brown Sugar,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is quite possibly the killerest of them all.
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumpin’ Jack Flash, its a gas
What I love about this coda is how it starts off just over the basic guitars, but then as the vocals run out, there’s a harmonica (unless its a mellotron) (unless its an organ) that comes in making pure white noise — more Velvet Underground? — followed by a shit-ton of twirly guitars, and then for sure an organ, played by Bill Wyman. That organ solo is more prominent on the original video, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. (I heard that Peter Jackson is going to make a 80-minute version of that video.) It’s a glorious beautiful dense chaos that I don’t think would have happened had they not gone through the psychedelic period. The difference, of course, was the focus.
Also, if you haven’t walked around singing “jumpin’ jack flash, it’s a gas” at least once in your life, why are you even reading this?
I can’t even imagine the impact this song must have had on Rolling Stones fans when it came out in 1968. It’s like they’d been dicking around — incredibly successfully at times — since “19th Nervous Breakdown,” but decided it was time to bring it all back home. And while “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” only made it to #3 here in America, it topped the charts in the U.K., and made the long summer of unrest at least slightly better, while really whetting appetites for the album was was surely to follow hard on its heels.
Except, of course, it didn’t. Because of a contretemps over the album cover, it was another half a year before Beggars Banquet came out.
And it goes without saying that as long as rock music exists, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” will be a prime example of the form.
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (Official Lyric Video)
“Jumpin Jack Flash” official video
“Jumpin Jack Flash” live at the Rolling Stones Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, 1968
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in 1969 (probably New York City)
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in Texas, 1972
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in Los Angeles, 1975
“Jumpin Jack Flash” live in Texas, 1978
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in Tempe, 1981
“Jumpin Jack Flash” live in Miami, 1994
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in Brazil, 2006
Jumpin’ Jack Flash live in London, 2013
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” live in Los Angeles, 2015
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