The Rolling Stones - Can I Get A Witness (Influences - Vol. 3) (2023)

Though the early Rolling Stones' repertoire was dominated by covers of electric blues, R&B, and Black rock'n'roll songs, even on their first album they were also branching out into contemporary soul music, including a version of Marvin Gaye's recent hit "Can I Get a Witness." (Actually they released their first soul cover slightly earlier, when they put Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" on their first British EP.) The song had been a fair-sized hit for Gaye right before the Stones cut it, reaching #22 in the US, where Gaye was only just starting to become a star. Written by the top Motown songwriting team of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland, "Can I Get a Witness" in its original version was a very typical high-grade 1963 Motown product: almost gospel in its melody and construction, yet crossed with pop in its steady handclap beat, backup vocals, and jazzy horns. The Rolling Stones didn't change it much, except to lower the key a few notches, give it slightly more of a rock beat, and put the instrumental accent on Ian Stewart's boogie-like piano playing. Mick Jagger's vocal has a thicker, throatier texture than it does on the rest of the album, enough so that the first few times you hear it, you might even wonder whether it's him singing. "Can I Get a Witness" is okay, but it's one of the more middling efforts on the first Stones album, perhaps because it didn't fit their style at that point as well as songs by the likes of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters did. In the first part of his autobiography (Stoned), Rolling Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham recalled that when the song was recorded, it became evident that Jagger didn't know all the words. The band took a break while Mick rushed over to the publisher to get sheet music, resuming recording when he get back; according to Oldham, that's why Jagger's vocal sounds breathless. "Can I Get a Witness" has been recorded by a good number of other well-known acts, including Brian Auger, the Buckinghams, Ian Gillan, Lulu, Lee Michaels, Dusty Springfield, and Rod Stewart.

TRACKLIST

1. The Rolling Stones - Can I Get A Witness (Mono)
2. The Rolling Stones - It's All Over Now (Mono Version)
3. The Rolling Stones - Pain In My Heart
4. The Rolling Stones - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
5. The Rolling Stones - If You Need Me (Mono)
6. The Rolling Stones - Walking The Dog (Mono)