From the Shadows: Jimmy Miller

Jimmy Miller is probably best known as the producer of The Rolling Stones on their four iconic albums: Beggar's Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St. It's true that his reign as the Stones' producer neatly coincided with Mick and Keith's songwriting golden years, but it's difficult to overstate the importance of Miller's mastery of all things percussion in defining that classic Stones sound.

Always ahead of his time, Miller initially became known as a remixer. He took a fine but rather lifeless song by The Spencer Davis Group, "Gimme Some Lovin", and made it move. The same goes for its follow-up "I'm a Man", a song injected with a staggering array of percussive instruments such as maracas, finger cymbals, and congas. While this may have easily devolved into a scenario of throwing a lot of shit at a wall to see what sticks, every piece of percussion used is instead a compliment to the song as a whole: the resulting groove is irresistible.

Listen to "I'm a Man":

[Download the MP3 Here]

After the psychedelic folly of "Their Satanic Majesties Request", The Stones were looking to beef up their sound, to give it some backbone and channel the dark heart of the blues. Thus they turned to the American Miller, the first fruits of this partnership being the single "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Once again, the song moves in a way that makes other rock songs before and since sound limp in comparison. Listen to the way the maracas come in as loudly as anything else at the end of the second chorus and marvel at how the addition of a simple percussion part lifts the song to new heights.

Miller and The Stones' first album collaboration, "Beggar's Banquet", opens with a new high water mark: "Sympathy For the Devil". The percussion on this track is particularly striking: like something from a Latin jazz ensemble rather than a group of white Englishmen, the sheer number of intricate, interlocking rhythms set a new standard for popular music. In my early college years, I had a healthy obsession with jazz and funk, but was scornful of rock because it seemed so ignorant of rhythm. Miller's production on "Sympathy for the Devil" was instrumental in my musical education: it taught me that melody and rhythm are not mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite, actually.

"Sympathy for the Devil" from "Rock n' Roll Circus":

Miller's triumphs are too numerous to all get a mention here, but some cannot be ignored. In what could quite possibly be the only time one could call for "more cowbell" without sounding ironic, he plays the much-maligned instrument on "Honky Tonk Women". Keith Richards, in a fit of late-night inspiration, recruited Jimmy to play drums on "Happy", a crucial track of "Exile on Main St." and Richards' signature tune. Miller is also behind the kit on "You Can't Always Get What You Want", taking over when Charlie couldn't get the hang of the beat: Miller's mastery of syncopation is a vital element of what is arguably one of the best rock songs ever recorded. Also worth mentioning is "Brown Sugar". Listen to the way what sound like castanets skip along with the beat, creating a jauntiness that perfectly accents Jagger's scandalous lyrics. A subtle touch, yes, but an absolutely crucial aspect of the song's appeal.

Listen to "Brown Sugar":

[Download the MP3 Here]

Once in L.A. a producer I knew sneeringly pointed out that "Sympathy for the Devil" ends at a tempo twice that which it starts at, and informed me that, "We don't do it like that anymore". My question was and is, "Why?" These are human rhythms, and they have been lost in an age of ProTools and tempo correction. Jimmy Miller understood the importance of the beat, and for that reason, left his stamp not only on the greatest rock n' roll band ever, but on rock music as a whole.