It Was 50 Years Ago Today: “Get Off of My Cloud” by The Rolling Stones
November 17, 1965
“Get Off of My Cloud” by The Rolling Stones
#1 on the Billboard Hot 100, November 6-19, 1965
When an artist scores a big hit, it’s hard to blame them for going back for a second helping. One approach is to hew as closely to the previous song as possible, changing just the minimum number of variables to qualify the new record as a separate entity. This was Motown’s gambit: think of the Four Tops following up “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” with the aptly titled “It’s the Same Old Song,” or the string of Supremes successes built on the same beat and lyrical themes as “Where Did Our Love Go.” Another option is to follow the Hollywood sequel formula: everything you liked about the original but kicked up a notch, resulting in a record that is bigger and (theoretically) better. A prime example of this is the Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud,” the big-budget redux of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” with a busier arrangement and an even headier attitude.
The two songs adhere to the same basic template: Mick Jagger drawls out a few anecdotes about things that are pissing him off, interspersed with a punchy refrain emphasizing how pissed off he is. But whereas the Jagger of “Satisfaction” was griping about his own inability to be satisfied (“I can’t get no”), in “Cloud” he’s directing his anger outward to encompass anyone daring to get in his way (“hey, you, get off of my cloud”). The detergent salesman from “Satisfaction” is no longer just on TV; now he appears in person (and loud clothing) at Jagger’s apartment. While the salesman stood for consumerism in the previous single, Jagger’s reference to the man “dressed up like the Union Jack” expands his role to include a possible political angle. The political references resurface in the third verse, where Jagger isn’t even free to sleep in his car without getting swamped in parking tickets. As with “Satisfaction,” though, Jagger doesn’t really concern himself about the meaning behind what’s holding him down. He’s more interested in describing the feeling of being young and disaffected – and, in the case of “Cloud,” asserting himself in opposition to a world that seems set against him, even if he knows it’s ultimately useless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Mu0M-bN3E
The bigger-and-more mentality of the lyrics also turns up in Andrew Loog Oldham’s production, where each member of the group seems to be playing on their own cloud, oblivious to what his bandmates are doing. It sounds under-rehearsed and poorly mixed, especially in comparison with the previous hit, but the sloppiness actually works in its favor. The lean meanness and repetition of “Satisfaction” emphasized its single-minded frustration, while the churning, overcrowded “Cloud” reflects the busyness of the world Jagger’s trying to escape. Only Charlie Watts’s drums have enough force to punch through the sonic murk. His intro, like Keith Richards’s “Satisfaction” riff, encapsulates the song’s exasperation, bouncing discontentedly in place before accelerating into a fury, like fists punching a wall in frustration.
Often the problem with sequels is that the extras on the surface are intended to mask a shortfall of ideas. But while “Get Off of My Cloud” isn’t quite the bolt from the blue that its predecessor was, the Stones’ antisocial shtick and songwriting craft are still strong enough to delay the onset of diminishing returns. Nevertheless, the Stones recognized the danger of repeating themselves. The week “Cloud” went to #1, it shared the Top 10 with Bob Dylan’s even nastier “Positively 4th Street,” while a procession of vicious garage rock records bubbled up below. For their next single, then, the band played against type by releasing the strings-laden “As Tears Go By,” a gentle, wistful ballad that couldn’t have been further from their two prior hits. By not cranking out a third iteration of “Satisfaction,” even though it would have been a surefire hit, the Rolling Stones signaled that their ambitions extended beyond endless repetitions of the same formula, no matter how good that formula may be.
A version of this essay previously appeared on No Hard Chords.
It Was 50 Years Ago Today examines a song, album, movie, or book that was #1 on the charts exactly half a century ago.
