Mick Jagger – Record-facts…

by Record Facts

Goddess in the Doorway is the fourth solo album by Mick Jagger, released in 2001. The most recent offering from Jagger as a solo artist, it marked his first release with Virgin Records, who he has been contracted with as a member of The Rolling Stones since 1991.

Following his 1993 album Wandering Spirit, and The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon in 1994 and 1997, Jagger began to work on demo material in 2000, finally reaching the studio in the spring of 2001. Although Jagger would primarily work with Marti Frederiksen and Matt Clifford as producers, he also sanctioned the talents of Lenny Kravitz and Wyclef Jean to help create Goddess in the Doorway. And while the songs would largely be composed by Jagger, he endeavoured to work with other collaborators, namely, Kravitz and Rob Thomas, lead vocalist of Matchbox Twenty. The recording sessions of several of the album’s tracks were featured in the documentary Being Mick.

While recording was underway, many of Jagger’s musician friends, including Bono, Pete Townshend, Thomas, Kravitz, Jean and Joe Perry all made contributions. Townshend, in fact, was the initiating force behind the album. After having heard some of Jagger’s demos, he told him that they didn’t sound like Rolling Stones songs and that Jagger should record them on his own.

In the summer of 2001, Jagger had bumped into Missy Elliott and requested her to be part of the album. At his New York hotel, Jagger previewed his demo material to Elliott. Following their meeting, both Jagger’s and Elliott’s reps confirmed the two artists were slated to collaborate on the song, “Hide Away,” however, due to scheduling conflicts their collaboration never saw the light of day. Jagger’s collaborations with super-producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins would suffer the same fate.

By the end of the summer, Goddess in the Doorway was initially completed and the Kravitz-produced (and almost self-performed) “God Gave Me Everything” was put forward as the lead single that October. Although the song failed to become a significant hit, Goddess in the Doorway – with its hybrid of different styles—was released the following month to among the strongest reviews Jagger had received—including his tenure with The Rolling Stones—in years, with Rolling Stone‘s chief editor Jann Wenner bestowing a five-star instant classic rating upon the album. However, not everyone was as effusive, with Keith Richards calling the album “Dogshit In The Doorway”.

Tracklist

1. “Visions of Paradise” (Mick Jagger, Rob Thomas, Matt Clifford) – 4:02
2. “Joy” (Jagger) – 4:41
3. “Dancing in the Starlight” (Jagger, Clifford) – 4:06
4. “God Gave Me Everything” (Jagger, Lenny Kravitz) – 3:34
5. “Hide Away” (Jagger) – 4:31
6. “Don’t Call Me Up” (Jagger) – 5:14
7. “Goddess in the Doorway” (Jagger, Clifford) – 4:56
8. “Lucky Day” (Jagger) – 4:51
9. “Everybody Getting High” (Jagger) – 3:55
10. “Gun” (Jagger, Clifford) – 4:39
11. “Too Far Gone” (Jagger) – 4:34
12. “Brand New Set of Rules” (Jagger) – 7:39

Japanese edition bonus track
13. “If Things Could Be Different” (If Things Could Be Different” was also the B-side to “Visions of Paradise” in Europe and “Blue”—a 5:40 Mick Jagger composition—was the B-side of the European single “God Gave Me Everything” and the British single “Visions of Paradise) Jagger 4:49

Personnel

Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic, electric and slide guitar, harmonica, percussion, and backing vocals
Robert Aaron – keyboards, horn, and flute
Kenny Aronoff – drums and Native American drums
Ian Thomas – drums
Bono – vocals on “Joy”
Lenny Castro – percussion
Paul Clarvis – percussion
Matt Clifford – piano, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals, programming, drum programming, and string and horn arrangement
Kyle Cook – lead guitar on track 1
Mike Dolan – guitar
Jerry Duplessis – bass guitar
Christian Frederickson – bass guitar
Marti Frederiksen – electric and acoustic guitar, drums, backing vocals, drum loop, and string arrangement
Martin “Max” Heyes – drum programming
Elizabeth Jagger – backing vocals on “Brand New Set of Rules”
Georgia May Jagger – backing vocals on “Brand New Set of Rules”
Wyclef Jean – electric and Spanish guitar on “Hide Away”
Jim Keltner – drums
Steve Knightley – cello
Lenny Kravitz – electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, tambourine, and backing vocals on “God Gave Me Everything”
Milton McDonald – guitar
Joe Perry – guitar on “Everybody Getting High” and “Too Far Gone”
Mikal Reid – trumpet and loop programming
Pamela Quinlan – backing vocals
Craig Ross – 12-string acoustic guitar
Neil Sidewell – trombone
Steve Sidwell – trumpet
Phil Spalding – bass guitar
Rob Thomas – backing vocals on “Visions of Paradise”
Pete Townshend – guitar on “Joy” and “Gun”
Ruby Turner – backing vocals
Chris White – tenor saxophone