Rightly annoyed by a call for more hits after the release of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, people only needed to flip over to the B-side for another. While The Rolling Stones would get to work lashing out at the United States and uninterested audience members who just wanted more to dance to, one of their most underrated, blues-rock gems can be found paired with (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Where The Spider and the Fly may sounds like a play on anthropomorphism, it’s far from animalistic. There is a sweetness to The Spider and the Fly, an honesty to the sinking feeling which comes with the hedonistic lifestyle that dominated the band’s image in the 1960s and 1970s. They were seen as a rebellious alternative to The Beatles and that rugged blues rock edge to their songs is part of the reason why. But on top of that is a sincerity which comes through on The Spider and the Fly.
It would feature often enough, becoming a staple of The Rolling Stones’ sound. A slower, sharper drawl from Mick Jagger, who blurs the line of playful delivery and pointing out the flaws of a predictable sex appeal. Flies jumping into the web, Jagger the spider who writes of an undeniable but knowing attraction. It’s a phenomenal song tucked away on Out of Our Heads. Jagger may not be keen on the song and the band rarely performed it, but that’s likely because of just how open it is. The Rolling Stones can pride themselves on being a subtle collection of musicians where the instrumental defiance is often the focus of the song. Rare is it that Jagger or Keith Richards is writing with a constant openness. There is at least a line here or instrumental break there that stops it from being an autobiographical effort. Not The Spider and the Fly, though, a bluesy number with a telling story at the core of it.
On the surface it’s a very simple song, too. Charlie Watts provides a neat percussion piece with Bill Wyman on bass, while Richards and Brian Jones bring about a moving and convincing guitar line. It’s Jones’ rhythm guitar that wins out on The Spider and the Fly, a mellow sound with a niceness to it, keeping the flow of the song alive while not distracting from Jagger’s openness. That comes from the inspiring blues work found within. Richards and Jones are in excellent form here, their cruising, swaying guitar work is as much a part of this heartfelt B-side as the crushing lyrics from Jagger. His openness, a rarity considering how private he rightly keeps himself, is a staggering experience. It’s not as though The Rolling Stones aren’t open with their audience elsewhere, but it’s a far cry from the drugs and debauchery which would dominate songs to follow The Spider and the Fly.
It’s not as much a rarity of a song as it is an understated one. The Spider and the Fly’s omission from touring is a shame, but expected. Deeply personable and as time goes on it becomes a gutting documentation of Jagger and the band at the peak of their popularity. All those wild and weird touring days of the 1970s and 1980s are captured within this release, years before they ever truly started. But it’s the shift in mood, the cultural renaissance at play here, which is most striking of all. Cool instrumentals and an honesty in the lyrics which Jagger would return to constantly, though not as open as he is here. He’d refine the process that little bit better, push out streams of consciousness which did not comment so clearly on the personal lives of the band. When he does, it’s a class act.
