Today’s Music: The Rolling Stones: “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?”

A Stones classic that gives full play to Keith Richards’ signature ‘open-G’ tuning (D-G-D-G-B-G instead of the standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning with the chords mainly barred on the lower five strings), and the kind of tune you don’t hear much in rock music anymore — it flows from hard rocker to jazz and back to rock without a hiccup. Fine musicianship by all — especially Richards and Mick Taylor on the guitars, Rocky Dijon on the congas, and Bobby Keys on the sax — and rumor has it at least one band member wanted to retake the cut because of a minor blooper in the guitar solo, but he was outvoted — the other Stones didn’t think they could get a better cut. Also, according to Richards and Taylor, the jazzy end part was a jam that was not originally intended as part of the song — the band just kept playing after they were supposed to stop, the tape kept rolling, and the whole thing was recorded in one take. From the 1971 album “Sticky Fingers”, here is the ‘one-take wonder,’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?”