Mick Jagger and Keith Richards co-wrote "Slipping Away". The song was recorded by Christopher Marc Potter and Rupert Coulson at both AIR Studios, Montserrat and at Olympic Studios, London. It was mixed by Michael H. Brauer.[5]
Musically, "Slipping Away" is a slow "dreamy"[6]ballad song that features Richards as its lead vocalist, with Jagger singing backing vocals alongside Sarah Dash, Lisa Fischer, and Bernard Fowler. Richards and Ron Wood perform the song's rhythm guitar parts. Bill Wyman provides the prominent bass while Charlie Watts performs drums. The organ and piano are performed by Chuck Leavell and electric piano by Matt Clifford. The song's brass is provided by the Kick Horns.[5]
Richards recorded a re-worked acoustic version for the 1995 live album Stripped. Of the song he said at the time, "(When we recorded it for Stripped) we realized, 'Wow, that song kind of slipped away.' It just kind of tailed off at the end of Steel Wheels. We realized what potential it still had, and the band and especially the horn guys said, 'You've got to do that!' So in a way, I agreed to do it at gun point. But when I got into it, I really liked singing that song. It's got some depth."[2]
Critical reception
In a retrospective article looking over Richards' 20 greatest songs, Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan et al. ranked it number 5, writing that "Slipping Away" was a "moving" song and "somber closing track" for Steel Wheels.[7] In 2019, Jon Dolan wrote in Rolling Stone that "Slipping Away" was the "best song" of the album.[8]Vulture ranked "Slipping Away" in 2017 as the band's 320th best song of all time.[9]Billboard's Joe Lynch wrote that the quality of the song was "enough to prove that even without the Stones, [Richards] could have enjoyed a solo career of renown and relevance".[10]
^ abMargotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2016). The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. p. 590. ISBN978-0-316-31773-3.
