Exploring the Songs on The Rolling Stones No Filter Tour Setlist

The Rolling Stones are more than halfway done with their No Filter North American Tour. The trek, which kicked off June 20 in Chicago, is scheduled to come to a close August 31 in Miami.

We've already spoiled you with an inside look at their setlist, live photos and a concert recap... all that's missing is the music itself.

The Stones are bringing the classics and deep cuts alike to their live shows, highlighting songs from their entire discography (with a few audience requests here and there)!

So without further ado: here's a closer look at some of the songs The Rolling Stones are playing on their No Filter Tour!

Make sure to cue up our Setlist Playlist on Spotify to follow along.

"Angie"

Credited– as most songs are– to Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, this song was released as a single in 1973 and landed a spot on Goats Head Soup. Upon its initial release, it went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 5 on the UK singles chart.

The song was included in the Stones' setlists for their 1973, 1975 and 1976 tours, and has appeared in every tour since their 1982 European trek.

"Angie's" distinctive piano accompaniment, written by Richards, was played by recording-session regular Nicky Hopkins. It was speculated that the song was about a few women at the time: David Bowie's first wife, Angela, Richards' newborn daughter Dandelion Angela, actress Angie Dickinson and others, but in his 2010 memoir, Richards claims it "was not about any particular person."

Jagger's contributions to the lyrics, though, referred to his breakup with Marianne Faithfull.

The Rolling Stones, "Angie" promo

"Jumpin' Jack Flash"

This 1968 hit marked the Stones' first return to their blues roots, after a stint in psychedelia. And who exactly is Jack Flash, you may ask? Keith Richards' gardener.

"The lyrics came from a red gray dawn at Redlands," Richards said, referring to his estate.

"Mick and I had been up all night, it was raining outside and there was the sound of these heavy stomping rubber boots near the window, belonging to my gardener, Jack Dyer, a real country man from Sussex. It woke Mick up. He said. 'What's that?' I said, 'Oh, that's Jack. That's Jumping Jack.'"

The song was recorded in April and was rushed to stores four weeks later. It's since become one of the band's staple performance songs and transitioned the band into the direction of their next album, Beggars Banquet.

"Midnight Rambler"

This track was the sixth song on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was one of the last songs recorded with Brian Jones, shortly before his death.

Neither Jagger nor Richards admitted that this song was directly inspired by the Boston Strangler, but at roughly four and a half minutes into the song, you can hear Jagger say "Well, did you hear about the Boston..."

The title character, played by Jagger, "jumps the garden wall" and "sticks a knife right down your throat," so we'll leave that up to your imagination.

Although it was never released as a single, "Midnight Rambler" always finds its way into the Stones' live sets and has become a fan-favorite.

The Rolling Stones, "Midnight Rambler" live

"Gimme Shelter"

"Gimme Shelter" is the opening track of Let It Bleed, painting a bleak, post-Vietnam view of the world.

"Well, it's a very rough, very violent era, The Vietnam War," Jagger said.

"Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense. The thing about Vietnam was that it wasn't like WWII, and it wasn't like Korea and it wasn't like the Gulf War. It was a real nasty war, and people didn't like it. People objected and people didn't want to fight it..."

Jagger refers to "Gimme Shelter" as an "end-of-the-world song." Those powerful female backup vocals are Merry Clayton, who was very pregnant at the time of recording. The band was mixing the album in Los Angeles and called Clayton to come down to the studio in the middle of the night.

"We randomly phoned up this poor lady in the middle of the night, and she arrived in her curlers and proceeded to do that in one or two takes, which is pretty amazing," Jagger said.

"She came in and knocked off this rather odd lyric. It's not the sort of lyric you give anyone--'Rape, murder/It's just a shot away'--but she really got into it, as you can hear on the record."

The 50th anniversary tour had special female guest appearances singing Clayton's part, ranging from Lady Gaga to Florence Welch to Mary J. Blige.

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There are just eight shows left on this leg of the No Filter Tour, so go grab your tickets on Live Nation and check out the Stones' remaining dates below!


The Rolling Stones North American No Filter Tour dates:
August 1 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
August 5 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
August 10 – Denver, CO @ Broncos Stadium at Mile High
August 14 – Seattle, WA @ CenturyLink Field
August 18 – Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium
August 22 – Pasadena, CA @ The Rose Bowl
August 26 – Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium
August 31 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium

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