Good Time Women
{{Short description|Song by the Rolling Stones that eventually turned into "Tumbling Dice"}}
{{Infobox song
|name=Good Time Women
|type=song
|artist=the Rolling Stones
|album=Exile on Main St. (2010)
|released={{Start date|2010|05|16|df=y}}
|recorded=
|genre=Boogie-woogie
|length= {{Duration|m=3|s=21}}
|writer=Jagger/Richards
}}
"Good Time Women" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it is an upbeat{{Cite book|last=Janovitz|first=Bill|title=Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2014|isbn=978-1250049520|pages=228}} song with a blues boogie-woogie rhythm. "Good Time Women" formed the basis of the band's later song, "Tumbling Dice", which was released as a single in 1972.
Recorded at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio between March and May 1970, "Good Time Women" went unreleased until 2010, when it was included on the deluxe remastered release of the band's 1972 album, Exile on Main St.
Background and recording
"Good Time Women" eventually transformed into "Tumbling Dice". "Good Time Women"{{Cite book|last1=Margotin|first1=Philippe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5eTCwAAQBAJ&q=rolling+stones+tumbling+dice+single+release+date&pg=PT687|title=Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|last2=Guesdon|first2=Jean-Michel|date=2016|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=9780316317733|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822050557/https://books.google.com/books?id=g5eTCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT687&lpg=PT687&dq=rolling%20stones%20tumbling%20dice%20single%20release%20date&source=bl&ots=WQmMdnMGS8&sig=c2Z1VENjUg0j42lcmxPK72Ef6rw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiK7Y7A7unVAhUO1GMKHSbMCs84ChDoAQg7MAQ#v=onepage&q=rolling%20stones%20tumbling%20dice%20single%20release%20date&f=false|archive-date=22 August 2017|url-status=live}} was recorded at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio sometime between March and May 1970 during the sessions for Sticky Fingers.{{Sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|p=376}}{{Cite magazine|date=November 2012|title=Readers' Poll: The Rolling Stones' 10 Greatest Songs|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-rolling-stones-10-greatest-songs-20121101/9-tumbling-dice-0203527|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807113507/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-rolling-stones-10-greatest-songs-20121101/9-tumbling-dice-0203527|archive-date=7 August 2017|access-date=7 August 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite web|title=Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Song Info {{!}} AllMusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/tumbling-dice-mt0007492425|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808040334/http://www.allmusic.com/song/tumbling-dice-mt0007492425|archive-date=8 August 2017|access-date=7 August 2017|website=AllMusic}}
Music and lyrics
"Good Time Women" is a bluesy boogie-woogie,{{Cite web|title=No. 21: 'Tumbling Dice' – Top 100 Rolling Stones Songs|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tumbling-dice-top-100-rolling-stones-songs/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926230348/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tumbling-dice-top-100-rolling-stones-songs/|archive-date=26 September 2015|access-date=7 August 2017|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=12 July 2012 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-horses-mw0000551224|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726054757/http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-horses-mw0000551224|archive-date=26 July 2013|access-date=8 August 2017|website=AllMusic}} with heavy emphasis on Ian Stewart's piano work. Though the song has differing lyrics to "Tumbling Dice",{{Cite news|last=Triplett|first=Gene|date=2010-05-28|title=Rolling Stones add 10 rare tracks to 'Exile'|pages=85|work=The Daily Oklahoman|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84733575/rolling-stones-add-10-rare-tracks-to/|access-date=2021-09-05}} it contained a similar structure, chord progression, and melody. Mick Jagger sings the hook to the accompaniment of Mick Taylor's lone lead guitar.{{Cite magazine|title=The Rolling Stones: Torn and Frayed in the South of France|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/mick-jagger-and-keith-richards-on-the-making-of-exile-on-main-street-20110103|url-status=live|access-date=7 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807113045/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/mick-jagger-and-keith-richards-on-the-making-of-exile-on-main-street-20110103|archive-date=7 August 2017}} However, "Good Time Women" lacked an opening riff, a background choir, and the beat which propels the groove of "Tumbling Dice".
The lyrics of "Good Time Women" are incomplete, consisting largely of gibberish,{{Cite web|last=Voger|first=Mark|date=2010-05-15|title='Exile on Main St.': A new reflection on the classic Rolling Stones' disc|url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/2010/05/exile_on_main_st_deluxe_editio.html|access-date=2021-09-05|website=nj|language=en}} mentions of cocaine and "dry white wine".{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Tyler|date=2010-05-09|title=The making of the Rolling Stones' 'Exile on Main Street'|url=https://nypost.com/2010/05/09/the-making-of-the-rolling-stones-exile-on-main-street/|access-date=2021-09-05|website=New York Post|language=en-US}} The lyrics also refer to "Red light women," or prostitutes, and can be heard as alluding to their then-recent single, "Honky Tonk Women," from 1969.
Release
"Good Time Women" was not initially released, though its successor, "Tumbling Dice" was. An October 1970 recording of "Good Time Women" was included on the 16 May 2010 deluxe remastered issue of Exile on Main St (1972).{{Cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=9 March 2010|title=The Secrets Behind the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" Reissue|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-secrets-behind-the-rolling-stones-exile-on-main-street-reissue-20100309|url-status=live|access-date=7 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213220542/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-secrets-behind-the-rolling-stones-exile-on-main-street-reissue-20100309|archive-date=13 December 2016}}
Critical reception
Upon its release in 2010, reactions were mixed. Writing for New York Daily News, critic Jim Farber considered "Good Time Women" to merely be "Tumbling Dice" "sped up".{{Cite news|last=Farber|first=Jim|date=2010-05-18|title=Digging up some new Stones|pages=26|work=Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84733857/digging-up-some-new-stones/|access-date=2021-09-05}} However, The Oklahoman entertainment editor Gene Triplett lauded "Good Time Women" as a "stinging guitar rocker", noting how it "sounds like an early version of 'Tumbling Dice' but with a different title{{nbsp}}... and different lyrics."