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Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Sweet Black Angel" is one of the few outright political songs written by the Rolling Stones. A country-blues ballad, the song was written about civil rights activist Angela Davis, who was facing murder charges at the time. Steve Kurutz says in his review, "Having never heard of Angela Davis, a listener could easily overlook the political lyrics and get lost in the circular acoustic plucking or the washboard rhythm that propels the song so well. Yet, by knowing the case history one realizes how deft and clever Mick's lyrics could be, even if he hides behind his best backwoods diction and garbled annunciation [sic] obscure[s] the point."|} Initial recording took place at Mick Jagger's home in England "Stargroves' in early 1971 and overdubs and final mixing were later done at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles between the months of December, 1971, and March, 1972. With Jagger on lead vocals, Richards and Mick Taylor perform guitars, Bill Wyman the bass, and Charlie Watts on the drums. Richard "Didymus" Washington performs marimbas for the track while producer Jimmy Miller lends support percussion. |