"Almost Hear You Sigh" is a Grammy-nominated song by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

from their 1989 album '' Steel Wheels'', written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, and Steve Jordan. The song was originally a contender for inclusion on Richards' first solo album, ''

Talk Is Cheap ''Talk Is Cheap'' is the debut solo album by English musician Keith Richards, the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released during a long-standing falling out with Mick Jagger, ''Talk Is Cheap'' received positive r ...

'', but he decided to play it for Jagger and Chris Kimsey the next year during recording sessions in

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

for the ''Steel Wheels'' album. With the exception of some lyrical alteration by Jagger, the composition was left in its original form. The single, which was released in January 1990 and was the third single released from ''Steel Wheels'', reached No. 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (US), reaching the slightly higher position of 31 in the UK, and placed No. 1 on the US

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart for one week.

Release and reception

Released as the album's third single in January 1990, "Almost Hear You Sigh" made it to No. 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, going slightly higher in the UK, and No. 1 for one week on the US

chart. Given that the Rolling Stones' comeback 1989 North American tour had finished in December, the song got limited radio airplay. A music video was shot in black and white during the band's 1989 visit to Toronto, for two shows at the Skydome. USA Today music critic Edna Gundersen noted that Jagger's vocals and Richards' guitar playing sounded best on slower ''Steel Wheels'' tracks such as "Almost Hear You Sigh." SF Weekly marks it as one of the Stones' best ballads recorded after 1971. However, Parry Gettelman of the Orlando Sentinel marked the track's Grammy nomination as that of a relatively uninspiring song. The song has been performed only on the Urban Jungle Tour leg of the

Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg ...

. Since its release, the song has been performed 7 times on the 1989 tour, and on all shows of the 1990 tour.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1990 singles The Rolling Stones songs 1990 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey