I Just Want To See His Face (2:53)

“I Just Want to See His Face” is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones featured on their 1972 release Exile on Main St..

“I Just Want to See His Face” is credited to singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. On the recording, Jagger said in 1992, “‘I Just Want to See His Face’ was a jam with Charlie and Mick Taylor… I think it was just a trio originally, though other people might have been added eventually. It was a complete jam. I just made the song up there and then over the riff that Charlie and Mick were playing. That’s how I remember it, anyway…”

Of the recording, Bill Janovitz says in his review, “‘I Just Want to See His Face’ has the band exploring the music of America, specifically the country, blues, folk, and soul of the South… sounds ancient and from another planet; a swampy, stompy gospel song that was recorded to intentionally sound as if it is a field recording document of a long-ago church basement revival meeting.”

The song’s bluesy, murky atmosphere has earned admiration from other artists. Singer/songwriter Tom Waits names it as one of his favorite recordings. “That song had a big impact on me, particularly learning how to sing in that high falsetto, the way Jagger does. When he sings like a girl, I go crazy,” Waits says. “This is just a tree of life. This record is the watering hole.”Notable for their close musical resemblance to ‘I Just Want to See His Face’ are Waits’ own ‘2:19’, ‘Fish In the Jailhouse’ and ‘Walk Away.’