If anything, it bears some of the traits of a slow-burning Al Green soul-torch ballad, without aping the trademark production elements of Green's records. "Beast of Burden" is a raw torch-soul ballad that sounds like nothing else but the Stones. In a way, it was a return to the band's roots, when Jones was still in the band - although, with the widespread use of stereo mixing, the utilization of two guitars doing rhythm became more distinct in the final mix. Their shared influences of Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, and the masterfully understated and tasteful session players of the Stax and Motown labels led the band back toward the country, soul, and R&B philosophy of feel and groove over accomplished soloing. The results, however, as demonstrated on "Beast of Burden," ushered in a new era for the Stones the two guitarists steered the band away from gratuitous soloing, instead accenting the groove and the songwriting. Wood's style was so similar to that of Richards that the band was worried that the lack of distinction would make Wood redundant. The kind of twin-guitar interchange that one hears on "Beast of Burden" is not miles away from what bands like no wavers Television practiced right around the same time as Some Girls: a mostly clean strumming and picking mix. The result is a break from the traditional formula of a rhythm player and a lead player, a configuration that had dominated rock & roll for over ten years at that point and was also the protocol for the Rolling Stones from 1969 (when Mick Taylor took over the second guitar player slot left open by the departure and subsequent death of Brian Jones) to 1976 (when Wood stepped in to what seemed to be a role of destiny for him). The two practice what they have referred to in interviews as "weaving" the dual-guitar attack. The most striking thing about "Beast of Burden," and indeed most of the magnificent Some Girls (1978) album, is the interplay of the two guitars of Keith Richards and Ron Wood - sometimes with a third played by Mick Jagger.
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