Showing posts with label rolling stones now. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rolling stones now. Show all posts

Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Rolling Stones, Now! Roundup

The Rolling Stones, Now! Roundup

Side 1
1. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Bert Russell/Jerry Wexler) – 2:58
2. "Down Home Girl" (Jerry Leiber/Arthur Butler) – 4:12
3. "You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) – 3:39
4. "Heart of Stone" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:49
5. "What A Shame" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:05
6. "Mona (I Need You Baby)" (Ellas McDaniel) – 3:35

Side 2
1. "Down The Road Apiece" (Don Raye) – 2:55
2. "Off the Hook" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:34
3. "Pain In My Heart" (Naomi Neville) – 2:12
4. "Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')" (Barbara Lynn Ozen) – 2:08
5. "Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon) – 3:05
6. "Surprise, Surprise" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:31


Wikipedia sez:
The Rolling Stones, Now! is the third US album by The Rolling Stones and was released in the 1965 by their initial American distributor, London Records.

The album contained seven tracks from their second UK album The Rolling Stones No. 2 and some songs which would appear on the UK edition of the Stones' next album, Out of Our Heads later in 1965. "Little Red Rooster" was a recent UK #1 hit single and "Surprise, Surprise," would not appear on a UK Rolling Stones album until 1989. Four of the songs on The Rolling Stones, Now! were penned by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (who dropped the "s" from his surname until 1978).

The Rolling Stones, Now! is generally considered a very strong album and a highlight of their early American releases. Upon its February issuing, The Rolling Stones, Now! reached #5 in the US and became another gold seller for The Rolling Stones.In 2003, the album was ranked number 181 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]

In August 2002 The Rolling Stones, Now! was reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.


Saturday, April 12, 2008

Surprise, Surprise

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 6
"Surprise, Surprise" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:31




Yeah, listen, you don't really have to watch that video.

The band still hasn't learned how to put together a good original rock composition. This is a jaunty little number in double time, with Charlie whacking that ride cymbal like he was trying to wake up the drunk that fell asleep on his couch. There is almost nothing else to this song, and soon I will be done with this craptacular album and be on to better Stonesish things.

Little Red Rooster

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 5
"Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon) – 3:05




I'll just say it: Mick is the worst blues singer that ever lived. Okay? Got it? Can we move on to something better now, please?

God damn it, I thought I was done with these.

Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 4
"Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')" (Barbara Lynn Ozen) – 2:08





The Barbara Lynn number, done as a Chuck Berry-style chunka-chunka-chunka-chunka shuffle. God knows why they bothered – nobody sounds particularly interested.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Pain In My Heart (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 3
"Pain In My Heart" (Naomi Neville) – 2:12







Same as the version on The Rolling Stones No. 2.

Off the Hook (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 2
"Off the Hook" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:34



Same as the version on The Rolling Stones No. 2.

Down The Road Apiece (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 2, Track 1
"Down The Road Apiece" (Don Raye) – 2:55









Same as the version on The Rolling Stones No. 2.


Thursday, April 10, 2008

Mona (I Need You Baby)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 6
"Mona (I Need You Baby)" (Ellas McDaniel) – 3:35



The old Bo Diddley number. I've always loved this song, some of Bo's best lyrics. He tries to write a love song, but is unable to get away from that beat, although it sounds slinkier than usual here – appropriate given the subject matter. The Stones don't stray far from Bo's version, which is wise. I agree with this man's opinion:

... this was R & B at it's best. It goes to show that London records never really wanted the blues stuff, but the commercial blasters like Around And Around. Mona (I Need You Baby), was as dark as any black musician could ever hope to sound.
It's true. This is the one thing that Bo Diddley added to the blues lexicon, which bands like the Stones and Them and the Kinks picked up on: that menace and despair made the blues, that you didn't have to rely on those hoary 12-bar shuffles to get it over. The menace here is all in the beat and that great guitar sound – the band sounds approximately 10,000 times more convincing on tracks like these than they do on, say, "Confessin' the Blues".


What A Shame (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 5
"What A Shame" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:05





Same as the version on The Rolling Stones No. 2.





Heart of Stone

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 4
"Heart of Stone" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:49



Some nice guitar work saves an 0therwise forgettable ballad.

You Can't Catch Me (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 3
"You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) – 3:39











Same as the Rolling Stones No.2 version.

Down Home Girl (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 2
"Down Home Girl" (Jerry Leiber/Arthur Butler) – 4:12



Same as the version found on The Rolling Stones No. 2.

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 1
"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Bert Russell/Jerry Wexler) – 2:58











What the hell? This isn't the same version of the song found on The Rolling Stones No. 2 – that version wasn't anything special, but at least had some charm. This one is a sloppy mess of a song, featuring the most ridiculously out of tune background vocals of the Stones career to date – quite an accomplishment. I just can't believe someone gave the green light to release this.



By the way, I know The Rolling Stones, Now! came before Out of Our Heads, but for some reason I missed it. I am a details geek, and I have to get Now! out of the way before I can move on to Aftermath/December's Children.