Goats Head Soup Roundup

Goats Head Soup Roundup

Not the worst album the Stones had recorded, and certainly not the worst in their discography — Goats Head marked the precise moment where they went from being an inspired, if inconsistent, ramshackle rock and roll band to a professional entertainment group. While there are moments of near-sublime ridiculousness and a spot or two of raw energy, what emerges from the album is a pervasive sense of 70s studio professionalism. And while the band has not yet reached the level where they are audibly going through the motions, you can hear that they are done taking chances, at least for now. We'll see whether they carry on avoiding risks on It's Only Rock 'n' Roll. (Answer: yes.)

Notes provided by Wikipedia since I am too lazy to do it myself.

Side one
1. "Dancing with Mr. D" – 4:53
Features Nicky Hopkins on piano and Mick Taylor on bass
2. "100 Years Ago" – 3:59
Features Billy Preston on clavinet and Mick Taylor on backing vocals
3. "Coming Down Again" – 5:54
Features Keith Richards on lead vocal, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Mick Taylor on bass
4. "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" – 3:27
Features Billy Preston on clavinet
5. "Angie" – 4:33
Features Nicky Hopkins on piano

Side two
1. "Silver Train" – 4:27
Features Ian Stewart on piano and Keith Richards on bass
2. "Hide Your Love" – 4:12
Features Mick Jagger on piano and Mick Taylor on lead guitar. Recorded during rehearsals at The Doelen in Rotterdam in the summer of 1973
3. "Winter" – 5:31
Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
4. "Can You Hear the Music?" – 5:31
Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
5. "Star Star" – 4:25
Features Ian Stewart on piano
Original title was "Starfucker", but the title was changed for the packaging and radio play.

Sticky Fingers Roundup

Sticky Fingers Roundup


1. "Brown Sugar" – 3:50
2. "Sway" – 3:52
3. "Wild Horses" – 5:44
4. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" – 7:15
5. "You Gotta Move" (Fred McDowell/Rev. Gary Davis) – 2:34
6. "Bitch" – 3:37
7. "I Got the Blues" – 3:54
8. "Sister Morphine" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards/Marianne Faithfull) – 5:34
9. "Dead Flowers" – 4:05
10. "Moonlight Mile" – 5:56

The Stones are really on a roll: Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, and now Sticky Fingers. The biggest change came with the addition of Mick Taylor – finally the band had a world class lead guitar player, and as "Knocking" and "Moonlight Mile" proved, he had some interesting rhythm ideas as well.

The album is unusual in that it features only three rockers – the rest of the songs are mostly mellow, if not contemplative.

Some background info from Wikipedia:

Although sessions for Sticky Fingers began in earnest in March 1970, they had done some early recording at Muscle Shoals Studios in Alabama in December 1969 and "Sister Morphine", cut during Let It Bleed's sessions earlier in March of that year, would be held over for this release. Much of the recording for Sticky Fingers was effected with The Rolling Stones' mobile studio unit in Stargroves during the summer and fall months in 1970. Early versions of songs that would appear on Exile on Main St. were also routined during these sessions.
With the end of their Decca/London association at hand, The Rolling Stones would finally be free to release their albums (cover art and all) as they pleased. However, soon-to-be-ex-manager Allen Klein (who took over the reins from Andrew Loog Oldham in 1965 so that Oldham could concentrate on producing the band), dealt the group a major blow when they discovered - to their horror - that they had inadvertently signed over their entire 1960s copyrights to Klein and his company ABKCO, which is how all of their material from 1963's "Come On" to Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert has since come to be released by ABKCO Records. The band would remain incensed with Klein for decades over the swindle.

When Decca informed The Rolling Stones that they were owed one more single, they cheekily submitted a track called "Cocksucker Blues" - which was guaranteed to be refused. Instead, Decca released the two-year-old Beggars Banquet track "Street Fighting Man" while Allen Klein would have dual copyright ownership - with The Rolling Stones - of "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses".

Sticky Fingers may just be the band's most drug-drenched album, as well over half of the songs mention drug use, while the rest merely allude to it. Some final overdubbing and mixing in January 1971, found the album complete and preceded by "Brown Sugar" that March, which reached #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. Appearing in April on their new Rolling Stones label (with distribution by WEA Music), Sticky Fingers was rapturously-received and hit #1 worldwide, beginning an uninterrupted string of eight consecutive chart-topping US studio albums. "Wild Horses", covered by Keith Richard's friend Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Brothers, was the second single in the US only, making the Top 30.

Let It Bleed Roundup

Let It Bleed Roundup

1. "Gimme Shelter" – 4:32
2. "Love in Vain" (Robert Johnson) – 4:22
3. "Country Honk" – 3:10
4. "Live with Me" – 3:36
5. "Let It Bleed" – 5:34
6. "Midnight Rambler" – 6:57
7. "You Got the Silver" – 2:54
8. "Monkey Man" – 4:15
9. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" – 7:30

(See also the related single "Honky Tonk Women".)

You know, any album that opens with a track as strong as "Gimme Shelter" has got a lot going for it. But looking at the track list above, what really strikes me are the two blues numbers, which are as far apart, stylistically, as is possible within a genre so musically limited.: "Love in Vain", perhaps the darkest song of Robert Johnson's legacy, performed by the Stones as a country ballad; and "Midnight Rambler", the Stones' "blues opera", with various tempo changes and a menacing protagonist. These are the products of a group with ambition and control.

"Monkey Man" is the turd floating in the punch bowl. But whaddya gonna do, right? The rest of the album is great.

Some background from Wikipedia:

Although they had begun the recording of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" in March 1968, before Beggars Banquet had been released, recording for Let It Bleed began in earnest in February 1969 and would continue sporadically until November. Brian Jones performs on only two tracks, the autoharp on "You Got the Silver" and percussion on "Midnight Rambler". His replacement Mick Taylor also plays on two tracks, "Country Honk" and "Live With Me." Keith Richards, who had already shared vocal duties with Mick Jagger on a handful of songs ("Connection", "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" and "Salt of the Earth"), sang his first solo lead vocal on a Rolling Stones recording with "You Got the Silver."

During 1968, Richards had been hanging out in London with Gram Parsons, who had left The Byrds on the eve of their departure for a tour in the Republic of South Africa. By all accounts, Parsons had significant impact on Richards' taste in country music, and perhaps as a result of his influence, the band recorded a true honky-tonk song, "Country Honk," a more uptempo and rock and roll version of which would appear as their next single, "Honky Tonk Women." The LP track featured fiddle player Byron Berline, who worked with Parsons frequently throughout the latter's career. Parsons frequently took credit for the arrangement of "Country Honk", although both Jagger and Richards have stated that it was actually the original arrangement of the song as written and conceived while vacationing in Brazil in late 1968. In any event, Parsons had recently introduced the group to his cache of traditional country records and was at least indirectly responsible for this sea change. The singer's own cover, released on the 1976 rarities compilation Sleepless Nights, features a slightly different set of lyrics and yet another arrangement that combines elements of both Stones versions.

Recorded under trying circumstance owing to the band having reached the final impasse with Jones, the album has been called a great summing up of the dark underbelly of the 1960s.^{[citation needed]} In addition to being one of their all-time classics, Bleed is the second of the Stones' run of four studio LPs that are generally regarded as among their greatest achievements artistically, equalled only by the best of their great 45s from that decade. The other three albums are Beggars Banquet (1968), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile on Main Street (1972). Steven Van Zandt said the albums represented the "Second Great Era" of the Rolling Stones and called it "the greatest run of albums in history". [1]

Released in December, Let It Bleed reached #1 in the UK (temporarily knocking The Beatles' Abbey Road out of the top slot) and #3 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in the US, where it eventually went double platinum. The album was also critically well-received.

In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Let It Bleed the 69th greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 28 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2001, the TV network VH1 placed Let It Bleed at number 24 on their best album survey. In 2003, it was listed as number 32 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Beggars Banquet Roundup

Beggars Banquet Roundup


1. "Sympathy for the Devil" – 6:27
2. "No Expectations" – 4:02
3. "Dear Doctor" – 3:26
4. "Parachute Woman" – 2:23
5. "Jigsaw Puzzle" – 6:17
6. "Street Fighting Man" – 3:18
7. "Prodigal Son" (Rev. Robert Wilkins) – 2:55
8. "Stray Cat Blues" – 4:40
9. "Factory Girl" – 2:12
10. "Salt of the Earth" – 4:51

See also the related single "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

A seminal album in many ways: It established a fruitful musical direction for the band, which they would explore for the next ten years, producing the bulk of their greatest output, perhaps best heard on Exile on Main Streeet. With it's country-ish songs and instrumentation, Beggars Banquet provided a blueprint that numerous other bands over the years would use – most memorably Rod Stewart's first few solo albums. Finally, the album gave the band's "dark side" image real definition, an image that gave credibility to later songs like "Torn and Frayed" and "Dead Flowers" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

Background from Wikipedia:

Following the long sessions for the previous album in 1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards decided that the band needed more direction in the studio and in early 1968 hired Jimmy Miller, who had produced the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. The partnership would prove to be a success and Miller would work with the band until 1973.

In March, the band began recording their new album, aiming for a July release. One of the first tracks cut, "Jumpin' Jack Flash", was released as a single-only that May, becoming a major hit.

Beggars Banquet was Brian Jones' last full effort with The Rolling Stones. In addition to his slide work on "No Expectations", he played harmonica on "Dear Doctor", "Parachute Woman" and "Prodigal Son", sitar and tambura on "Street Fighting Man", mellotron on "Jigsaw Puzzle" and "Stray Cat Blues". On "Stray Cat Blues", Richards for the first time used the "open G" chord style that became a staple of numerous Stones classics for the rest of their tenure, including "Monkey Man", "Brown Sugar", "Start Me Up", and "I Go Wild".

By June, the sessions were nearly completed in England, with some final overdubbing and mixing to be done in Los Angeles during July. However, both Decca Records in England and London Records rejected the planned cover design - a graffiti-covered lavatory, and the band held back the album. By November, however, The Rolling Stones gave in, allowing the album to be released in December with a simple imitation invitation card cover. The idea for a plain album cover was also implemented by The Beatles for their eponymous white-sleeved double-album, which was released one month prior to Beggars Banquet. This similarity, coupled with Beggars Banquet's later release, garnered the Rolling Stones accusations of imitating the Beatles. In 1984, the original cover art was released with the initial CD remastering of Beggars Banquet.

Critics considered the LP as a return to form.^[1] It was also a clear commercial success, reaching #3 in the UK and #5 in the US (on the way to eventual platinum status).

The original LP pressing did not credit Rev. Wilkins as the writer of "Prodigal Son". His performance of "Prodigal Son" at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival was included on the Vanguard LP Blues at Newport, Volume 2; that performance is similar to the Stones' cover, and this may have been where the band first heard the song, although this is not certain.

On 10 December 1968 and 11 December 1968, the band aimed to promote Beggars Banquet by recording a television extravaganza entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus featuring John Lennon, Eric Clapton, The Who and Jethro Tull among the musical guests. However, the project did not air and would not receive an official release until 1996.

Flowers Roundup

Flowers Roundup

Wikipedia:

Flowers is the eighth U.S. studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1967. The album is a mishmash of previously recorded tracks. The songs either appeared as singles, had been omitted from the American versions of Aftermath and Between the Buttons, were collected from studio sessions dating back several years, or are simply reissues of songs recently released on other albums.

Three tracks had never been released. "My Girl" from the Out of Our Heads and Between the Buttons sessions, and "Ride On, Baby" and "Sittin' On A Fence" from the Aftermath sessions.

1. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:17
A January 1967 single release also featured on the US edition of Between the Buttons. See my post for the Between the Buttons version.
2. "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" – 2:34
A September 1966 single release.
3. "Let's Spend the Night Together" – 3:36
A January 1967 single release also featured on the US edition of Between the Buttons. See my post for the Between the Buttons version.
4. "Lady Jane" – 3:08
Originally released on Aftermath in 1966. See my post for the Aftermath version.
5. "Out of Time" – 3:41
An abridged edit of the version originally released on the UK edition of Aftermath in 1966.
6. "My Girl" (Smokey Robinson/Ronald White) – 2:38
Previously unreleased. Recorded in 1965
7. "Back Street Girl" – 3:26
Originally released on the UK edition of Between the Buttons.
8. "Please Go Home" – 3:17
Originally released on the UK edition of Between the Buttons.
9. "Mother's Little Helper" – 2:46
Originally released on the UK edition of Aftermath.
10. "Take It or Leave It" – 2:46
Originally released on the UK edition of Aftermath.
11. "Ride On, Baby" – 2:52
Previously unreleased. Recorded in 1965.
12. "Sittin' On A Fence" – 3:03
Previously unreleased. Recorded in 1965.

Their Satanic Majesties Request Roundup

Their Satanic Majesties Request Roundup

1. "Sing This All Together" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:46
2. "Citadel" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:50
3. "In Another Land" (Bill Wyman) – 3:15
4. "2000 Man" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:07
5. "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 8:33
6. "She's a Rainbow" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 4:35
7. "The Lantern" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 4:23
8. "Gomper" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 5:08
9. "2000 Light Years from Home" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 4:45
10. "On with the Show" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:39

I first encountered this album in high school during my Beatles phase. I dismissed it as yet another Sgt. Pepper's ripoff and never listened to it again until I forced myself over the last couple of weeks. I do a small amount of research for each of my posts on this blog, and when I began to post on Satanic Majesties I discovered, somewhat to my consternation, that some critical revision has taken place, and people have a more sympathetic view of this album. Tony Sclafani, at Perfect Sound Forever, writes

Despite its flaws, it's a radical departure from the norm that few artists have ever attempted. For one time only, it seems, The Stones ditched their monochromatic sound and worldview for a multihued, anything-goes mindset that really was "like a rainbow," to paraphrase the disc's only major hit song.

At AllMusic, Richie Unterberger maintains

Never before or since did the Stones take so many chances in the studio. This writer, at least, feels that the record has been unfairly undervalued, partly because purists expect the Stones to constantly champion a blues 'n' raunch world view.

I don't think of myself as a purist, but it's absolutely true that I think the Stones are at their best when rocking out, and at their worst when they stray from that in any direction. I like to think this is because the quality of their rocking shows that this style plays directly into their strengths as musicians, but it is conceivable that I am simply unable to accept anything experimental from a band with as well-defined a rock and roll persona as the Rolling Stones.

However, I think this is beside the point. I think (most of) the songs on Satanic Majesties are complete abd utter shit, meandering and undisciplined, derivative, witless, unable to meet even the low standards within the sub-genre of Sgt. Pepper's-inspired psychedelia. I mean, the songs are either good or not – and I'm pretty sure that even these revisionist critics would agree that the songs are not among the best.

What these people seem to be saying is that the experimental quality of the recordings are notable and deserve respect and attention. Nick Hornby, in his capacity as a music critic, wrote somewhere that most critics are so inundated with boring crap during the course of their jobs that they will latch on to anything that possesses the ability to command attention. I think that's what is happening here: these critics are bored with the Stones' near endless procession of rock and roll hits, and point to this album because it is not just another blues-based riffer.

Most people, however, are not critics, and we are not yet bored with the hits. In comparison with, say, Let It Bleed, Satanic Majesties takes the listener in all kinds of unexpected directions, but it is simply not a good collection of songs. For me, that's where the argument begins and ends.

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Background from Wikipedia:

Begun just after Between the Buttons had been released, the recording of Their Satanic Majesties Request was a long and sporadic one, broken up by court appearances and jail terms. Starting with this release, non-compilation albums from the band would be released in uniform editions across international markets.

Released in December 1967, Their Satanic Majesties Request reached #3 in the UK and #2 in the US (easily going gold), but its commercial performance declined rapidly. It was soon viewed as a pretentious, poorly conceived attempt to outdo The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (released June 1967), often explained by drug trials and excesses in contemporary musical fashion. The response of the audience and the growing rejection of the flower power scene by Jagger and Richards would mean a turning point for the Stones: in 1968 the Stones would return to the hard driving blues that earned them fame early in their career.

In 1998 a bootleg box set of eight CDs with outtakes of the Satanic' sessions was released on the market. The box set shows the band developing the songs, and striking is the cooperation between Brian Jones, Keith Richards and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. Richards is leading the sessions and most songs seem to be written by him, and both Hopkins and Jones indulge in creating elaborate soundscapes, with Brian Jones' parts created on the Mellotron being especially important for the sound and atmosphere of the album.

Indeed, admiration and love of the album has grown over the years as a kind of punk rockers' own ragged flipside to the Beatles more cheerful masterpieces from the same period. Songs such as "Citadel" have been covered by a number of young rock bands, and the whole album is held in particularly high esteem by the Rolling Stones-inspired band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who paid tribute to it through the release of their 1995 album, Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request.

Initial releases of the album featured a three-dimensional picture of the band on the cover by photographer Michael Cooper. When viewed in a certain way, the lenticular image shows the band members' faces turning towards each other with the exception of Jagger, whose hands appear crossed in front of him. Looking closely on its cover, one can see the faces of each of the four Beatles. It was the first of four Stones albums to feature a novelty cover (the others were the zipper on Sticky Fingers, the cut-out faces on Some Girls, and the stickers on Undercover). Later editions replaced the glued-on 3-dimensional image with a standard photo, probably due to production costs.

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Between the Buttons (USA version) Roundup

Between the Buttons (USA version) Roundup

Side 1
1. "Let's Spend the Night Together" – 3:36
2. "Yesterday's Papers" – 2:04
3. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:17
4. "Connection" – 2:08
5. "She Smiled Sweetly" – 2:44
6. "Cool, Calm and Collected" – 4:17

Side 2
1. "All Sold Out" – 2:17
2. "My Obsession" – 3:17
3. "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" – 3:55
4. "Complicated" – 3:15
5. "Miss Amanda Jones" – 2:47
6. "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" – 4:55

Wikipedia:

Between the Buttons is the fifth UK and seventh US studio album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1967 as the follow-up to the ambitious Aftermath.

Recorded in two spurts in Los Angeles in August 1966 and London that November, Between the Buttons caught The Rolling Stones at a period where they were moving more into arty territory and away from their R&B roots. With the release of The Beatles' Revolver, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde during 1966, the parameters of rock music had been expanded considerably and The Rolling Stones - in particular Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as the main songwriters - were forced to keep up. Conscious that they had to progress beyond Aftermath, the Stones follow-up - betraying influences drawn from British pop contemporaries like The Kinks - was Between the Buttons.

Much like Aftermath, Between the Buttons saw some differences in its UK and US versions. The UK edition (how producer Andrew Loog Oldham and The Rolling Stones intended it) was issued in January 1967 on Decca Records, concurrently with a separate single, "Let's Spend the Night Together" b/w "Ruby Tuesday". Because of common practice in the British record industry at the time, the single did not appear on the album. Generally well-received (although the critics took note of their influences), Between the Buttons reached #3 in the UK.

In the US, "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" were slotted onto the album, with "Back Street Girl" and "Please Go Home" getting the boot (these would be included on the following US release, Flowers). With "Ruby Tuesday" reaching #1, Between the Buttons shot to #2 in the US, going gold.

Additionally, Between the Buttons would prove to be the last album produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, with whom The Rolling Stones would have a creative falling-out in mid-1967. Indeed, Oldham's influence is more evident here than on earlier albums, as he employs Phil Spector-like layering on "Yesterday's Papers", "My Obsession", and "Complicated" and uncredited background vocalists (including, possibly, Graham Nash) throughout. Brian Jones continues his experiments in exotic instruments on this album, playing electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica, recorder, piano, trumpet, trombone, and banjo-ukulele. Keith Richards busies himself with distinctive guitar work on "My Obsession", "Connection", "All Sold Out", "Please Go Home" and "Miss Amanda Jones".

In the years following its release, Between the Buttons somehow became overlooked. Today, however, many critics and fans have come to appreciate the album's eclectic qualities and a wealth of obscure gems, making it a unique album in The Rolling Stones' released catalogue, one that more or less abandoned the Stones' blues based style and featured more consistent songwriting than their previous efforts.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 355 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

In August 2002 both editions of Between the Buttons were reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.

It appears that I am in the minority in finding this album a terrifying experience. I can live with that.

Aftermath (USA version) Roundup

Aftermath (USA version) Roundup

Side 1
1. "Paint It, Black" – 3:45
2. "Stupid Girl" – 2:55
3. "Lady Jane" – 3:09 (Seriously, I mean it: what the fuck?)
4. "Under My Thumb" – 3:41
5. "Doncha Bother Me" – 2:41
6. "Think" – 3:09

Side 2
1. "Flight 505" – 3:27
2. "High And Dry" – 3:08
3. "It's Not Easy" – 2:56
4. "I Am Waiting" – 3:11
5. "Goin' Home" – 11:13


Wikipedia:

Aftermath is the fourth UK and sixth US studio album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1966. The album proved to be a major artistic breakthrough for The Rolling Stones in that it was the first full-length release by the band to exclusively feature Mick Jagger/Keith Richards compositions. Aftermath was also the first Rolling Stones album to be recorded entirely in the United States, where it was recorded at the legendary RCA Studios in Hollywood, California at 6363 Sunset Boulevard, and was also the first album the band released in stereo.

The album is also notable for its musical experimentation, with Brian Jones playing a variety of instruments which feature prominently in each track, including the sitar on "Paint It, Black", and the dulcimer on "Lady Jane" and "I Am Waiting", the marimbas on "Under My Thumb", harmonica on "Hight And Dry" and "Goin' Home" as well as guitar and keyboards. To this day the Aftermath album remains a big fan favorite from the Brian Jones era.

Once again, two editions of the album were released. The first release of Aftermath appeared in April of 1966 as a fourteen-track long-player, and is considered by many to be the definitive version. Issued between the non-LP single releases of "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "Paint It, Black", Aftermath proved a big smash, spending eight weeks atop the UK charts.

In the US however, fourteen tracks were considered too many. With a substituted cover art, the American edition of Aftermath, released that June, features a subtly re-shuffled running order that eliminates "Out Of Time", "Take It Or Leave It" and "What To Do" (all later released in the US), while replacing "Mother's Little Helper" with current #1 hit "Paint It, Black". Despite compromising producer Andrew Loog Oldham's and The Rolling Stones' intentions for the album, the revamped Aftermath shot to #2 in the US, eventually going platinum. In 2002, the US edition of Aftermath was ranked number 108 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Aftermath was important in establishing Jagger and Richards as respected songwriters in the same vein as Lennon-McCartney and Bob Dylan and also redefined The Rolling Stones from being R&B enthusiasts to a progressive and artistically-inventive group.

December's Children (And Everybody's) Roundup

December's Children (And Everybody's) Roundup

Side 1
1. "She Said Yeah" (Sonny Christy/Roddy Jackson) – 1:34
2. "Talkin' about You" (Chuck Berry) – 2:31
3. "You Better Move On" (Arthur Alexander) – 2:39
4. "Look What You've Done" (McKinley Morganfield) – 2:16
5. "The Singer Not the Song" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:22
6. "Route 66" (live) (Bobby Troup) – 2:39

Side 2
1. "Get off of My Cloud" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:55
2. "I'm Free" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:23
3. "As Tears Go By" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards/Andrew Loog Oldham) – 2:45
4. "Gotta Get Away" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:07
5. "Blue Turns to Grey" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:29
6. "I'm Moving On" (live) (Hank Snow) – 2:14


From Wikipedia:

December's Children (And Everybody's) is the fifth US album by The Rolling Stones, released in late 1965. Drawn largely from two days of sessions recorded in September to finish the UK Out of Our Heads album and to record their new single, "Get Off Of My Cloud", December's Children (And Everybody's) also included tracks recorded from as early as 1963.

The majority of the songs appearing on the album were written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as they penned strong album cuts like "I'm Free" and "The Singer Not the Song" as well as such major hits as "As Tears Go By" and "Get off of My Cloud".

December's Children (And Everybody's) reached #4 in the US and went gold.

In August 2002 December's Children (And Everybody's) was reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.

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.

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Out of Our Heads (USA version) Roundup

Out of Our Heads (USA version) Roundup


Side 1
1. "Mercy, Mercy" (Don Covay/Ronnie Miller) – 2:45
2. "Hitch Hike" (Marvin Gaye/William Stevenson/Clarence Paul) – 2:25
3. "The Last Time" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:41
4. "That's How Strong My Love Is" (Roosevelt Jamison) – 2:25
5. "Good Times" (Sam Cooke) – 1:58
6. "It's All Right" (Live) (Nanker Phelge) – 2:23

Side 2
1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:43
2. "Cry to Me" (Bert Russell) – 3:09
3. "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" (Nanker Phelge) – 3:07
4. "Play With Fire" (Nanker Phelge) – 2:14
5. "The Spider and the Fly" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:38
6. "One More Try" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 1:58

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I made an error – I went straight to Out of Our Heads after The Rolling Stones No. 2, but it turns out there was another album semi-in between. See, during this period, there were two different versions of the same album released, one in the UK and one in the USA. The USA version of No. 2 (called The Rolling Stones, Now!) is different enough that I want to go back to that before I move on to the next album. Sorry about the confusion.

Rolling Stones No. 2 Roundup

Rolling Stones No. 2 Roundup




Side 1
1. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Jerry Wexler/Bert Russell) – 5:03
2. "Down Home Girl" (Jerry Leiber/Arthur Butler) – 4:11
3. "You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) – 3:38
4. "Time Is on My Side" (Norman Meade) – 2:58
5. "What a Shame" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:03
6. "Grown Up Wrong" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 1:50

Side 2
1. "Down The Road Apiece" (Don Raye) – 2:55
2. "Under the Boardwalk" (Arthur Resnick/Kenny Young) – 2:46
3. "I Can't Be Satisfied" (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:26
4. "Pain In My Heart" (Naomi Neville) – 2:11
5. "Off The Hook" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:33
6. "Susie Q" (Eleanor Broadwater/Dale Hawkins/Stan Lewis) – 1:50

From Wikipedia:

The Rolling Stones No. 2 is the second UK album by The Rolling Stones released in 1965 following the Around and Around and the massive success of 1964's debut The Rolling Stones. Not surprisingly, The Rolling Stones No. 2 followed its predecessor's tendency to largely feature R&B covers. However, it does contain three compositions from the still-developing Mick Jagger/Keith Richards songwriting team.

Using the cover shot for 12 X 5, the second US-released album in October 1964, The Rolling Stones No. 2's tracklisting would largely be emulated on the upcoming US release of The Rolling Stones, Now!. While Eric Easton was co-credited as producer alongside Andrew Loog Oldham on The Rolling Stones' debut album, Oldham takes full production duties for The Rolling Stones No, 2, which was recorded sporadically in the UK and US during 1964.

A huge hit in the United Kingdom upon release, The Rolling Stones No. 2 spent 10 weeks at #1 in early 1965, becoming one of the year's biggest sellers in the United Kingdom.

12 x 5 Roundup

12 x 5 Roundup

Side 1
1. "Around and Around" (Chuck Berry) – 3:03
2. "Confessin' the Blues" (Jay McShann/Walter Brown) – 2:47
3. "Empty Heart" (Nanker Phelge) – 2:37
4. "Time Is on My Side" (Norman Meade) – 2:53
5. "Good Times, Bad Times" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:30
6. "It's All Over Now" (Bobby Womack/Shirley Jean Womack) – 3:26

Side 2
1. "2120 South Michigan Avenue" (Nanker Phelge) – 3:38
2. "Under the Boardwalk" (Arthur Resnick/Kenny Young) – 2:46
3. "Congratulations" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:29
4. "Grown Up Wrong" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 2:05
5. "If You Need Me" (Robert Bateman/Wilson Pickett) – 2:04
6. "Susie Q" (Eleanor Broadwater/Stan Lewis/Dale Hawkins) – 1:50

I'll start including some album info from TimeIsOnOurSide and Wikipedia on these roundup pages.

Recorded & mixed:
February 24-25 and May 12, 1964: Regent Sound Studios, London, England
June 10-11, 1964: Chess Studios, Chicago, USA
August 31-September 4, 1964: Regent Sound Studios, London, England

Producer: Andrew Oldham
Engineers: Bill Farley, Ron Malo
Released: October 1964
Original label: London Records (Polygram)

12 X 5 is the second US album by The Rolling Stones released in 1964 following the massive success of their debut The Rolling Stones in the UK and the promising sales of its American substitute England's Newest Hit Makers .

Not surprisingly, 12 X 5 followed its predecessor's tendency to largely feature R&B covers, however it does contain three compositions from the still-developing Mick Jagger/Keith Richards songwriting team, as well as two group compositions under the pseudonym of "Nanker Phelge".

After a series of sessions in Chicago in June 1964, The Rolling Stones' UK label Decca Records released the five song EP Five by Five. Because EPs were never a lucrative format in the US, London Records - their American distributor at the time - spread the EP songs across an entire album, adding seven new recordings to create a release of 12 songs by 5 musicians, hence the album's title. Decca would use the same cover (minus the lettering) for The Rolling Stones' second UK album The Rolling Stones No. 2 in early 1965.

12 X 5 proved to be a faster seller than England's Newest Hit Makers, reaching #3 and going gold quickly.

In August 2002, 12 X 5 was reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.

England's Newest Hitmakers Roundup

England's Newest Hitmakers Roundup

Side 1
1. "Not Fade Away" (Norman Petty/Charles Hardin) – 1:48
2. "Route 66" (Bobby Troup) – 2:20
3. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Willie Dixon) – 2:17
4. "Honest I Do" (Jimmy Reed) – 2:09
5. "Now I've Got a Witness (Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)" (Nanker Phelge) – 2:29
6. "Little by Little" (Nanker Phelge, Phil Spector) – 2:39

Side 2
1. "I'm a King Bee" (James Moore) – 2:35
2. "Carol" (Chuck Berry) – 2:33
3. "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 4:05
4. "Can I Get a Witness" (Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland) – 2:55
5. "You Can Make It if You Try" (Ted Jarrett) – 2:01
6. "Walking the Dog" (Rufus Thomas) – 3:10