Members of this board were very helpful when I posted the first set of sleevenotes here (covering 62-64). We are now working on Volume Two and below are the sleeve notes to cover 64-67. I would be most grateful for any comments - mistakes, suggestions, additional thoughts.

In particular can anyone give me the quote Keith made about the Licks Tour? Did he refer to it as Y-Fronts of Fruit Of The Loom ?

Thanks in advance for your help

Simon

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The Rolling Stones Beginnings
Volume Two
1964 – 1967: Soul Survivors

Sleevenotes

By the end of the period covered by ‘Rolling Stones: Beginnings Volume One’ the band had gigged constantly for three years, released their first long-player, toured the US and recorded at the legendary Chess Studios in Chicago. Throughout all this intense musical activity two things had remained the same: the line-up of the band (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and ‘sixth Stone” Ian Stewart) and the type of music they played, which interspersed urban blues with rock’n’roll.

The Stones toured the US twice in 1964 and inevitably began to be influenced by the music they heard . During their first tour in June 1964, DJ Murray The K (the self-proclaimed ‘Fifth Beatle’) gave Andrew Oldham a copy of The Valentinos recording of It’s All Over Now. The sheer exuberance of Bobby Womack’s vocal would have been a hard to act to follow, and wisely Jagger didn’t try, opting for a sly knowing tone instead. The band and Chess engineer Ron Malo worked up a confident arrangement that highlighted the dramatic improvement in the Stones recorded sound with both guitarists and Ian Stewarts piano in perfect balance. The Daily Mail described the end result as “country and western” but the NME said “a tremendously vibrant and earthy sound” which became the bands first number one hit single in the UK, albeit a disappointing 26 in the US.

At the same June 10-11 sessions at Chess the band recorded If You Need Me, originally a hit for Wilson Pickett and the Falcons and now a first-class churchy ballad that gave Jagger room to emote. The Stones version appeared on their UK EP Five By Five. Roy Carr quotes Keith Richards on their modus operandi. “Back in the Five By Five days when we were recording in Chicago and Los Angeles we used to go down to the local record store, buy up a whole bunch of soul singles, sit down by the record player and learn them. Things like ‘Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Going)’ and old Otis Redding stuff and then we’d do ‘em as quickly as possible. “ The previous Stones EP released in January 1964 had featured a copy of You Better Move On, originally recorded by Arthur Alexander but here transformed by the Stones simple but direct arrangement, which allowed a plaintive Jagger to reach out to his now-legion female following. A second track by Arthur Alexander Go Home Girl had been recorded by the Stones at London’s De Lane Lea Studios in November 1963 but this remains unreleased.

Brian Jones’ love affair with the blues peaked with the single Little Red Rooster, written by Willie Dixon for Howlin’ Wolf and recorded by the Stones at Regent Sound in London on September 2 1964. Brian Jones bottleneck guitar was ably supported by Richards on acoustic and Jagger on harmonica. Commented Keith Richards to Victor Bockris “Singles were all-important then. You put yourself on the line every three months and therefore it had to be distinctive or else. At that time releasing ‘Little Red Rooster’ was our distinction, the only way we could set ourselves apart from everything else that was going on.” The slow pace and sparse arrangement of the track made its release a commercial gamble, which paid off with the Stones second UK number one.

The band's US label regarded the spare, hypnotic, almost "country-blues" feel of Little Red Rooster as commercial suicide in the American marketplace and released instead a version of Irma Thomas’ Time Is On My Side that became the Stones fourth US single, reaching number 6 in the charts. The version released as single was recorded in London on June 24-26 and features a prominent organ introduction with less guitar throughout. A re-recording done at Chess in November featured more guitar and less organ and became the more familiar version, released in Britain on the Stones second LP.

On the second date of their 1964 October-November US tour the Stones shared a bill with Chuck Berry, the Supremes, Smoky Robinson and the Miracles, James Brown and Marvin Gaye. The gig was recorded at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica for the TAMI (Teenage American Music Awards) TV programme and shows an apparently relaxed and confident Stones happy to share the stage with such illustrious company. The reality was the band were "scared shitless" Keith Richards told Barbara Charone. "But we managed to top James Brown cause the audience was all white, chicks and fifteen years old."

The Stones second LP reflected their US experiences. Chuck Berry was still there ( a disappointing version of You Can’t Catch Me recorded at Regent Sound, London in September 1964) but in the words of Roy Carr “the Stones had realised that if they were to stay one step ahead of the pack they would have to gravitate towards a more soul-influenced brand of R&B until such time as they were qualified to write their own material.” The record labels were still crediting Andrew Loog Oldham as producer but his inexperience meant that the quality of the music recorded was down to the skill of the recording engineers. The Stones were fortunate to be working with two of the very best, Ron Malo at Chess in Chicago and Dave Hassinger at RCA Studios in Hollywood. As a result the tracks recorded in the US for what became ‘The Rolling Stones No2’ were far more successful than those recorded in London . The LP got off to a rousing start with a near 5-minute rabble-rousing cover of Solomon Burke’s Everybody Needs Somebody To Love. Recorded at RCA Hollywood on 2-3 November 1964: a second, shorter version recorded at the same session was released on the US-only ‘Rolling Stones Now’ LP but is more ragged and less disciplined. At the same session an impassioned version of Pain In My Heart was recorded with Jack Nitzsche on toy electric piano (‘Nitzche-phone’). The song was written by Naomi Neville but “mistakenly” credited to Otis Redding and his manager Phil Walden. Bill Wyman claims that Naomi Neville was actually a nom de plume for producer Allen Toussaint. A third track from this session was the country-blues ‘Down Home Girl’ , a cover of the 1964 single from little-known New Orleans artist Alvin Robinson. Three Jagger/Richard compositions made it onto the LP but only their ‘Off The Hook’ stood comparison to the R&B covers.

By now the Stones were recording when they could and stockpiling tracks for future use. Accordingly some tracks for LP number 3 Out Of Our Heads also come from the November 2-3 sessions at RCA. Hitch Hike was a rather unimaginative plod through Marvin Gaye’s first single but much better was a rocked up version of Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Going). Keith Richards remembers playing the Barbara Lynn Ozens single again and again to learn all the parts.

Back in the UK in March 1965 the Stones embarked on their sixth UK tour which Glyn Johns recorded for release as a live EP, Got Live If You Want It!. Released in June 1965 the EP contained five live tracks recorded in Edmonton, Liverpool and Manchester. There was actually an additional track, as the opening audience chant of “We Want The Stones” was given a Nanker/Phelge composition so the Stones could claim copyright. Recording quality is primitive – Roy Carr quotes Glyn Johns as having “just slung one microphone over the balcony on a length of cable and let both the tapes and the Stones roll.” Fidelity is low but excitement is high. Also worth seeking out is the April 1965 TV recording of the Stones appearance at the annual NME Poll Winners concert at Empire Pool Wembley which shows what a great visual act they had become.

Recording sessions for Out Of Our Heads recommenced back at Chess on 10 -11 May 1965. First up was a satisfactory cover of Don Covay and the Goodtimers Mercy Mercy. Next was a version of James Brown’s Try Me, so far still unreleased. Finally the Otis Redding ballad `That’s How Strong My Love Is’ was attempted. Sessions them moved to RCA where on the 12-13 May the band recorded competent takes of Sam Cookes Good Times and Solomon Burkes Cry To Me. Returning to RCA in September 5-6 the Stones recorded two much more incisive tracks. The first was a version of Larry Williams She Said Yeah, deemed sufficiently rousing to open the UK Version of Out Of Our Heads. The guitar sound is heavier, the tempo faster and Jaggers vocal more aggressive. A great version was recorded for The New York TV Hullabalo featuring Keith and Brian toting matching Gibson Thunderbird guitars. Recording Chuck Berry’s Talking About You (which by now they could have done in their sleep) the Stones took the brave step of slowing the tempo right down. On 20th May the Stones recorded an appearance on ABC TV show ‘Shindig’ sitting at the feet of their hero Howlin’ Wolf on his standard How Many More Years . It was Wolf's first appearance on US TV and once the network execs saw him, they wanted to pull him off the show. But The Stones refused to appear unless Wolf was included, and ABC caved in. Introduced by Brian Jones, The Wolf appears with a great house band (including Billy Preston and James Burton) and some rather confused looking go-go dancers.

Back in London on August 20th the Stones recorded their last ever radio session for the BBC. Included was Fanny Mae, a straight rocker recorded by Buster Brown in 1959. The recording is noticeable for Jagger forgetting the words and having to repeat verses. It remains officially unreleased. The following month the Stones, Cathy McGowan and Andrew Loog Oldham mimed an unforgettable version of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” on the September 10 the edition of Ready Steady Go, followed by a slightly chaotic “Oh Baby(We Got A Good Thing Going)”, “That’s How Strong My Love Is” with Brian on organ and their newly released self-penned single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. On the latter, Keith can be seen reaching down to the floor to switch on a primitive fuzz-box each time the song's main riff appears.

Out Of Our Heads ended the Stones studio infatuation with US R&B. The next studio LP they released – Aftermath in April 1966 – would contain only Jagger/Richards compositions. However there were a few more covers released. In December 1966 Decca released an LP called Got Live If You Want It!, which shared only a title with the earlier EP. Most songs were recorded (again by Glyn Johns) in Newcastle and Bristol on the October 1966 UK tour. Tucked away at the end of the LP were two Stones studio songs swathed in screams to make them sound part of a live performance. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long was a cover of an Otis Redding ballad recorded at RCA in May 1965. A further Stones connections was Ike and Tina Turners version of the song on the Gimme Shelter DVD, recorded whilst supporting the Stones at Madison Square Gardens in November 1969 and featuring some extraordinary microphone technique from Tina. A similarly doctored studio version of Benny Spellmans Fortune Teller also featured on the Got Live If You Want It! LP. This version was recorded at Decca way back in August 1963 and was intended as the b-side of the Stones second single, the Leiber/Stoller composition ‘Poison Ivy’. When the Stones decided to release ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ instead, Fortune Teller was shelved, until now. In the interim there had been many versions – Wayne Fontana and the Who had both covered the song – but why it should be released as a fake live track three years after recording is something only Decca -- or Andrew Oldham -- could explain (and possibly not even them).

In contrast to all the time spent recording in the US, the next three years saw the Stones recording mainly in London, notably at Olympic in Barnes. Here between 9 November and 6 December 1966 the Stones recorded Trouble In Mind, a Richard M Jones standard popularised by both Big Bill Broonzy and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. With Brian Jones on kazoo and Ian Stewart on piano the song soon turns into a jam and is unsurprisingly unreleased. Much further time would be spent at Olympic but with ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’ on the horizon covers of classic blues, soul and R&B tracks would have to wait until the Stones got back to their roots with the release of Jumpin’ Jack Flash in May 1968.

The Stones have not returned to these R&B tracks in the way that they have performed classic blues and rock’n’roll throughout their career. ‘It’s All Over Now’ was played in January 1973 at the Los Angeles Forum during a benefit gig for Nicaraguan Earthquake victims, thereby allowing Stones fans to compare the guitar playing of Brian Jones with his successor Mick Taylor. A Ron Wood-era performance of the song can be found on the live Voodoo Lounge DVD, recorded in Miami, Florida on 25 November 1994. ‘Little Red Rooster’ was given an excellent performance during the El Mocambo club gigs of March 1977 (released on LP as ‘Love You Live’) and a less impressive workout on the Flashoint LP, recorded live at Atlantic City on December 19 1989 and featuring two Eric Clapton solos that impressed many but not me. The smaller venues visited as part of the Forty Licks Tour of 2002-3 permitted a renewed interest in classic soul songs with ‘That’s How Strong My Love is” (ten performances), ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ (13 performances) and ‘Little Red Rooster’ (performed 18 times) . On the Four Flicks DVD strong performances of both ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ and ‘That's How Strong My Love Is’ are included from the performance at the Olympia Theatre, Paris on 11 July 2003. Keith Richards referred to this tour as The Y-Fronts because the venues came in Large, Medium and Small (the Olympia was definitely the latter).

Jagger may have enjoyed emulating James Brown, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye but how into this material was Keith Richards? Was recording contemporary material just a stop-gap for Keith until the Jagger/Richards songwriting team could consistently producing hits like Satisfaction? Long-time Stones watcher John Perry thinks not. “I don't think Keith would have had a problem with the originals. They were always ambitious to write pop hits for other artists - or as soon as they stopped being five blues purists and a Chuck Berry fanatic - and Oldham was pushing them that way. Keith always loved the Everlys, Buddy Holly and various other even more straight pop, if they're good songs. On the Andrew Oldham Orghcestra 1964 LP - a Loog scam to imagine he's Phil Spector – turned Keith loose in a cheap Denmark Street studio to learn the crafts of arrangement and production. It mainly uses songs by people Loog is pals with, such as Bob Crewe and Phil Spector but even so I can't imagine Keith putting in hard work on songs he hated.”

From 1967 onwards the Rolling Stones recorded cover version more sparingly, their comparitive rarity giving them more significance both in the studio and onstage. The third volume in our ‘Rolling Stones: Beginnings’ series will span the era from 1967 to the present day and will demonstrate the continued importance of cover versions as the Rolling Stones consolidated their position as ‘The Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band In The World’.

Simon Wright
www.myspace.com/simonjcwright


References
www.nzentgraf.de
www.iorr.org
Complete Recording Sessions 1962 – 2003 (Martin Elliott)
Keith Richards - An Authorised Biography (Victor Bokris)
The Rolling Stones – The 1960s (NME)
Rolling With The Stones (Bill Wyman)
The Rolling Stones – An Illustrated Record (Roy Carr)
Keith Richards (Barbara Charone)
John Perry – in conversation
Sucking In The 60’s DVD (Apocalypse Sound)

Tracklisting
Little Red Rooster (Howlin’ Wolf)
Fortune Teller (Benny Spellman)
Talkin Bout You (Chuck Berry)
You Better Move On (Arthur Alexander)
Down Home Girl (Alvin Robinson)
Hitch Hike (Marvin Gaye)
If You Need Me (Wilson Pickett)
Pain In My Heart (Otis Redding)
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Solomon Burke)
It's All Over Now (Valentinos)
Mercy Mercy (Don Covay and His Goodtimers)
Oh Baby (Barbara Lynn Ozen)
Time Is On My Side (Irma Thomas)
That's How Strong My Love Is (Otis Redding)
Cry To Me (Solomon Burke)
Good Times (Sam Cooke)
I've Been Loving You Too Long (Otis Redding)
She Said Yeah (Larry Williams)
Trouble In Mind (Big Bill Broonzy)
You Can't Catch Me (Chuck Berry)
Go Home Girl (Arthur Alexander)
Fannie Mae (Buster Brown)
How Many More Years (Howlin’ Wolf)
Try Me (James Brown)

>> Did he refer to it as Y-Fronts or Fruit of the Loom ? <<

both - or anyway it's been quoted both ways.
since "Y-fronts" is a British term, maybe it was "translated" into "Fruit of the Loom" for North American media purposes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-10-09 11:46 by with sssoul.

Keith Richards was quoted in The New York Times as calling it “The Fruit of the Loom tour — it's small, medium, and large.”


This is a nice web link but I don't know if there are covers from 1964/67.

[www.angelfire.com]



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .