At last, I managed to get hold of a "real" vinyl copy of "The Rolling Stones", our band´s debut album. I only had three different vinyl releases with covers that differed from the original.

I put it on immediately when I got back home, and couldn´t stop playing it. It´s awesome, even better than I remembered. It´s been a few years since I last really listened to it, and tracks like Mona, Little By Little, Route 66, Can I Get A Witness, Carol, Walking The Dog are downright fantastic. The list could go on and on.

Just wanted to share a great listening experience. Pick it up!

Now playing: Tell Me - oops, bad fade there

In the context of time, place and money available... it's ace!

In or out of context! I love it.

ABKCO's treatment of the early albums, on the other hand, is wretched.

I believe you are right, Dandelion. In my opinion the Stones first album 'The Rolling Stones' was definitely their best, at least until 'Aftermath'. It is one of the truly great debut albums of all time, with amazing energy, pretty much from start to finish. I think the Stones had really honed those songs over a long period as they were very much included in their live sets back in those early days. There is great freshness and spontaneity in evidence, which isn't quite so apparent with the Stones follow up 'The Rolling Stones No2', which probably suffered from the fact that the Stones had used many of their most effective covers on their debut. I love the mixture of rock 'n' roll and blues, in addition to those songs the Stones had a hand in writing - 'Little By Little' and the US single 'Tell Me'. Chuck Berry influences are very much in evidence with 'Route 66', actually based on the Chuck Berry cover of the song, and also 'Carol'. I love the bluesy 'Honest I Do' and 'I'm A King Bee' also. My favourite has to be the Bo Diddley cover 'Mona', which has such a great rhythm. I think having the songs compiled in their original album sequencing, really does give you an appreciation of where the Stones were at and how great the songs complimented each other, far more than the american compilations from the Stones early years 'England's Newest Hitmakers' etc. It is just so frustrating that those albums are no longer available in their original format.

Absolutely, Edward. Well said. On No2 they were sort of students again, now to the Soul. It didn´t go down as well as with the energic and powerful songs on the debut album. To master much of the material on No2 it takes more finesse and experience, it seemed.

Yeah, I have the american releases myself, but the intended order of songs, as well as listening to how the albums were supposed to be presented is unbeatable, imo.

Try the second hand shops if you haven´t got the LPs already. I´ve been searching for the first album and No2 for years. Finally I got them in near mint condition.

I have the original 'The Rolling Stones' debut, Dandelion, on a bootleg cd, which i was very fortunate to get hold of, because i truly loved the original LP, and didn't like listening to the songs out of their original sequencing as with the US imports. I think 'The Rolling Stones No2' lacked a little of the self assurance found on the Stones debut. The Stones were dabbling a little more with songs which were not quite such a perfect fit, such as 'Under The Boardwalk' and perhaps 'Down Home Girl', and the spontaneity seemed to be lacking. The original tracks, such as 'What A Shame' and 'Grown Up Wrong' are really nowhere near the standard of 'Little By Little' and 'Tell Me'. However, their version of 'Time Is On Me Side' was truly brilliant. I think the Stones were still following the rock 'n' roll and blues influences predominantly at this point, although the soul influenced 'Time Is On My Side' really did point the way to their next move with 'Out Of Our Heads' which was very much a rock 'n' roll/soul mixture.

I agree completely. For me "The Rolling Stones" is way up there with
the very best they ever did.

Chartwise, at least in the UK, it is actually also their most sucessful
album ever.

These albums come up on EBAY all the time, in various states of condition. I own several of the UK first album, and it is worth the money to own!
It's a piece of history at the least.

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Squiggle
In or out of context! I love it.

Me too!

The conditions within which it was produced makes it all the more amazing! I also love the fact it's what, just over half an hour long!?

Their debut LP in tandem with their first 3 singles and debut EP makes for a great stoned R&B compilation.

I'm with you, Edward, regarding "Mona". That has always been my favorite from that album. Back in the day I would listen to that cut over and over. If they do another tour, that would be a great song to resurrect for a live performance.

From 'Route 66' through to Brian's whistling on 'Walking The Dog', their debut is a stunner. I own the 1984 CD release - and despite the poor sound quality - wouldn't dream of swappping it for a '02 remastered 'England's Newest Hitmakers'

When you play this original mono vinyl LP on a record player it is still stunning.......... and here's two ideas about why...........
.......... firstly this was their first album and Brian was still very much the leader and guiding force in the band (although I believe his influence was starting to decline even as the album was progressing). There are several photos that exist of the recording sessions for this album (in the Rolling Stones Monthlies I think) that show Mick and Keith listening as Brian plays guitar. They still had things to learn from Brian. Also the album was virtually recorded live..............
secondly it was recorded in the UK where at that time the studio engineers were not as clued up as their USA counterparts (in fact there is a BBC radio interview from 1965 of Mick making this very point).
But whatever the reasons, when this LP came out it was a new sound in the UK and that made it very special.

One question:

The album credits state that only Brian and Bill do the back up vocals. However, Keith is very audible on Tell Me. Or is that Bill?

I prefer the U.S. version only because it kicks off with 'Not Fade Away', and then, excepting 'Mona', follows in the same order as the UK debut. Not Fade Away to me is the beginning of the Stones. (Because Come On and some other early cuts weren't released Stateside until More Hot Rocks in '72). If I ever want to illustrate to neophytes how the Stones sound began I play the first triumphant intro chords of Not Fade Away, hooked up with the Bo Diddley that creates a new pop alloy. Powerful stuff.

As I have stated earlier, the US counterparts is not compilations, but just a factor of a different marketing strategy. The US versions where (for the most part) compiled by Andrew, just as the UK versions where...

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DandelionPowderman
One question:

The album credits state that only Brian and Bill do the back up vocals. However, Keith is very audible on Tell Me. Or is that Bill?

I venture to say that that is Keith on the backing vocal there. That's my guess. At least that's who it sounds like to me.

"Doctor please, some more men please,
To Cotchford Farm, out by the pool...

What a drag it is they couldn't revive him"

Brian Jones 2/28/42 - 7/2/69

with the 2 EP's Not Fade Away, Time Is On My Side, and It's All Over Now singles they had a ton of killer tracks, and Rooster to a lesser extent as it came a bit later. And although the first album is in a realm of it's own. No. 2 has a few killer tracks as well.

I feel 1, Aftermath, and "The Big Four" are all in realms of their own, but in five different realms. They all can't be touched by the other albums, but they are great for very different reasons. I feel that Sticky Fingers and Exile are similar but still fantastic (like Some Girls and ER) but LIB and Beggars are different from the other 3.

It's a shame ABKCO can't get their act together and do what EMI/Capitol did for the Beatles albums. It would be great to have the UK editions of the Stones first albums in Mono. Then there is a collection put together that gathers the EP songs and non-album singles. I guess one can only dream since this appears to never happen.

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Kingbeebuzz
When you play this original mono vinyl LP on a record player it is still stunning.......... and here's two ideas about why...........
.......... firstly this was their first album and Brian was still very much the leader and guiding force in the band (although I believe his influence was starting to decline even as the album was progressing). There are several photos that exist of the recording sessions for this album (in the Rolling Stones Monthlies I think) that show Mick and Keith listening as Brian plays guitar. They still had things to learn from Brian. Also the album was virtually recorded live..............
secondly it was recorded in the UK where at that time the studio engineers were not as clued up as their USA counterparts (in fact there is a BBC radio interview from 1965 of Mick making this very point).
But whatever the reasons, when this LP came out it was a new sound in the UK and that made it very special.

I don't follow how either of those reasons affect what is coming out of your speakers when you play the mono LP. How exactly does brian's leadership come across on the album tracks? And how do the engineers' limitations get turned into strengths?

I would say that Keith ran the shop on the first album already. Brian, of course, contributes with tasteful licks, and a solo on King Bee (like Keith does - they both "sting" hard) and the tremolo rhythm on Mona. Other than that there is no lead guitar played by Brian, except for perhaps the broken chord changes on Tell Me (that's still not verified by anyone, though).

On many of the songs, Brian has a very bass-dominant sound - and he plays a mean boogie. Always down in the mix, yet audible on the right spots.

Keith takes the solos mainly, and Little By Little, Carol and Route 66 are my favorites.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-09-16 22:04 by DandelionPowderman.

IMO it is the GREATEST ROCK 'n' ROLL album ever, period. Everything about it is perfect. The Stones were very dangerous in those days. Both on record and on stage.