Rediscovering some of the pre-Beggars albums from the Stones over the last week, forgot how fantastic some of those albums are

Almost split into two parts, the R&B/soul of the first albums up to 'Out of our Heads, and the glorious 4 album stretch of Stones 60s pop/psychedelia from 'Aftermath' - the excellent 'Between the Buttons' - 'Flowers' - 'Satanic Majesties'

'NOW!' was an album I hadn't heard in perhaps a decade, their first album, along with '12 X 5' and 'Out of our Heads' (US Version) were my favourites of that period. 'NOW!' - the 2002 Remaster just struck me as much better than I recalled

It's an excellent collection -- the title tells you when you should play it. I was always curious that they played "Down Home Girl" at Hyde Park in '69 -- they should revisit that tune.

Brilliant album that I bought on CD around -92....They didn't sell Stones Decca US-LPs in Sweden during the 60ies except for 'Out of Our heads' for some strange reason....

2 1 2 0

the stones are rock and roll .then, now , forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now! is a shining piece of forever.

Perfect.

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Come On
Brilliant album that I bought on CD around -92....They didn't sell Stones Decca US-LPs in Sweden during the 60ies except for 'Out of Our heads' for some strange reason....

I believe this is true for all of Europe, except that in larger cities there were import stores that had US LPs. I bought mine in Oslo, because it contained Surprise,
Surprise which was hard to find at the time. (I only had the Ola & The Janglers version!)

Of course, the three US LPs Out of Our Heads, Got LIVE if you want it and Flowers were released in most European countries except the UK as special Decca export records. I think these are expensive collectors' items now.

I think it is the best of the early albums and certainly my favorite. A fine blend of blues, RnB and RnR. It plays almost like a greatest hits album. The Beatles equivalent is A Hard Day's Night. Both are almost perfect albums. I have a thrashed mono vinyl version. It was played to death.

In all seriousness I really REALLY think that the Stones should make a final album very similar to NOW! A few originals, some great covers, bam! It remains one of my favorites in all seriousness. They introduced me to so much good music. Blues, soul, rocknroll... Down The Road Apiece is just PHENOMENAL. Makes Chuck Berry's version sound like soft jazz.

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flacnvinyl
In all seriousness I really REALLY think that the Stones should make a final album very similar to NOW! A few originals, some great covers, bam! It remains one of my favorites in all seriousness. They introduced me to so much good music. Blues, soul, rocknroll... Down The Road Apiece is just PHENOMENAL. Makes Chuck Berry's version sound like soft jazz.

That's my dream as well. NOW! Is the first great Stones album.
Down Home Girl & Mona need special mention as well, but it's excellent from top to bottom.

I get totally confused by the different names of these albums in different countries--however, assuming this is their second album, the interplay of the guitar and piano at the lead-out of Down the Road Apiece is one of my favorite Stones moments ever. I played it so much that the inevitable happened and I dropped the needle when putting it on the part I really wanted to hear, so there was a scratch, but I STILL played it constantly.

Greatest R&B band ever .... and NOW proves it ....



ROCKMAN

NOW One of my favorites!! I have a vinyl in excellent condition I might sell as I no longer have a turntable. Down the Road Apiece, Stones should do some covers like these again.

Of the first three albums (at least in the U.S.), Now! seems to sound the best production-wise. The band is starting to sound really heavy--those dark and clanging guitars are more upfront, the base is pounding away under the hood (particularly on You Can't Catch Me), and the snare drum has sufficient pop to give it cruising wheels down the R&B/rock-n-roll highway. Song-wise the Now! album seems also to have a smoother continuity from start to finish than the first two, and Heart Of Stone and Little Red Rooster are perfect contrasting mood pieces amid the thump and jangle of the surrounding uptempo numbers.

What else can be said, other than it remains a frequent favorite and I just happen to be listening to it.... Now!

I was pretty impressed upon first listening to The Rolling Stones, Now! I had been a little disappointed by it's predecessor, 12x5, so the rocking Down The Road Apiece really made up for it.

NOW! was Exile before Exile.

The album I've got (The Rolling Stones No. 2):

No. Title Length
1. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Bert Berns/Jerry Wexler) 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" 3:03
6. "Grown Up Wrong" 1:50
Side two
No. Title Length
7. "Down the Road Apiece" (Don Raye) 2:55
8. "Under the Boardwalk" (Arthur Resnick/Kenny Young) 2:48
9. "I Can't Be Satisfied" (Muddy Waters) 3:26
10. "Pain in My Heart" (Allen Toussaint) 2:11
11. "Off the Hook" 2:38
12. "Susie-Q" (Dale Hawkins/Stan Lewis/Eleanor Broadwater)


The album you've got (The Rolling Stones, Now)

No. Title Length
1. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Bert Berns/Jerry Wexler) 3:00
2. "Down Home Girl" (Jerry Leiber/Arthur Butler) 4:13
3. "You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) 3:40
4. "Heart of Stone" 2:49
5. "What a Shame" 3:06
6. "Mona (I Need You Baby)" (Ellas McDaniel) 3:35
Side two
No. Title Length
7. "Down the Road Apiece" (Don Raye) 2:56
8. "Off the Hook" 2:36
9. "Pain in My Heart" (Allen Toussaint) 2:12
10. "Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')" (Barbara Lynn Ozen) 2:06
11. "Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon) 3:04
12. "Surprise, Surprise"

I like mine better.

Despite being a Brit, Rolling Stones, Now! just shades the Rolling Stones No.2. The latter is let down by the filler that let's 12x5 down so much. Still, unlike the latter,at least the Rolling Stones No.2 includes the guitar version of Time Is On My Side. I was so looking forward to hearing it on CD and was mortified to hear this weak organ-take on my copy of the U.S. release, 12x5.

I love Now! Down the Road Apiece is one of their finest covers along with little Red Rooster. heart of Stone and Off the Hook are a couple of really good early Jagger-Richards songs. Great R&B album the best of the first five US releases IMO.

Where else other than NOW! can one find "Surprise, Surprise" on CD?

Where else other than NOW! can one find "Surprise, Surprise" on CD?


Hey Glam it's also on.... Singles Collection - The London Years



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
Where else other than NOW! can one find "Surprise, Surprise" on CD?


Hey Glam it's also on.... Singles Collection - The London Years

That's right, thanks. Isn't it stuck somewhere weird like disk 3, because it was on the SFTD single from the 70s or something.

...Yeah Yeah that's it glam ...eeerrr errrr UK B of Street Fightin Man or something like that ..



ROCKMAN

It was an under-the-radar Xmas gift that I grew to love over the years. An aural film noir snapshot of the Stones before Jagger/Richards fully melded blues/r&b roots w/their distinct songwriting style. "Heart of Stone" & "Off The Hook" hinting at was to come.

I couldn't guess how many times I played this album when i first got it (around 1979) but it was a lot! I love Down the Road Apiece as many of you mention above, but I actually think Mona is the best track on the album!

And don't forget about Brian on Little Red Rooster -- wow!

I got Now before I got the original UK release No 2.

Simply brilliant.

As a listening experience, a total oddity to me. Actually I haven't ever owned the album. I happen to start collecting the early catalogue via UK versions (they happened to be the easiest to get in Finland in the early 80's), so I just purchased the US albums in only to get some track I didn't have in any other form. It was like collecting stamps... The "odd" tracks in NOW! were "Surprise Surprise" and the different version of "Everybody Needs Somebody". But since I happened to have them in two DECCA collections NO STONE UNTURNED and COLLECTORS ONLY (a catchy title...), there was no need for NOW!

(Wasn't by the way, "Surprise Surprise" released earlier in England in some strange collection album - of different artists, and The Stones only having this one - called FOURTEEN or something?)

So to my eyes NOW! looks a bit strange. "Mona" is from their first UK album and "Heart of Stone" and "Oh Baby" to be released not until OUT OF OUR HEADS... But yeah, basically it is NO 2... Since the Stones released more US albums, people out there get more tracks, and there was not many UK tracks not to be released in some US album. But here is one exception: "I Can't Be Satisfied" - the track Brian Jones has claimed including his best guitar contribution - is missing from NOW! (was it not released there until MORE HOT ROCKS?).

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-08-20 09:33 by Doxa.

I don't really know why there's much interest in Surprise Surprise, which I felt/feel was a pretty weak song.

I don't think the additional songs on RS No. 2 are filler, though they're admittedly covers. But I already had Mona on RS No. 1 (as just mentioned), and had Rooster as a 45, so . . . The UK albums didn't include the hit singles, but they actually give you more music if you already bought the singles anyway. Which I did.

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loog droog
NOW! was Exile before Exile.

Well put!

Great party album! Great album! My favorite of the early years.