Like many of us here on the board, I only became a fan of the Stones after they already went through two Golden Era's, the first being the Satisfaction/Get off of my cloud/Have you seen your mother/Paint it black -era and the second being the JJF/HTW/BS era.

This means I grew up with the band that already had developed itself into the greatest r'n'r band as we know it. The big changes the band went through between 1965 and 1968 was no secret for me. It was more the other way around. I knew the latter day hits and was actually surprised to find out how the band started as a blues band.

What I am curious about is how a fan experienced the big changes when they were actually happening. How was it to hear a song like JJF or Street Fighting Man or SFTD for the first time? I imagine it was something completely different from what you expected from the band at the time, but am I right?
From my perspective the Stones turned in a completely different direction from Beggar's Banquet onwards. Was this change of direction accepted/critized/welcomed by the early fans? Was it as shocking as I suppose it was, or was this just something that felt logical at the time?

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the "new" fans.

i remember the first time i heard JJF. it felt ... perfect: "ahh yeah that's it - that right there"

During those years, the anticipation for the next song or album was incredible. You never knew what to expect, but you knew it was going to be great.....I remember the first time I heard Bitch...wow...that Keith driven guitar, and the horns punching holes in the rhythm....every new single was better than the one before it. Pretty amazing batch of songs...

JR

hearing those tunes for the first time was fun

Things changed so rapidly back then that no matter what type of new sounds were produced it was accepted as invigorating .I enjoyed the early stuff but what really got me hooked was Get Off Of My Cloud . After that everything just fell into place .

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I've often wondered about this........ I'm 37 and only got into the stones from around age 12 onwards ie around 1983 or so (which meant no Stones concerts for me until 1989!).

I think many of us (myself included) view the 60s as a magical period music from long ago, and also one that's hard to conceptualise. Even in the 80s we viewed the 60s in this way, and yet it was only 20 years before. Strange how we're now 20 years on from the 80s, yet the 80s doesn't seem so long ago...(or is it me?).

My mother says she remembers Stones tunes sounding great at parties in the late 60s...also remembers the Stones kind of fading away a bit in the 1970s, ie you heard less about them (this being from the point of view of the average person, ie a non-Stones fan).

You got used to changes all the time in the 60's. You can almost hear the difference from one year to another. A song from 1967 was an impossibility to record 1964. Nowadays you can't guess if the song was recorded yesteryear or twenty years ago.

But if I would pick one single (albums were nice but singles were what it all was about) that really took you by surprise, something totally new and different I would say We Love You from 1967.

Hearing JJF for the first time in 1968 was like watching the "the wizard of oz" at the point early in the movie where it goes from black-and-white to full color.

Marco, this is such a good question. Like you, I grew up with these songs in the background. I can't remember the first time I heard them, it just seems like I always knew them. It must have been like a revelation, hearing some of these amazing works for the first time as an adult or adolescent.

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Thommie
You got used to changes all the time in the 60's. You can almost hear the difference from one year to another. A song from 1967 was an impossibility to record 1964. Nowadays you can't guess if the song was recorded yesteryear or twenty years ago.

That's just so cool.

Let It Bleed was the first Stones album I was aware of so I can't really answer. I don't think they changed hugely after that. But any band that was around from the beginning to the end of the sixties, (the Beatles and Who spring to mind), was the same story. From She Loves You to Sgt. Pepper is quite a journey.

As Thommie said, things changed really fast in the sixties. Exciting times!

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with sssoul
i remember the first time i heard JJF. it felt ... perfect: "ahh yeah that's it - that right there"

Interesting. I was only nine and not yet all that aware of them. It must have been something like "Oh, my God! They finally made a record that SOUNDS they way they actually sound!"

What a great thread, keep on sharing guys. I'm 30 and fan for about 19 years, so I'm curious to hear your comments too.

I didn't change my musical tastes as fast as the Stones developed their music. I was a teenager in the mid-60s and I loved (and still do) all their earliest stuff, especially a lot of their own early tries at songwriting like Play with Fire and Off The Hook - what marcovandereijk calls the Paint It Black era.

But when I first heard what is now regarded as the classic Stones sound - JJF/BS/HTW and all that - I didn't like it, and didn't listen much to the Stones for some years. I know I ought to say that it all came as a revelation and a perfect next development, but it took my ears a good while to realise that the band I'd loved was still "there", and hadn't changed permanently for the worse after losing Brian. I suppose it had something to do with my being about 20 then, and starting to outgrow some of my teenage tastes - but this one never really went away altogether, and later I rediscovered the Stones and learned to love what I think of as their "later" stuff.

For this reason I'm less familiar with the Mick Taylor era than many people here, and less inclined to think of it as a golden age. (BLASPHEMY!)

Green Lady wrote:

For this reason I'm less familiar with the Mick Taylor era than many people here, and less inclined to think of it as a golden age. (BLASPHEMY!)


I have to agree here. Although I love the Taylor period, nothing compares to the early stuff. Last Time, I Can't Be Satisfied, and all the early Chuck cover songs. Thats the REAL Stones, to me, too.

JR

good thread marco....i wondered myself. When I was a young teen I was
aware of Hot ROcks etc...but the first album I became interested in
when it was released was SOME GIRLS. Even more with Emotional Rescue.
And I became hard-core with the release of Tattoo You (& the tour).

..then of course I had the previous 20 years of Stones music to collect.

another interesting question for the younger fans (fans that became
fans in '89 or '94).....If songs like Mixed Emotions and You Got Me ROcking
got you hooked....do you view them on the same level as Miss You, Brown Sugar and
Satisfaction?

To me Shattered and She's So Cold are every bit as
extraordinary as Satisfaction and Get Off of My Cloud.
On the other hand, older fans might put She's So Cold and Rough Justice
in the same category.

Not sure if I made sense.

Basically restating Marco's question of PERSPECTIVE....but also interested in reading
NEW Stones fans' perspective on '90s-'00s songs and if a recent "hit" is equal to a "classic hit".
(My slightly younger wife became a fan after I took her to a Voodoo Lounge SHow...
....she thought You GOt Me Rocking was from the same album as Brown Sugar...to her they were equal). Is this common?


IORR............but I like it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-22 19:06 by sweet neo con.

It's been said many times...the Stones as an antedote to the wonderful Beatles. And it was true. As much as I love and admire the Beatles, the Stones were a little "cooler," a bit edgier, more "black" in its musical roots. You connected with it because the British wave was exciting and new, but also because you were hearing America's own music, RnR, RnB and blues, being brought back to you by people who probably appreciated it more than you. But to me the band was still a mystery. I did not know who was playing what. And to this day I know very few people who saw them with Brian. You followed them through TV appearances and the string of monster singles that kept coming along. They had charisma and this carefully created and maintained image that appealed to young people at the time.

But as I got older and the music scene and audiences got more sophisticated... BAM!...there came BB. THAT album was not only one to enjoy, but to LISTEN to. Each song draws you in and is thoroughly engaging. It is a mature and masterful work. Magnificient in its directness.

By the time I saw them in '69 I had no idea what I was going to see. A band playing teenage hits? What are these new songs? Who is this new guitar player? What I saw was a very sexy band playing a carefully chosen setlist that paid homage to the American roots of its music and boldly pronounced that it was the worthy inheritors of that music. The presentation was sparse, but very effective. They could play. And you had that delicious feeling that they could bring the house down whenever they wanted, but they didn't go for the cheap thrills. It was one of the most tantalizing shows I ever went to. The band played on its terms, not yours. And that was sexy.

I feel very fortunate to have lived through those years and experience the excitement from the music. From a Stones perspective...'68-'72...BB, LIB, Y-Y, SF, Exile...Whew! Throw in The Beatles, Motown, the Beach Boys and of course Dylan...great fun growing up then! Style and substance.

This is so interesting! I got into the Stones when I was about 8 which was... 1994! Just in time for Voodoo Lounge!! not because of it though! My dad gave me a 'greatest hits' lp he had and I listened to it, which included songs spanning from their beginning up to Sticky Fingers. So all these were in my mind as 'one batch'. Growing older I realised the difference in musical style, or approach to rock'n'roll, or even the creation of rock'n'roll the way the term is used today, but I had never thought how it was for the people back then. My dad was really into up till Sticky Fingers and then lost interest, so I guess I always had in my mind that it was a very natural evolution. I never thought of JJF to be as revolutionary as Satisfaction or Last time! But I guess it was!

Who the f*ck is Mick Jagger?

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pmk251
But to me the band was still a mystery. I did not know who was playing what. And to this day I know very few people who saw them with Brian. You followed them through TV appearances and the string of monster singles that kept coming along. They had charisma and this carefully created and maintained image that appealed to young people at the time.

Yes, exactly. I don't think most of their fans were really aware of all the behind the scenes things that were going on with Brian, or how much he had dropped out of the band's activities in the later 60s. I certainly never thought of seeing them live as a practical possibility for me - but I watched all the TV shows and listened to all the radio appearances (which was nearly as important then). It's wonderful to see so much of that coming back on YouTube.

>> I didn't change my musical tastes as fast as the Stones developed their music. <<

what an interesting observation, Green Lady - i guess i didn't feel like it required changing my tastes;
it was more like i was being issued with a series of revelations: here's what comes next - dig it!

so i did :E

earlier Stones numbers i vividly remember being blown away by are Come On (of course!),
King Bee (couldn't get enough of that thing!), Play With Fire (yikes!) - and look at the range in just those three.
by the time JJF came around i guess i was already pretty used to changes in sound/direction,
so no, it didn't hit me as a sudden challenge to my tastes. it simply hit me - say hallelujah! :E

that terrible confusion when Brian died, though ... yeah that was very hard. and it had not even sunk in
when what did they hit us with - the utterly irresistible conscience-free joyful raunch of HTW -
my lord, who ARE these people?!

oh yeah -

pleased to meet you :E



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-22 21:50 by with sssoul.

Good gravey and other pre hippie sayings, am I the olny one with a retrospect of memories?

Thommie had some of the best points I thought. Things were a 'happining man'. The British invation in NA pushed asside what I once heard called the 'Bobby' years. The 50's hard rockers have fallen into disrepute and the Bobby Ridels, Vintons and such were saping up the air waves with Connie Francess and the Beach Boys (are you still with me). So we bite off this British invation stuff hard. But it is a hash of blues, gospil and the 50's rock at first, it needed a new name and 'pop' music was coined but it covered allot of ground from Tom Jones to the Stones (Get Off of MY Cloud was a good example).

Out of, and mingled into the pop was masive experimentation of which to the Stones credit they had Brian for his musical diversity. But, like allot of other music styles beat to death, there were only so many ways of synthsizing bird sounds into music and something had to be done (BS, IORR). We can not down play the roll of Dylan going electric. It changed all music and bands of the day and definatly added some punch to the sound of purist R&R (HTW, JJF).

In summary for me, the Stones rode the pop British invation and played the game at #2. Swept up in the flow they changed with the 'blowing in the wind' as did the Beatles and Clapton, so the tranision was part of a 'movement'.

Frankly I was relieved to see the Stones take on the Dylan thing. If I want to look at say Ruby Tuesday (the only Stones tune in 67 on billboard) is up against To Sir With Love #!, several Monkeys tunes, and the only song I would call heavy is Light My Fire. Now lets move to 1969, Sugar Sugar by the Archies is #1 but HTW is #4....thank god for small mercies, the Beatles have gone from Penny Lane to Get Back (now we're rockin). I always liked the harder edge to specificaly rock that emerged amounst all of this other pop music.

Not only was the change to a heavier rock flavour good for me it provided some welcome relief from I'm Dizzy, or Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Love in My Tummy (some things from the sixties are better off buried). But each style of music was perfect for it's time!

Take 1966 ,Aftermath,Blond on Blond,Pet Sounds and Revolver ,youll never get that again .just listen to the Shite on the radio these days.

... this is kind of off the wall, maybe, but: as a younger sibling i was used to feeling like
i was splashing around somewhat out of my depth - that constant urge to "keep up", you know,
to be as "hip" as my slightly-older sister appeared to me - and maybe that's part of why
i was so open to having my tastes challenged? if you see what i mean ...

also being 13 when JJF came out meant i was at that starting-to-feel-like-an-individual age
that really craves something you feel is *yours*: i finally had my own transistor radio to hear it on,
and my own pocket money make Beggars the first Stones album i bought with my own money ...
i totally love the way-early stuff, mind you, but i do really vividly recall
that very head-on immediate personal connection with JJF.

nice thread, marcovandereijk - thanks :E



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-22 22:37 by with sssoul.

I'd been a fan of the Stones for several years when I heard JJF for the first time. I think my first reaction was....oh good...they're back!

This came out after Satanic Majesties so it was kind of hard to tell where they were going to go next after that.

I was aware the Stones started as a blues band and it was amazing how much they changed from LP to LP through the 60's. A lot of folks are totally surprised the Stones were a blues band because for them, the Stones started with Satifacation. By then they were well on their way to being a rock band.

Then along comes Aftermath and for me, they had now almost become a jazz rock band. Aftermath continues to be one of my favorite albums.

I was so happy to hear Beggars Banquet at the time because I thought great! They are going back to heir roots and it sounds even better because now they really know who they are and have developed their own sound and take on the blues!!

Then Brian was dead ....

Marv

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

.... i was one who gravitated to them from the gate, i was prime aged, 14-15 when they arrived.. back then it 'seem'd' every couple of months there was a new album, bam bam bam, track after track,,, a snow ball into an avalanch,, as mention'd above, the anticapation of a new stones album was what ya lived for.. (caught them at the '66 hollywood bowl)
with decembers children being a weak link but nothing to really stop pulling the cart, the fade began,,, ya had a jillion bands turning out and up, a creative period mid-middle sixties arguably unmatched, one was so entertain'd, so much good stuff and high octane culture changes going on, and then sgt. peppers was released. if you werent there it may be difficult to comprehend the impact it had,, well, look at it this way, the rolling stones felt the need to do a santanic titanic dip... again, there was so much going on, the stones fade was quit pronounced,, where were they, basically vanished till, yeah, this jumpin jack thing is on the radio,, yeahhhh, there back,, then beggars,, was like coming off of life support, the rolling stones were back, big, bad and sophisticated,,,, thank you los angeles forum for holdin the parties....

I always thought the coolest thing about being a fan back in the 60's and 70's was the fact that you heard the songs first on these crappy one speaker AM radios. It was usually in a car and it would come as a big surprise. It was "wow a new Stones song!" type of thing. Who knew these guys would just keep cranking out the hit singles and great albums? I have vivid memories of exactly where I was when I first heard certain songs going all the way back to , Not Fade Away, Satisfaction and on through the Some Girls album. It was a fantastic time to be listening to commercial AM radio back in the early to mid 60's and as it went over to great FM programming in the late 60's and into the 70's. Who could forget JJF, HTW, TD and how wonderful to hear these cuts for the first time. It was the sign that the boys were back! It was really exciting for me and I was so proud to be a fan hearing that stuff when it was first released. Once you heard it on the radio it was time to bike/drive over to the record store and get that single or album bought as soon as possible. Many shops would spin records for you before you laid out the money to buy them which was also a cool thing. You could just keep requesting singles and go to the booth for a listen. For me the best shop was Pauls recorded music in Wilmette, Illinois where I bought almost all Stones albums and single up through the Let it Bleed period. What a cool guy the owner was. He just liked turning kids on to great music. Yes, those were the days it was really exciting to be a Stones fan. They just kept bringing it.

i am 15 , at 11 ( in 2004) , i came to my daddy's studio ( without permission , hahaha) and i was searching for good shit cd's.
i just took hot rocks.
then , i took it to my room and listened to all of it , i got mad , and i liked all of the songs.
i got more mad every day , i kept downloading on lime wire the next 2 years , and i bought ABB , it was fantastic , i just told my dad to buy tix for mexico city and monterrey on feb 26 and march 1 2006.
they were amazing and i couldnt believe what i saw!!!
it was THE ROLLING STONES!!!! Live!!
yeah!!!!
by middle 2006 , i got all of the original cd's of the stones.
and also i went to vegas on nov. 11 2006 , amazing again!!
by 2007 i was collecting bunches of bootlegs , and i was just tuned here on IORR for the european tour 2007. i followed every show review here on IORR , i was begging my dad to bring me to the "last" show of the stones on London.
and my dream came true , we purchased two hot seats.
i realized on those years that the stones were the BEST that could have happened to me , no other thing could be better. theyre my soul , they are just .... no word for it.
waiting for the next tour , ill be in so many more shows this time .
anyone can say they can be old or any bad stuff , but after having proves and going to at least a show , you know what it is in reality , a kick-ass show that wont ever let you down , and i dont know how to write my love to them , so i say theyre HOT.

my first memory of stones :
heart of stone / what a shame

They were different and I could tell that they would change course eventually. But never so far that you didn't immediately recognize them when you heard a new song or album.
In the early days they were better in my opinion. If you have seen Ladies and Gentlemen you are seeing the greatest rock and roll band in the world. They still are of course.But authentic rock and roll the way that they do it is still the only way to do it. I still love them dearly and my favorite question whenever they come up is, Who could possibly replace them? No other band will ever match their longevity and history. A lot of people crack on the Stones for one reason or another but they are still with us. Enjoy them while they are still with us.

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martingo
Hearing JJF for the first time in 1968 was like watching the "the wizard of oz" at the point early in the movie where it goes from black-and-white to full color.

I think it was Roy Carr who said that at the time of its release, JJF was seen as a brilliant return to their roots, as it put an end to their brief psychedelic period, and that it was only in hindsight that it was seen to be the beginning of an entirely new phase. But I think what you say must be closer to the truth. JJF was in no way a "return" to anything because Satisfaction notwithstanding, it really doesn't resemble anything they had done before. The writing, the performance, Jimmy's production (the first time they had ever achieved ANYTHING like an accurate representation of their true live sound in the studio), and especially the aura of COOL, that totally self-assured SWAGGER, unlike anything ever heard before on a rock recording, all combined to make the great records they had done only two or three years earlier suddenly sound like they were from a completely different era.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-23 05:31 by tatters.

Thank you all for making this thread as good as it is. It is wonderful to read all the experiences from those who were lucky enough to be aware of the great things that were happening at this time. Thanks again, and please keep those stories coming.