12 Classic Covers and 1 Lone Single: Review of The Rolling Stones (1964)
The Rolling Stones is possibly the biggest rock act of all time, spawning a slew of albums and influencing the trajectory of modern rock n’ roll music. Their albums from the late 60s-early 70s is considered the golden age; the band released four albums back-to-back that are all seen as masterpieces. But fans tend to forget the first few albums the band released, outside of “Aftermath” and “Out of Our Heads”. This is probably because the band stuck to recording covers of well-known Rhythm and Blues songs and has few original tunes. However, their first album and UK release “The Rolling Stones” reminded me how impressive the band’s debut was, even if it only had one original tune.
Released in 1964, “The Rolling Stones” is the British edition of the band’s debut. The American version, “England’s Newest Hitmakers” was mostly made of of the same songs, minus a few swap outs. The debut was recorded over a span of five days in the beginning of 1964 at Regent Sound Studios in London. It was produced by their then manager Andrew Oldham and Eric Easton. The debut shows off the band’s love for R&B music, being like a compilation of cover songs. But these covers gave listeners an early glimpse of Jagger’s swagger and the band’s ability to not only produce R&B inspired rock music, but to push it to the next level.
The album starts off with a great take on Nat Cole’s “Route 66”, giving listeners a smokey contradiction to The Beatle’s “Please Please Me”. Out of the twelve songs on the debut, the only original is “Tell Me “Which is a solid offering from the band; it’s a bluesy infused 60s pop song. Favorites of mine on this album, where I think Jagger particularly shines, is the bouncy “Can I Get a Witness”, the Chuck Berry-esque “Carol”, and the preachy “You Can Make It If You Try”. The album overall was a fun listen with not much original surprises. However, being a lover of classic R&B, this was a record I could move and groove too. More so than some of the Stone’s other early albums.
Rating: 3.7 out of 5