Review Summary: A fantastic, influential debut that, despite some weaker moments, offers a clear look at the early Rolling Stones.
Back in the early 60's the
Rolling Stones were a bunch of nobodies to the main public. Playing gigs at venues like Marquee Club and Crawdaddy Club, they were slowly becoming an underground sensation with a few singles here and there, as opposed to the Beatlemania that surrounded those Liverpool lads. In 1964, though, the Stones were given a chance by Decca Records, which has previously rejected the
Beatles, much to their afterward grief, to prove their talents on record. The songwriting machine of Jagger/Richards was still in its infancy, though, and their debut features only
three originals and plenty of covers.
And what covers! Boasting a powerhouse of classic R&B, rock'n'roll and blues tunes like
Carol and
I'm A King Bee, the boys simply can do no wrong here. The atmosphere is raw, edgy and the members themselves play the classics with the utmost conviction. Richards is Chuck Berry's incarnation, but even more aggressive in his playing, Brian Jones plays the hell out of his harmonica and brings some mighty biting slide guitar to the table; as for Jagger, he develops a unique singing voice that's not 'sore' and 'aching' like his blues idols neither 'jovial' and 'relaxed' as his rock'n'roll prototypes. He is more 'nasty' in his approach, combining successfully the dark, unpolished nature of say, Muddy Waters with the more snappy delivery of someone like Chuck Berry. But what about the rhythm section, now? Charlie and Bill are swinging effortlessly through all the songs, whether it's something fast paced like
I Just want to Make Love To You or something slower and cooler like
Honest I Do.
Truly, it is the amalgam of all these factors that makes this record so fantastic. Thus, the straightening of the rhythm section in
Route 66 may not be the single most inventive idea in the history of mankind, but it brings to the surface a terrific
tension that Chuck Berry's rendition lacked by a long mile. Add to that Mick's 'dirty' delivery, as well as Keith's and Brian's fierce 'guitar weaving' and you have yourself a terrific opener. Listen to Chuck's take and tell me the boys weren't cooking something different here. The other rip-roaring rocker is
Carol which, of course, features even more drive and aggressiveness than Berry's original and succeeds just as much as the album opener in offering pure rock energy to the listener. The brisk, rapid rhythm section makes one more appearance in
I Just Wanna Make Love To You; this time the song is not a rocker in the traditional sense of the term, but they manage to transform Waters' original from a menacing blues tune to a savage R&B attack in offhand fashion.
As for the slower, bluesy songs, the clear winner is
I'm A King Bee, which converts Slim Harpo's tune from a great mid-tempo blues shuffle to a sweaty, sly and lively R&B number. Jagger is at his nasty best here, never overdoing his performance with the barks and forced 'punkisms' that would litter the Stones' mid-seventies live shows and 80's studio releases, Charlie and Bill create a bouncy, energetic backbone that improves upon the original's rhythm section and of course Brian's mighty slide lines are among the best things he ever did with the band. He bursts through the speakers with a fierce bite, completing Jagger's attack earlier and after his solo.
Honest I Do is not as fantastic as the aforementioned tune, but it is still a jolly good track even if less amped-up and edgy, mostly due to Mick's more 'tender', if the word is applicable, performance and the less frenzied nature of the rhythm section.
Mona (I Need You Baby) improves upon the rhythm section of Diddley's original and is made all the more of a highlight thanks to Jagger's energetic performance and Richard's distorted guitar playing that might not twist the feeling and vibe of the song as much as the other tracks do, but still delivers the inimitable sound of the Stones.
Walking The Dog closes the record on a groovy fashion, summing up what the album is all about perfectly. Unfortunately, there are a couple of weaker renditions here that mar the picture a bit, namely
Can I Get A Witness and
You Can Make It If You Try. These two tunes require powerful soul voices in order to be fully adequate; Jagger is simply
not a soul crooner and he never became one, by the way; the soul efforts of the band while instrumentally great, were always lacking in the singing department. This is what happens here, too, as these songs never become something more than by-the-numbers soul tunes.
Now, we're left with the originals; two out of three are
very good.
Little By Little is your typical R&B blues number melodically and is made notable by the strength of the instruments and Mick's very nice
little by little i'm losing my love for you hook.
Tell Me is the first sign of pop songwriting by the Glimmer Twins and, while not as sincere as the Stones best ballads, is solidly written and enveloped in the youthful innocence that was uncharacteristic of the Stones at the time.
Now I've Got A Witness is the worst cut on the record, a boring and uninspired instrumental based on
Can I Get A Witness that serves as nothing more than a two minute filler. Thank God it's short because otherwise the rating would be lower.
And, since I made a reference to the
Beatles earlier, let me just say that this is a far more impressive debut than the Beatles’
Please Please Me, even if it features only 3 original tunes. The Stones already offer a more convincing, solid picture of who they were at the time, unlike the Beatles, who perfected their ‘pure pop’ sound with
A Hard Day’s Night, not their debut.
So, there you have it. This is the quintessential R&B experience of the early/mid 60's, simply because the Stones are not just covering old classics; they're infusing rock'n'roll energy with blues rawness, as well as their energetic collective sound with tremendous results. Make no mistake, this record is the birth of rock as we know it today, because it introduces the ‘nastiness’ element that made its way through every rock band ever since, be it the Who, the Kinks, the Beatles, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and so on. So, be sure to check it out.
