The Rolling Stones

US Title: England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)

Personnel:

Mick Jagger: vocals, harmonica

Keith Richards: guitar, vocals

Brian Jones: guitar, harmonica, vocals

Bill Wyman: bass guitar, vocals

Charlie Watts: drums and percussion

With

Ian Stewart: piano, organ

Gene Pitney: piano

Phil Spector: maracas

Record Label: Decca (UK), London (US)

Recorded: Jan-Feb 1964, produced by Eric Easton and Andrew Loog Oldham

UK release date: April 1964. US release date: May 1964

Highest chart places: UK: 1, USA: 11

Running time: UK: 33:24 US: 31:05

The US track listing substituted the hit single 'Not Fade Away' for the song 'Mona'.

This is covered at the end of this section.

Album Facts:

By the time the Stones entered Regent Studios in London to record their debut album they had already had a small taste of success via the Top 5 single 'Not Fade Away', so they were riding high on a wave of self-belief. The album itself was recorded in very basic fashion on a two-track Revox, so there was very little scope for embellishment beyond the most rudimentary of overdubs and everything you hear is more or less as it was played at the time. This factor, combined with the band's cocksure arrogance and belief in their own abilities, resulted in an album which gets out of the starting blocks quickly and never lets up. It's dated now, naturally - but in comparison to many of the albums churned out by 'beat groups' of the time, with a host of B-sides and filler tracks padding them out, it's a beacon of excitement and bravado. One thing which is clear from the way the instrumentation is pushed forward as strongly as the vocals is that the band, even at this stage, regarded themselves as musicians first and foremost, rather than as pop stars.

The US release of the album included 'Not Fade Away' at the expense of 'Mona' - though it is difficult to see why it was necessary to drop that track, as the change left the first side of the US release at only 13 minutes and 42 seconds; extremely short, even for the time.

Album Cover:

By the time of this album's release, after three singles and an EP of covers

called The Rolling Stones EP (none of those EP tracks are particularly noteworthy), the fledgling Stones had already cultivated a highly visual image as 'rebels', who parents across the land feared would come and steal their daughters away, which by turn heightened the cleaner-cut allure of the Beatles, whose 'long-haired' early demeanour quickly became almost cuddly

by comparison. Manager Andrew Loog Oldham, a shrewd individual, knew this only too well, and he traded on it in a risky move whereby the name of the band was left off the front cover of the album entirely, with the Decca logo the only writing visible. Instead, all the attention was focused on the picture - a band photo as was the norm, but a much darker example of that form, with the band side-on and looking over their shoulders in surly fashion. At a time when marketing was king in terms of album design, and most LPs still featured the tracks on the front as well as the band name and title, this was unheard of, but a decision that paid off spectacularly as the album hit the Number One spot in the UK album charts.

In the USA the band had no such established image, so the American release contained not only the band name but also the cringe-inducing tag line 'England's Newest Hit Makers', which has gone on over the years to become the de facto accepted title of the album over there - heaven knows why! Even in England, it has to be said, the record company's bravery would only stretch so far, and the rear of the album was emblazoned with the band name in the biggest possible font, along with captioned photos of the five members. Brief sleeve notes by Oldham featured alongside the track listing and credits. One noteworthy point here is that Keith was known as 'Keith Richard' at this time, dropping the final 'S' from his surname for professional purposes. This was the case for most of the scope of this book, and he has been credited deliberately as 'Richards' throughout, as he generally is retrospectively these days.

'Route 66' (Troup)

Opening the album is this R&B standard which many people mistakenly assume to be written by Chuck Berry, who had recorded it in 1961. It was in actual fact written by George Troup in 1946 and tells the story of a real-life road trip he made with his wife Christine, heading to Hollywood with the intention of making it as a songwriter. In fact, the original title was to be 'US 40', after the road of that name, before Christine came up with the immortal line 'get your kicks on Route 66'. The first recording of the song was Nat King Cole's excellent take in 1946, but bizarrely - given the nature of versions such as

this one - it was a US hit in that same year for Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters! That one isn't a particularly thrilling rendition by the way.

The Stones rendition holds its own against any other recorded version, especially of the time, and still sounds good today. Well chosen as the album opener, Jagger excels with the vocal while the opening of the instrumental break is infused with thrilling momentum. A statement of intent, for sure.

'I Just Want to Make Love to You' (Dixon)

Next up is this Willie Dixon standard, written in 1964. The Stones attack the song with a sort of zealous relish here, ramping up the tempo and making the track a world away from Muddy Waters' slow blues version. The middle eight is particularly exciting, but the whole track perfectly illustrates the chasm which existed between the Beatles and the Stones at this time. The Beatles wanted to hold your hand and send you all their loving - Jagger just sounds like he has one thing on his mind, and one way or another he's going to get it. For 1964, this was pure sex in musical form. And you could dance to it.

'Honest I Do' (Reed)

Written by Jimmy Reed, this two-minute mid-tempo blues shuffle is arguably one of the less celebrated tracks from the album. Nevertheless, there is much to recommend it, from Jones' urgent harmonica - contrasting with the laid- back, easy feel of the rest of the band - to Jagger's nonchalant delivery. It seems unremarkable now, but at the time blues was extremely uncommon in the mainstream in such an 'unsweetened' form, and nobody was doing it better than the Stones.

'Mona (I Need You Baby)' (McDaniel)

Written by Elias McDaniel, aka Bo Diddley, this originally saw the light of day as the B-side to his self-referential 'Hey! Bo Diddley' single in 1957. In truth, this is a big improvement on the rather dry Diddley original, with the heavily echoed guitar courtesy of Brian Jones giving the song a depth and full sound lacking from the original. The song was allegedly a big influence on Buddy

Holly when he wrote 'Not Fade Away', and in retrospect, the similarity between the two songs could well have been the reason behind the decision to drop this track from the US release. Once again, the Stones take on a cover from a revered influence and beat them at their own game...

'Now I've Got A Witness (Like Uncle Phil And Uncle Gene)'

(Nanker Phelge)

Some explanation is required here around the title and credit for this throwaway instrumental. The dedication to uncles Phil and Gene refer to Phil Spector and Gene Pitney, who are both claimed to have contributed as guests on the following track, 'Little by Little'. As for the writing credit,

'Nanker Phelge' was a pseudonym used in the early days of the band for any tracks which were deemed as co-writes by the whole band, and all members would receive royalty payments on those songs. The term 'Nanker' refers to a somewhat hideous face often pulled by the band (and Jones especially), which involved simultaneously pulling down the underside of the eyes and pushing up the nose. The 'Phelge' part also has its roots in unpleasantness, as it refers to a flatmate of the band by the name of Jimmy Phelge, who Keith would

describe as a 'revolting' individual. Apologies to Mr Phelge if that description was less than accurate!

As for the track itself, it is a simple walking blues, enjoyable if insubstantial. Driven by Jones' enthusiastic harmonica, the lead guitar break on this, brief as it is, comes courtesy of Keith.

'Little by Little' (Nanker Phelge, Spector)

Co-credited to Phil Spector alongside the group 'Nanker Phelge' writing credit, Gene Pitney allegedly plays piano on this track (though some maintain it is actually all Ian Stewart on the ivories), with Spector himself providing the somewhat less technically demanding maracas. The track is probably the

weakest on the first side of the record, being another twelve-bar outing which, while taken at quite a sprightly pace, is nevertheless little more than generic R&B which the band...