ALL ALBUMS

WATTS THE ?? > drummer Charlie Watts > the Rolling Stone who never speaks > with what looks like a microphone in his hand (bottom right).

: Songs
1. Under My Thumb
2. Get Off of My Cloud
3. Lady Jane
4. Not Fade Away
5. I've Been Loving You Too Long
6. Fortune Teller

7. The Last Time
8. 19th Nervous Breakdown
9. Time Is On My Side
10. I'm Alright
11. Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadow
12. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Got Live If You Want It

In the sixties the screaming, knicker-wetting girls made so much noise the Rolling Stones could hardly hear themselves play. So the music was sometimes somewhat superfluous > as is this album.


: December, 1966
: Rock On Rock Recommends:
Fortune Teller: The rest is rubbish and this song is available without the annoying screaming of fans on the patchy American greatest hits compilation release More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies).

The Got Live If You Want It EP (Extended Play) which consisted of six songs

“When there’s a lot of screaming I know that most people can’t hear us playing, but what can you do.”
> Mick Jagger

THE Rolling Stones are introduced on stage by British blues pioneer Long John Baldry to a throng of screaming girls who screech throughout this supposedly live album > drowning out the muffled music and any semblance of much worth listening to.

Mick Jagger’s voice is mixed way above a thrashing, incoherent band. Charlie Watts gives his cymbals a good working over.

The Stones are more melodic on the ballads and the screaming more muted, but even these songs aren’t good.

The one saving grace is Fortune Teller > more rhythm than mayhem, with its haunty background vocals almost blending with the fans’ screeching.

It’s a cover of a song written by Allen Toussaint and tells of a man finding out from a fortune teller that his girl is going to leave him > “her bags are packed under the bed”. Not too heartbroken, he takes up with the fortune teller. Maybe she lied in the first place.

Funny thing about this album is a lot of it is not actually recorded live > the crowd atmosphere added later, including on Fortune Teller. Some songs had overdubs added later > and the difference that makes is absolutely zero.

STONES FANS BEAT UP BY WRESTLERS EMPLOYED AS BOUNCERS

Mick Jagger tells of a concert in Montreal, Canada. With police not allowed to interfere with the crowd, wrestlers were employed “to beat the wild fans up and those toughs really seem to enjoy it.”

“They hauled some little bloke out from the front row and about five of them were smashing him in the face. We stopped playing and booed them. Then the organiser came on stage and told me to get off”. A heated, foul-mouthed argument ensued
> from New Musical Express, July 1966.

CONCERT RIOT IN NEW ZEALAND > KEITH RICHARDS COPS CUT EYE

“There was a riot in the theatre where we played tonight > the kids rushed the stage and tore us up. I’m all right but Keith had to go to hospital to have a cut eye treated after four girls jumped on him.”
> Mick Jagger to New Musical Express, March, 1966

> WRITTEN by MALCOLM LIVERMORE

All Albums

Got Live If You Want It

In the sixties the screaming, knicker-wetting girls made so much noise the Rolling Stones could hardly hear themselves play. So the music was sometimes somewhat superfluous > as is this album.

Between The Buttons

It’s all a bit trippy, this lot of sometimes drippy ditties. It was > after all > the “flower power” years. More pop than rock, more vaudeville than violence.

THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST

The Stones go all psychedelic and fail the acid test. Tripping the light no so fantastic > but two song gems.

Beggars Banquet

From the devil to the deep blues sea > great from start to finish. Kicks off the Stones golden era, with psychedelica dispatched for a back-to-roots bounty

Through The Past Darkly

From sci-fi to beaut ballads and hot rock > the Rolling Stones hits keep coming > in a variety of styles

Let It Bleed

London ain’t no safe place to be. Rapists, manic monkey moans and a debauched raunch behind the pantry door > Let It Bleed is a rock and roll gem.

Get Yer ya-Ya's Out

Now, that’s rock for Ya. The Rolling Stones at their kick-ass live best > though the dynamism goes missing a bit on a few songs.

Sticky Fingers

Dripping in sex and drug subjugation > an orgy of excess wrapped in a wonder wall of sound.

Exile On Main Street

A rocking romp dripping in decadence. Made in Keith Richard's basement during a never-ending party of substance abuse

Goat's Head Soup

More yellow mellow than yer usual Rolling Stones album > and not every song’s a gem. But still plenty of good stuff here.

It's Only rock 'n' Roll

Solid rock, a hot soul song and soaring guitar solo from Mick Taylor are highlights. It’s Only Rock and Roll > but they sure can play it.

Black And Blue

The Stones may have been feeling black and blue > and there’s no feeling glad all over about this album

Love You Live

Four strong songs from the charged atmosphere of an intimate club gig. But little else here > despite flashes of flair > to really rock your boat.

Some Girls

As Keith Richards faces the prospect of years in jail, the Rolling Stones pull one out of the hat that gives punk rock the two-finger salute and houses a huge disco hit

Emotional Rescue

Apart from the great title track > move along folks, there’s not much to hear here

Tattoo You

You Can Start Me Up > and I’ll sometimes stop. Some good songs on a patchy Rolling Stones album.

Still Life

Apart from Under My Thumb, you can shove this lot up yer bum

Undercover

Dripping in nasty sex and revolutionary violence > goes off with a bang on some songs > a bit limp on others

Dirty Work

A low point in the Mick Jagger-Keith Richards relationship results in a mediocre Stones album

Steel Wheels

A sometimes tinny pop production as the Rolling Stones struggle to get back into the groove

Flashpoint

A couple of ballad/blues gems, one great guitar riff, but most of the rock numbers lack true grit

Voodoo Lounge

You got me rocking now > the Rolling Stones get back to the right chord with a back-to-basics approach

Stripped

A crisp, rich semi-acoustic sound as the Rolling Stones tone it down and display their great musicianship

Bridges To Babylon

A wild lion on the cover > but fairly tame on the tunes

No Security

There’s much better Rolling Stones live albums than this > such as Get Yer Ya-Yas Out and Live Licks

Live Licks

Why are the Rolling Stones the greatest live rock and roll band in the world > the proof’s right here. A few songs fail to excite > but the many good ones are great.

A Bigger Bang

Plenty of bang for your buck > despite a ballad that really sucks > one of the Rolling Stones best studio albums in a long time

Shine A Light

Live from Beacon Theatre, New York. A great Rolling Stones stage film > shame about this the soundtrack

Sweet Summer Sun

Ho hum, another Rolling Stones live album > and nowhere near a great one.

Blue and Lonesome

Yeah, I’m feeling Blue And Lonesome, could be on my own some in not liking this new Rolling Stones album much.

Rolling Stones

Wham-bam, stick this lot up ya, you stuffed English hams. Youthful British exuberance channels Chicago for a shot of rhythm of blues. It’s their first album and they didn’t even bother to put their name on the cover.

The Rolling Stones Vol. 2

Ding-dang ya all > it’s Mick Jagger with a Southern drawl. A gem of a record soaked in soul and Southern hospitality.

Out of Our Heads

Plenty of satisfaction with a youth anthem, songs of sultry seduction and a shot of rhythm and soul.

Aftermath

The first album of all Jagger-Richards songs > plenty of variety, it’s more pop rather than solid rock as the Rolling Stones shrug off their rhythm and blues roots

Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass)

Contains the great singles > from brutal to ballad > upon which the Rolling Stones built their reputation. If you get only one early, as in pre-1969, Stones album > this is it