6th November - The Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet

Artist – Album: The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

Released: 6^th December 1968

Sounds Like: Beggars belief

After the not completely successful foray into psychedelia on Their Satanic Majesties Request, the Stones donned their Stetson hats and went a little bit country-blues for Beggars Banquet. And boy howdy did it work, setting the template for the most successful run of albums of their interminable career (including yesterday’s review Let It Bleed). Dominant slide guitars are married with the Stones’ natural demons to create a deliciously cool and ever so slightly sinister turn by the cockney cowboys.

As with Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet starts with an undeniably brilliant bang (‘Sympathy for the Devil’ or ‘Gimme Shelter’? Daddy or chips? Daddy or chips?) and contains another stone-cold classic (‘Street Fighting Man’ here, ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ yesterday), but the real strength of the album is that the sum is better than the parts. ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’, ‘No Expectations’ and ‘Factory Girl’ strike me as instant classics but tunes such as ‘Parachute Woman’, ‘Prodigal Son’ and ‘Salt of the Earth’ aren’t especially noteworthy alone. It’s the way they work together with the other seven songs that make Beggars Banquet one of the finest and most complete albums of the Sixties.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       Sympathy for the Devil – 6:18

2.       No Expectations – 3:56

3.       Dear Doctor – 3:28

4.       Parachute Woman – 2:20

5.       Jigsaw Puzzle – 6:06

6.       Street Fighting Man – 3:16

7.       Prodigal Son – 2:51

8.       Stray Cat Blues – 4:38

9.       Factory Girl – 2:09

10.   Salt of the Earth – 4:48

Listen to ‘Factory Girl’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UZmtqpc6wM

5th December - The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed

Artist – Album: The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed

Released: 5^th December 1969

Sounds Like: Whatever the Beatles can do…

Let It Bleed was the last Stones album to feature the doomed Brian Jones, the first member of the infamous “27 club” (soon to be joined by Joplin, Hendrix and Morrisson) and one of the most talented musicians in pop history. The Rolling Stones were his band – he had picked the team and led them out, chosen their identity and played lead guitar – but by the late Sixties drug and mental problems had meant that he was increasingly on the periphery. He appeared on only two tracks here (autoharp on ‘You Got the Silver’, and percussion on ‘Midnight Rambler’) and a little like Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones seemed to be getting on just fine without their estranged icon.

In fact, Let It Bleed was right in the middle of a stunning succession of albums for the group; beginning with the previous year’s Beggar’s Banquet and concluding with Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. Each of these greats were shining examples of the sum being more than the parts, and when the parts include ‘Gimme Shelter’ and ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ that really is saying something.

In the olden days people would practice bloodletting, whereby medicians would cut the patient to let out small quantities of blood to cure or prevent illness and disease. It must have been tough, but the band knew they had to cut Jones loose; that for the Rolling Stones to prosper, they had to let it bleed.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       Gimme Shelter – 4:30

2.       Love in Vain – 4:19

3.       Country Honk – 3:07

4.       Live with Me – 3:33

5.       Let It Bleed – 5:28

6.       Midnight Rambler – 6:52

7.       You Got the Silver – 2:50

8.       Monkey Man – 4:12

9.       You Can’t Always Get What You Want – 7:28

Listen to ‘Monkey Man’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNY8eYmzdH4

24th August - The Rolling Stones' Tattoo You

Artist - Album: The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
Released: 24th August 1981
Sounds like: confessional

Hello. My name's Joe. And I'm a serial Stones doubter.

For as long as I can remember I have suffered from an absurd affliction, with which I struggle to take The Rolling Stones seriously. Maybe it's because of the decline in standards of their later work, maybe it's because of Jagger's ridiculous prancing about in the video to 'Dancing in the Street' (although that hasn't done David 'the Goblin King' Bowie any harm), maybe its just because they're still going to this day when by rights they should be in retirement homes (or graveyards, indestructible Keef!); whatever it is, I just can't help it. Which, I admit, is ridiculous, especially when you consider that the Stones are still the only band who can stand up next to The Beatles as the greatest rock group of all time.

I've become accustomed to earlier records being pleasant surprises, but I had my doubts about one from the Eighties. Especially, when I learnt that it's basically a compilation of outtakes from the past decade or so. First track - 'Start Me Up'... and it looks like I'm wrong again.

Split between a half of rockers and a half of ballads, the first side builds on the openers' party anthem feel to create a rip roaring mini-suite. Particular favourites are the bouncy 'Hang Fire' and the sleazy 'Slave'. There's real soul in Jagger's often comical voice, and the ballads here are expertly treated by the legendary frontman. 'Tops' is tops. There's more magic in these off cuts than there is in most of the artists I've reviewed's masterpieces.

Analbumaday... rating: 8/10

1. Start Me Up - 3:31
2. Hang Fire - 2:20
3. Slave - 4:59
4. Little T&A - 3:23
5. Black Limousine - 3:32
6. Neighbours - 3:31
7. Worried About You - 5:16
8. Tops - 3:45
9. Heaven - 4:21
10. No Use in Crying - 3:24
11. Waiting on a Friend - 4:34

Listen to 'Hang Fire': www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xbtlW16Gts

15th April - The Rolling Stones' Aftermath

Artist – Album: The Rolling Stones - Aftermath

Released:  15^th April 1966

Sounds Like: It’s going to light up a field in Somerset in late June

So, the sun has finally decided to join us in 2013, the nights are getting longer, and we’re beginning to hear rumours of beer gardens and barbeques. It won’t be long ‘til the first topless fat blokes are seen strolling proudly down high streets across the land, surveying pasty shops and bookies with regal authority. It can all mean only one thing – summer is not too far away. Which can mean only one other thing. Festival season is due to start, yay! A series of great, smaller gatherings are already happening over the next few months, electrifying news is coming in from foreign music lands (check this mind-blowing R.Kelly and Phoenix collaboration at Coachella in California: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzxImerisPo&feature=youtu.be), and tickets for the biggest festival of them all – Glastonbury – go on resale this Sunday. Exciting times.

Of course, Glastonbury would be amazing any year, but this year it promises to be extra special. As well as the previously blogged about Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Alabama Shakes, Public Enemy and Vampire Weekend, I would love to see the likes of Elvis Costello, Evan Dando and the aforementioned Phoenix. But towering above all of those are The Rolling Stones. Any of you people lucky enough to be going, well, I’ve never been more jealous.

47 years earlier, Jagger, Richards and co released Aftermath. It was arguably the first great album of their career and inarguably (because it’s fact) the first one made entirely of original songs. It may have been the year before that they’d released the legendary ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and unfortunately the UK version of the album missed out on the incredible ‘Paint It, Black’, but there are still some special moments of this early incarnation of The Stones. The dark ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ and the ballad ‘Lady Jane’ are standouts, as is the utterly brilliant ‘Under My Thumb’, which possesses a funky background that masks the psychotic possessive lyrics. Elsewhere it’s just good to hear Jagger do his thing and the tragic figure of Brian Jones experiment with loads of instruments with a versatile virtuosity. Worth a listen even if you’re not lucky enough to be seeing them in the summer. Grrr...

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Mother’s Little Helper – 2:45

2.       Stupid Girl – 2:56

3.       Lady Jane – 3:08

4.       Under My Thumb – 3:41

5.       Doncha Bother Me – 2:41

6.       Goin’ Home – 11:13

7.       Flight 505 – 3:27

8.       High and Dry – 3:08

9.       Out of Time – 5:37

10.   It’s Not Easy – 2:56

11.   I Am Waiting – 3:11

12.   Take It or Leave It – 2:47

13.   Think – 3:09

14.   What to Do – 2:32

Listen to ‘Under My Thumb’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcgZIz0Fd-w

13th Feb - The Rolling Stones' The Rolling Stones, Now!

Artist – Album: The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones, Now!

Released:  13^th February 1965    

Sounds Like: The beginning of something special

I feel like I’m cheating a little bit including this album on my blog. Technically The Rolling Stones, Now! is just various other The Rolling Stones releases rehashed and repackaged for an eager US audience. But... it was released on this day 48 years ago, and it’s the only album I have for this day, and it is pretty good, so let’s roll with it.

For those of us who only (only!) know The Rolling Stones for their seven hundred gazillion hit singles, this collection of songs comes as something of a shock. Only four of the twelve were penned by Jagger and Richards and, generally speaking, they’re the weakest. It’s quite clear that the band know this though, as they kick off with three delicious R&B and blues rock covers. They turn in a credible version of ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ and follow it up with great interpretations of ‘Down Home Girl’ and ‘You Can’t Catch Me’.

At this stage in their careers, the sometime dubbed World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band were merely good covers group, able to get a party started with their R&B tendencies but hardly a headline act. The signs were there though. 

A good indicator of their huge potential comes with the closing couplet. Their version of ‘Little Red Rooster’ is a hypnotic reimagining of a blues standard that made the top spot in the UK charts, whilst ‘Surprise Surprise’ is an original composition that isn’t all that original, but it is really enjoyable, like the best that the Stones have done.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Everybody Needs Somebody to Love – 3:00

2.       Down Home Girl – 4:13

3.       You Can’t Catch Me – 3:40

4.       Heart of Stone – 2:49

5.       What a Shame – 3:06

6.       Mona (I Need You Baby) – 3:35

7.       Down the Road Apiece – 2:56

8.       Off the Hook – 2:36

9.       Pain in My Heart – 2:12

10.   Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’) – 2:06

11.   Little Red Rooster – 3:04

12.   Surprise, Surprise – 2:29

Listen to ‘Serious Serious’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3jLhA7A9A