Featured Artist: The Rolling Stones

CD Title: Singles, 1963-1965

Year: 2004

Record Label: Abkco Records

Style: Blues

Review: En route to laying their claim to the title of "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band," the Rolling Stones paved the way by mastering the form of the blues. Singles, 1963-1965 captures the first part of this genesis by individually reproducing in detail the group's first twelve releases. The rate of progress from the group's first release, a 45 featuring spot-on but slightly sped up renditions of Chuck Berry's "Come On" and Muddy Waters' "I Want to Be Loved" to their eleventh featuring two of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards' most enduring compositions, "The Last Time" and "Heart of Stone" is quite something to hear. In two short years, the set documents a band progressing from an authentic sounding blues cover band to one capable of writing and performing some of the most striking and enduring compositions of the last forty years while never losing the feel for the blues at the heart of it.

There are many highlights on this set. The group's second single was never properly released in the U.S. and has been something of a collector's item for fans here for years. The A-side is the group's garage-y take on Lennon & McCartney's "I Wanna Be Your Man, tougher and stronger than the Beatles. The B-Side "Stoned" is the real treat, however, a Green Onions type riff with three very funny lines of lyrics from Jagger and his underrated harmonica playing. There fourth disc includes their brilliant remake of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," made memorable by their driving use of the Bo Diddley beat. "Time Is On My Side" finds them in complete command of the R&B ballad. Their cover of the Howlin' Wolf classic "Little Red Rooster" is exceptional not only for the way that Brian Jones was able to capture the essence of Hubert Sumlin's original guitar riff, but for the way that Mick Jagger was able to make the song his own without falling into the trap of trying to imitate Wolf's haunting vocals.

The Rolling Stones were an immediately influential group. Their detractors point to them for selling back American blues to white people in the U.S. who ignored the original, but that's not really fair. It's not their fault that they were more successful than their influences. Not only that, they added things of their own. Berry, Bo Diddley, et al are all important influences on the guitar sound of the early Rolling Stones, but one of the things that listening to the early recordings of the Stones drives home to you is how much Brian Jones and Keith Richards really influenced the initial generation of psychedelic guitar players. It is impossible to imagine the early work of guys like Roky Erickson, Jerry Garcia, Pete Albin et al without the work of Jones in particular.

This beautiful set from Abkco Records lovingly recreates the groups first twelve singles, being that rare reissue that is more than just a cash in on a popular artist but one that presents them in an interesting light. You can view this box of Rolling Stones singles as a labor of love. Each of the groups' first twelve releases is reproduced in exact detail as CDs, giving fans an chronological view of their initial development. Or you can view it as a big ripoff. A 12 CD set retailing for $50 when one CD could've contained most or all of this music? I hear you. But Love and Avarice are the two dominant Muses of Mick Jagger's career, so it seems an appropriate combination. If you don't have this music, it's as good an approach to presenting it as anything else out there.

Reviewed by: Edward Kane

Click here for printer-friendly version of review.

Send this page to a friend.