(Album) Got Live If You Want It!

Got Live If You Want It!

Released
December 10, 1966

But recorded all over the place

     This album has a lot going against it. Enough going against it that I’ll have to separate my anger into a number of areas.

     First: The name of the album has already been used. By them. Nineteen months ago. Any relation to the previous album, a live EP, is just in name and the idea of “live.” This is not a case of small differences between a UK and a US release; both are different albums, with somewhat similar album art. It’s a serious case of laziness on the part of the US side of Stones record releases. Let’s not get hasty though; it’s not the Rolling Stones’ fault, it’s their record company.

     Second: Overdubs. There’s enough here to split into two.

                One: Studio overdubs. They fix the problems and make a live album seem pointless. At least for me. In my opinion, a live album only works if it’s, you know, live. Fixing a live album is to ruin its raw magic, and create a sort of pseudo-music. If you really want perfection, we have studio albums for that.

                Two: Audience overdubs on studio tracks. No. No, that’s wrong in so many levels. Trickery is wrong. Passing these tracks as live, to the unsuspecting buyer, is very wrong. Those are tracks that could be used on a real album. Instead, you’re going to go ahead and put crowd noise over it and ruin the magic that could be an album track. The worst part is that at least one of those songs that are studio tracks sound pretty good. It’s a shame they had to ruin it just to put out a “live” album. They said they had live, and they aren't even delivering.

     Third: Even The Rolling Stones don’t agree with this album. They didn't want it, and have since disowned the album. When even the band themselves hate an album, what does that say about it? Nothing good at all.

     Fourth: Not a big problem, and maybe not a problem at all, but the large jumps of time between recording of the songs. Ranging from mid-1965 to late 1966, and even 1963 for the songs recorded in studio. The problem with this is that it doesn't properly represent the Stones’ live repertoire. Some of the songs have since been dropped from the live setlist. This is easily looked past, as the album didn't promise a full live concert of live songs in any sort of chronological order. They also promised live songs and they only partly succeeded on that promise.

     I think I've pushed out enough anger into these paragraphs to actually listen to this album now. I feel like I wrote more here than I could about the songs themselves.

Under My Thumb

·          Recorded: October 1, 1966 (or October 7, 1966, as the re-release states)

·          Overdubs: Possibly Lead vocal.

     This songs turned into a hard rocker, instead of the soft, beautiful songs I used to know. However, it somehow works live. They did a very good job with this, with Charlie Watts giving 110%.

8.75 / 10

Get Off of My Cloud

·          Recorded: October 1, 1966

·          Overdubs: Lead vocals, and Backing vocals by Jagger & Richards.

     Average performance, nothing too flashy. Comparable to the studio version, just faster. However, I’ll stick to the vocals at the studio version.

7.5 / 10

Lady Jane

·         Recorded: October 7, 1966

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal, and guitar by Richards.

     Unlike Under My Thumb, this stays quiet, which is very rare for rock concerts of this time. Luckily, Jagger was able to hold off his signature crazy energy to stay soft with this song. Also, they overdubbed both lead vocals and guitar, which pretty much makes this pointless, but I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about stuff like that here.

8.5 / 10

Not Fade Away

·         Recorded: October 7, 1966

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal

A very weird transition from the last song. A quick song and quick performance, which just makes this song sound like a time killer. But, it was a fast performance and everyone stayed in line, and for that I thank them.

8/10

I've Been Loving You Too Long

·         Recorded: May 11-12, 1965

·         Overdubs: It’s a studio track, so audience.

     When The Stones gets blues right, they hit it dead on. This is a beautiful blues rock ballad with touches of electric, which sounds like a Bob Dylan fan’s nightmare. I’m going to ignore the fact that this isn’t even live.

9/10

Fortune Teller

·         Recorded: July 9, 1963 + 1966 overdubs

·         Overdubs: It’s a studio track, so audience.

     I probably could care less about this “performance” of the song. Maybe it’s the audience. Maybe not. I’ve always been pretty hard on early Stones for some reason.

6/10

The Last Time

·         Recorded: October 1, 1966

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal, backing vocals by Jagger & Richards, and possibly a tambourine.

     They kinda did satisfaction before this song, or maybe it was Valleri by The Monkees. You know, two years before it was released by The Monkees. Then it randomly cut into The Last Time. I really life the feel of this song. It’s rushed, but it adds some extra power to it.

7.5/10

19^th Nervous Breakdown

·         October 1, 1966

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal ON TOP OF the original vocals, backing vocal by Jagger & Richards.

     Well, the rhythm started out pretty shaky. Their fast speed is finally catching up to them. It does go back to normal, though, so the whole song isn’t ruined and awkward. You can’t blame them, it’s hard to hear certain instruments right now, so it was impossible to hear anything when you’re there. Some fancy bass work, and hard rocking drums. However, even disregarding the rhythm mistake, the extra speed added onto this song hurts it in my opinion. Also, the volume of drums really hurts this song the most, as although I like drums, I also like to hear other instruments.

6/10

Time Is on My Side

·         Recorded: March 5 – 7, 1965

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal over the original.

     Unfortunately, the guitar is soft in the mix, even during the guitar solo. It’s not lost, just I’d prefer it louder. I’ll be fair with this; I didn't like the performance, but they kept themselves well.

7/10

I’m Alright

·         Recorded: March 5 – 7, 1965

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal over the original

     A screeching guitar that tries to reach the surface of the mix. Good performance, although Jagger is a bit lacking in my opinion.

7/10

Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?

·         Recorded: October 7, 1966

·         Overdubs: According to the Internet, this is most likely another studio track. We’ll keep that in mind.

     It’s loud. It’s an average performance, nothing bad about it, but I can’t really pick out anything. I can say that there’s a nice bass on this song.

7.25/10

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

·         Recorded: October 7, 1966

·         Overdubs: Lead vocal, Backing vocal by Richards

     It’s a hard rocking song, and I’m surprised they didn't rush this song too much. It’s straight ahead, and a very good closer. However, a fade out? Really?

8/10

                The album is full of fixing up. If the album’s goal was to make money, then maybe it succeeded. If the production’s goal was to fix an album up out of scraps, they succeeded. More than likely, this album sounded better than the raw concert. What I heard sounded pretty good.

                But it’s anything but a live album. An overdub to fix sound issues? I can look past that. Editing to create a Frankenstein of an album? You keep your hands off. Back then, maybe all the fans didn't care, but everything here is just plain wrong. The worst is the usage of studio recordings, with audience overdubs to fool us. That’s not right.

     A live album is supposed to bring the live experience into your home. This is not that. In case you didn't realize by now, I hate everything behind this album.

     However, the performances themselves sound really good. The mix has the drums dominating, which works well until about halfway through, where they even start to drown out the guitar. Vocals range from average and uninspired to very good. In my opinion, the b-side of the album is the weak point.

                Everything was performed at a faster pace, which brings a new spin to some and hurt others. It’s a hit or miss. Even through this, the band keeps together (except for the beginning of 19^th Nervous Breakdown), despite the odds being stacked against them.

                Finally, despite the editing attempts to make this album as perfect as possible, there are random cuts that sound unnatural, and as I said, the drums dominate too much.

                And finally, if you’re going to promote this as a pure live album, don’t have Mick Jagger overdub his vocals on top of himself. Having two Jagger’s is not live.

                I will hate this album for the foreseeable future. A pity, because the performances themselves are very nice and rose far above my expectations at times.

     Suddenly the songs’ individual ratings don’t matter, because I’m giving the album a 30/100.

The performances themselves I give an 86/100.

And finally, if you do count the songs’ ratings, It would be 75%, which is just a little too low for me.

*Review* Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) [UK]

Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) [UK]

Released

November 4, 1966

This album pisses me off a little bit. It’s the UK version of the Greatest Hits album Big Hits, and it’s very different. Why not make it a different album all together? There are two extra songs compared to the US version, bring the total count from 12 to 14, and also three songs were removed from the US version for the UK version. Because of the large gap of time between the US and UK versions, they decided to put in Paint It Black and Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, which were songs released after the US Big Hits. When there’s that big of a gap, just make a new album.

Here’s the track list and the numbers I gave it before.

·         Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? – 8 / 10

·         Paint It Black – 10 / 10

·         It’s All Over Now – 7.8 / 10

·         The Last Time – 8.5 / 10

·         Heart of Stone – 8.5 / 10

·         Not Fade Away – 7 / 10

·         Come On – 8 / 10

·         (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – 10 / 10

·         Get Off of My Cloud – 9.5 / 10

·         As Tears Go By – 10 / 10

·         19^th Nervous Breakdown – 10 / 10

·         Lady Jane – 9 / 10

·         Time Is on My Side – 8 / 10

·         Little Red Rooster – 3 / 10

                                                             

Total: 117.3 / 140

4.5 / 5 stars. (Look, stars!)

Same complains from the US version. Because of the time gap, you can include things like Paint it Black and remove things like Good Times, Bad Times, which wasn't much of a hit. If you were going to choose a version, US or UK, go with the UK.
And why isn't You Better Move On on this.

Also, I boosted Lady Jane up from an 8 to a 9, because I like it more since it's grown on me. It seems to be a common theme with Rolling Stones songs, you have to melt it into your brain.

*Review* The Rolling Stones No. 2

The Rolling Stones No. 2

Released
January 15, 1965

Only two singles between this and 12 x 5, compared to the seven singles and two EPs between England’s Newest Hit Makers and 12 x 5.

This song made it high in the charts for a bit, but was pretty much battered down by Beatles for Sale and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Brutal competition.

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love

(Solomon Burke, Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler)

I cringed a bit when the singing started, but it got better. Nothing special

4.5/10

Down Home Girl

(Jerry Leiber, Arthur Butler)

Jerry Leiber strikes again. While nothing particularly special, it’s an average song with a nice beat.

6.5/10

You Can’t Catch Me

(Chuck Berry)

Pretty close to being on par with the original, despite being a bit slower (you can’t hide that), so it’s a fantastic cover in that regard. (I still prefer Lennon’s version on Rock N’ Roll, but this is 1965 and that album hasn’t been released yet.)

8/10

Time is On My Side

(Norman Meade)

So now I have to make a decision; this version or the single version. Although I love organs, especially when used correctly, I think the guitar works much better here. And the organ is still there, just in the background, so it’s a win-win. So, while I don’t agree with the rating I’m going to give this, I don’t think it deserves anything lower.

10/10

What a Shame

(Jagger / Richards)

(Copied from the Heart of Stone / What a Shame single)

 The Rolling Stones seem to do better when they write a song then when they cover a blues song and try to fit in. This mix is a lot better than the single, and there’s a loud bass in my right ear with a nice, crisp guitar in the other.

8.5/10

Grown up Wrong

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I was about to be very angry with this decision, as this was included in 12 x 5 as well. But this is a UK album, and 12 x 5 is a US album. That’s the opposite of what usually happens; it’s the UK that gets a song then the US takes it in a future album. That’s just the sad separation that is region-specific records.

Also, I’m giving this song a slightly higher rating than what I had on 12 x 5. This album has been full of unreasonably high ratings, and I’m just feeling good today, and that’s why ratings are flawed.

6.5/10

Down the Road Apiece

(Don Raye)

A song that transitioned nicely from boogie to rock and roll, and The Rolling Stones play this song to perfection. Jagger has a different feeling to his voice that was needed on this song, and, of course, that rocking guitar mixed with a boogie piano is beautiful.

10/10

Under the Boardwalk

(Arthur Resnick and Kenny Young)

This song returns after being in 12 x 5, and it’s still as average as it was in 12 x 5. As I said before, no one would mind if this didn’t make it on the album.

7.5/10

I Can’t Be Satisfied

(Muddy Waters)

I’ve noticed how the quality of Jagger’s voice changes quite a bit on this album. On this song it sounds clear, but other songs retain their early-sounding, err, sound. But anyway, here’s a nice blues rock song.

8/10

Pain in My Heart

(Allen Toussaint)

See, what happened to the quality here. It’s much worse than I Can’t Be Satisfied. Whatever.

This was going to be a 6.75/10, but the lead guitar made me change my mind and add that extra .25.

7 / 10

Off The Hook

(Jagger / Richards)

As I said in the single Little Red Rooster / Off the Hook, this is a pretty drastic change. Each instrument is doing a nice job of sounding good, and that includes the voice of the one and only Mick Jagger.

7.5/10

Suzie Q

(Dale Hawkins, Stan Lewis and Eleanor Broadwater)

(Complete copy from the 12 x 5 album, since it’s still completely relevant)

This is hardly a cover. This is a imagination of the original. And I’ll tell you, what a great song to end an album. Short but sweet.

Although it doesn’t deserve a 9. A 4.5/5 sounds right, but a 9/10 doesn’t, even though they are the same thing. Ratings hurt. Also, I wish they didn’t end with a short song.

8.5/10.

92.5/120

So, great album with some flaws. Here’s my major disappointment; it was full of covers again. 12 x 5 did a good job giving us a great mix of covers and self-written songs. That and the album didn’t really open up too great. All in all, good album, not as good as 12 x 5, which is the complete opposite of what happened to The Beatles’ albums where the UK got the good albums and the US’ only contribution was Magical Mystery Tour.  The rest had horrible mixes and excluded good songs. But this is about the Rolling Stones; I can’t take the spotlight off them yet. Not until Rock and Roll Circus.

12 X 5

Released

October 17, 1964

Around and Around

(Chuck Berry)

*Quoted from Five By Five (EP)*

                It’s definitely an interesting cover, and I’m not sure if I like it. Everything’s fine, except Jagger, and I don’t even know how to explain why. I guess it’s because I’m comparing the original to this cover too much. I guess it’s just another example where Jagger seems a tad out of place.

I’m not sure if I agree with this being the first song on the album. It’s a good song, just not the best Chuck Berry cover the Stones have done, excluding the ending. The ending is nice

3.5/5

Confessin’ The Blues

(Jay McShann and Walter Brown)

*Quoted from Five By Five (EP)*

Good harmonica solo. Blues is hard to rate correctly, because you’re not really supposed to stand out in blues. Everything needs to mix together well.

3.5/5

Empty Heart

(Nanker Phelge)

*Quoted from Five By Five (EP)*

A little complaint, not relating to the Rolling Stones themselves, is how this was mixed into stereo. I don’t like it (I’m listening to the Singles 1963-1965 box set, not sure if it was re-released onto CD in any other place). Other than that first few seconds of intro, nothing too extraordinary.

The mix is still a little weird.

3/5

Time Is On My Side

(Norman Meade and Jimmy Norman)

*Quoted from (Single) Time Is On My Side / Congratulations*

Hmm. There’s a nice organ. I think this is a pretty popular song in the Rolling Stones discography. I’m trying not to let that skew my opinion right now. So here it goes; it’s alright. It’s a fun song, and that the vocals mix in well with the backing vocals, but other than that I can’t really take anything else out. But it does get a good score.

Good Times, Bad Times

(Mick Jagger and Keith Richards)

*Quoted from (Single) It’s All Over Now / Good Times, Bad Times

The second song released on record by the duo of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. And all I can say is, meh. I think that’s the bass you can hear twanging on the string. That’s a heavy bass.

2.75/5

It’s All Over Now

(Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack)

*Quoted from It’s All Over Now / Good Times, Bad Times)*

What makes that guitar solo impressive is that it’s being played in such fast speed. Still, Lennon made fun of it. What a guy. Anyway, good song. I don’t feel like 4/5 is right for it, and a 3.75 is too low. (There’s also a nice little story about how his song came to be on Wikipedia, it’s a good read.)

On my second time listening to this, I’ve noticed that bass. That is a funny bass.

3.9/5

2120 South Michigan Avenue

(Nanker Phelge)

*Quoted from Five By Five (EP)*

Organ.

But let’s expand. It’s a great jam, and everyone is together and fits nicely. Expanding finished. Also, this version is the same as the one on my Box Set version of Five By Five, but they’re the same length. So that’s wrong. Why would you do that.

4.5/5

Under the Boardwalk

(Arthur Resnick and Kenny Young)

In all honesty, it would’ve been fine if The Rolling Stones skipped this song. No one went to a concert and said “man, these rockers would do a great version of Under the Boardwalk.” However, it is surprisingly good, although the guitar is pretty lacking. The Stones should just skip Soul covering.

3.75 / 5

Congradulations

(Mick Jagger and Keith Richards)

*Picture*

Huh.

Not much to say here, but I am having a hard picking between a 2.75 and a 3. Maybe because I think a “3” is in the middle, but it’s not. Ratings are evil.

3/5

Grown Up Wrong

(Mick Jagger and Keith Richards)

Average song. Nothing more, nothing less. At least nothing more that I can think of.

3.4/5

If You Need Me

(Wilson Pickett and Robert Bateman)

So in my review of this song in Five By Five, I said I liked this song, even though I should hate it. Also in this very album, I said the Stones should stop doing Soul. But even though this is a cover of a soul song, they turned it into a nice rock song. Or at least R&B. And it’s still good, and should’ve been the opener to this album as well.

4.5/5

Suzie Q

(Dale Hawkins, Stan Lewis and Eleanor Broadwater)

This is hardly a cover. This is a imagination of the original. And I’ll tell you, what a great song to end an album. Short but sweet.

4.5/5

40.3/60 (Hey, 12 songs, with a score of 5. Woo)

An improvement over their last album, definitely. Slowly moving away from the world of covers and into the world of songwriting, with 5 songs credited to either Jagger/Richards or their pseudonym Nanker Phelge. And just because the album technically got a 40.3/60, or a 61%, that does not mean anything because ratings suck. I’ll probably start using a rating system out of 10 to make the scores look better and to give me a bigger range. Everyone seems to love this album though, and I can see why, but right now it’s not impressing me too much.

(Single) Time Is On My Side / Congratulations

*This is part of my ongoing, personal project of listening to every Rolling Stones material released, posted onto this blog for everyone to read and for opinions to flourish. The rating doesn't mean much, because I hate ratings, but might as well.*

Time Is On My Side / Congratulations

Time Is On My Side

(Norman Meade and Jimmy Norman)

Hmm. There’s a nice organ. I think this is a pretty popular song in the Rolling Stones discography. I’m trying not to let that skew my opinion right now. So here it goes; it’s alright. It’s a fun song, and that the vocals mix in well with the backing vocals, but other than that I can’t really take anything else out. But it does get a good score.

4/5

Congratulations

(Jagger/Richards)

Not much to say here, but I am having a hard picking between a 2.75 and a 3. Maybe because I think a “3” is in the middle, but it’s not. Ratings are evil.

3/5

7/10

Good A-side, OK B-side. All together a solid single.