Five By Five (EP)

Released

August 14, 1964

If You Need Me

(Wilson Pickett and Robert Bateman)

I should hate this song. Deep inside, I know that. This is the kind of song that drew me away from the Stones in the first place. But it’s a strong opener to this EP. With a heavy guitar and Jagger’s voice that fits this song.

4.5/5

Empty Heart

(Nanker Phelge)

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.

3/5

2120 South Michigan Avenue

(Nanker Phelge)

Organ.

4.5/5

Confessin’ the Blues

(Jay McShann and Walter Brown)

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

Around and Around

(Chuck Berry)

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.

3.5/5

19 / 25

I did a little adjusting to some of the scores, and I’m not even sure I like a 19/25 as a final score. A 21.5/25 sounds better to me, but I couldn’t adjust the individual song scores to fit. This is a great EP, and it got the Please Please Me treatment (recorded in one day on August 14, 1964). Good stuff. My one complaint will be how the stereo was mixed, as I’ve said in Empty Heart. While it wasn’t bad in a good rock song like Around and Around, it did seem weird during slower songs like Confessin’ the Blues, where some instruments were quieter than other and pushed to the left side.