Step back in time with me, won’t you, to the year 1965, when Dylan went electric, The Beatles went “Nowhere Man,” and a scruffy English R&B band called the The Rolling Stones released The Rolling Stones No. 2, which included a few tentative attempts at writing their own material.
In hindsight, the last named might be the most important musical occurrence of 1965, but Rolling Stones No. 2 isn’t a great album because it includes a trio of songs by what would become one of rock ’n’ roll’s most formidable songwriting teams. It’s a great album because The Rolling Stones had their R&R and R&B chops down, and were producing a cocksure product that belied their tender years.
So named because it was the second Rolling Stones LP released in England (if not in America), Rolling Stones No. 2 is a jaunty, swaggering romp through the archives of American popular music by a quintet of wide-eyed English lads who knew what they loved and were dead set on living up to the high standards of the artists who inspired them.
They kick first-generation rock ’n’ roll’s keister with their motorvatin’ version of Don “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” Raye’s “Down the Road Apiece,” which tools down the road just fine; prove they can’t be caught on their souped-up cover of Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me,” on which they say goodbye to New Jersey forever; and go swamp rockabilly with a vengeance on their hand-clap heavy and reverberating take on Dale Hawkins’ immortal “Suzie Q,” which boasts lots of berserker drumming and some of the most frenzied guitar playing you’ll ever hear.
Mick Jagger puts heart and soul into Solomon Burke’s R&B classic “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” and the boys in the band match him with such authority that you can almost imagine ‘em wowing the crowd in some juke joint on the black side of town. “Down Home Girl” features Richards’ guitar sounding the way it would on their great songs to come, and a Jagger who hangs on to his words like he just doesn’t want to let ‘em go. He drags ‘em out, wails some on harmonica, and in general lets it be known his girl is down home (Her perfume is made out of turnip greens! Her kisses tastes like pork and beans!) and he likes it.
“Time on My Side” is the one everybody knows, and while the Stones didn’t write it, it sounds like an early Stones classic. Mick has it over the subject of the song just like he has it over the subject of “Under My Thumb,” making this the band’s first foray into what you can either call misogyny or sexual politics. As for “Under the Boardwalk,” it’s a lark; Brian Jones’ percussion work is wonderful, Mick is all crooning tenderness, and Keith’s backing vocals are a howl. And listening to Jagger (who most likely never saw the bottom of a boardwalk in his life) go on about hot dogs and french fries is like listening to the Marquis de Sade elucidate the joys of puppy love.
As for the three Stones originals they’re all keepers. The bluesy “Off the Hook” is the best of the bunch; it’s a great pop readymade that features needle-sharp guitar work, some very slick drumming by Charlie Watts, and a wonderful set of lyrics. “What a Shame” has the feel of a hoary old chestnut, and also boasts some fine guitar work, as well as some nice harmonica playing by Mick. And “Grown Up Wrong” is a snazzy slice of skewed rhythm and blues thanks to some sprung guitar, a herky-jerky rhythm, and some very fine shared vocals by Jagger and Richards.
I never understood those people–and they’re out there–who swore the Stones never got any better than when they were playing other people’s songs, but after listening to Rolling Stones No. 2 I can see their point. The Rolling Stones were first and foremost R&B and rock ’n’ roll fans–no, make that fanatics–and they play these time-honored classics with passion, a fanatical attention to detail that borders on the inspirational, and yes, love.
Just listen to Brian Jones’ spooky slide guitar on the band’s cover of Muddy Waters’ “I Can’t Be Satisfied.” Or to Jagger’s impassioned reading of Allen Toussaint’s “Pain in My Heart.” This music is coming from the heart, and the heart is not to be denied.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
