Customer Reviews

Out of Our Heads

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Out of Our Heads to this day remains to be one of my own personal favorite Stones albums. From the very first song, a cover version of Don Covay's "Mercy Mercy" to the last song "One More Try", Out Of Our Heads is truly one of the original Rolling Stones great albums. The album also contains some true classic Jagger/Richard compositions such as "The Last Time" and their bona fide masterpiece "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". From beginning till end Out Of Our Heads contains great cover versions as well as original compositions. One of the strongest albums the Rolling Stones have ever made.

"Out Of Our Heads" displays classic early Rolling Stones the best. If you own one album of the pre "Aftermath" albums, I'd say get this one. It has their three classic singles "The Last Time", "Satisfaction", and "Play With Fire." The album is worth buying just for those three singles. While The Beatles were singing about finding love on every corner, "Satisfaction" told the world how love really works. The highlights of "Out Of Our Heads" however are all the R&B covers...Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike", Ottis Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is" and "Mercy Mercy"...my personal favorite of the covers is of Same Cooke's "Good Times". It re-creates the greatness of the original best out of all the covers. "The Spider And The Fly" and "One More Try" show Jagger and Richard's songwritting progressing while not fully matured. This album is essential for any Rock 'N' Roll fan. No other band will do what The Rolling Stone did again.

Out Of Our Heads contains the strongest original material from the band's first few albums released between 1963-1965. Of course "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" tops the list and with it's fuzz guitar riff, it is one of the most memorable songs in history. "Play With Fire" shows off a more mature edge. The covers they choose are consistently on target including the menacing "The Spider & The Fly", the powerful "That's How Strong My Love Is" and "Mercy, Mercy". Heads marks a major leap by the Jagger-Richards songwriting team and the band was really starting the gel.

As far as the early stuff goes, this is tops. Satisfaction is one of the definitive rock songs of all time. The Last Time is just as good as Satisfaction, although far less famous. Brian Jones plays his best ever lead with a scorching riff. Play With Fire is short and simple but somehow powerful. The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion man is a funny and fun little tune that gives us just a hint of what a great lyricist Jagger would become. 7 of the 12 songs are Jagger/Richards tunes.

Back in 65, the Stones were really more of a blues band than anything else and The Spider and The Fly is about as bluesy as it gets. Good Times, Hike Hike and the other 3 covers are all great. The Stones really put so much emotion into those songs. The only problem I have with this album is that instead of recorded 3 albums in 65, they should have combined the best material from this and the later December's Children into one, even stronger album. Still, this is a great example of what the Stones were about in the early days and it gives a glimpse of what they were about to become.

The Rolling Stones first #1 album in the US, probably because of the inclusion of '(I Can't get No) Satisfaction', their most recent #1 hit single. Along with 'Satisfaction', there is 'The Last Time' and 'Play With Fire', which are all included on Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass). This album also includes the UK and US b-sides to 'Satisfaction'. In the UK, its b-side was 'The Spider and the fly' while in the US had 'The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man' as the b-side of 'Satisfaction'. Also on this album, there's a live song, 'I'm All Right' which hit the UK the same year on the "Got LIVE" EP. A different live version is found on the US "Got LIVE" LP. The covers included on this album are 'Mercy, Mercy', followed by 'Hitch-Hike'. Then comes 'That's How Strong My Love Is' with Sam Cooke's 'Good Times' after (coincidently, Sam Cooke and the Rolling Stones appear on ABKCO records). The last cover here is 'Cry To Me'. The closing song of the album is 'One More Try', a Mick Jagger/Keith Richards composition.

The original album was released in 1965 by London Records. The first CD release was released in 1986. The SACD was released in 2002. Presented here is the 1986 version with the release number 74292 (CD 429).

Definitivamente el mejor disco de los Stones hasta "Beggars Banquet", con un tracklisting fenomenal. Que mejor comienzo que "Mercy Mercy" , incluida en varias recopilaciones de los Stones de los 60's, una verdadera lástima que no la hayan tocado casi nunca en vivo (solo en el concierto del Hyde Park del 69 despues del fallecimiento de Brian Jones). "The last Time" todo un clásico, opacado un poco por la presencia de "(I Can't get no) Satisfaction" (no creo que haga falta hablar de esta canción). "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" demasiado subvaluada, no aparece casi en ninguna parte salvo en "Singles collection, The London Years", pero definitivamente es una gran canción (de mis favoritas de esa época. Cuando la escuches opinarás lo mismo). "Play With Fire", muy sencilla prácticamente con pura guitarra acústica, una genialidad. "The Spider And The Fly", lo más seguro es que te suene por estar incluidad dentro del "Stripped", totalmente diferente, aunque con la misma esencia de Blues. "One More Try" de menos de 2 minutos de duración, pero muy buena. "I'm All right" la cual es en vivo. Definitivamente un disco para todos los amantes de esta banda y del Rock And Roll. El título te lo dice todo...cuidado si no quedas igual!!

Out Of Our Heads was released in the U.S. on July 30, 1965. It includes the most famous of all rock and Stones tracks (Satisfaction) as well as The Last Time (one of their most enduring compositions). But this album has what I call the best of the great Stones 2nds....those tracks that formed the basis of the original band.....not the AM hits.....but the developing expertise and taste that eventually gave us the great songwriting and sense of outrage that became the greatest band the planet has ever known. This includes Mercy Mercy, Hitch Hike, That's How Strong My Love Is, Play With Fire, and The Spider And The Fly. This album is also memorable for the 7 titles penned by Jagger and Richards (the first time their own compositions dominated an album).

Personally, this one is my favorite of all their early albums and I have always ranked it as 2nd only to Beggars Banquet. But I loved the early Stones first and best and have felt that way for almost 40 years now. My kids respect them, my grandchildren are just now hearing them for the first time, but I still love the old band as they play on this album.

The Out Of Our Heads tracks were recorded during 1964-5 as follows:
1964: Oct 27 - Nov 2 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
Hitch Hike
1965: Jan 17-18 & Feb 17 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
The Last Time
Play With Fire
Live in the UK on March 6 (Empire in Liverpool), 7 (Palace in Manchester), or 16 (Granada in Greenford)
I'm All Right
May 10, 1965 at Chess Studios in Chicago
That's How Strong My Love Is
Mercy, Mercy
Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man
May 11-12, 1965 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
Satisfaction
Good Times
Cry To Me
The Spider And The Fly
One More Try

The UK version was released Sep 24, 1965 but with the addition of She Said Yeah, Talkin' Bout You, Oh Baby, Heart Of Stone, and I'm Free. The UK release did not include The Last Time, I'm All Right, Satisfaction, Play With Fire, Spider And The Fly, or One More Try. Also of interest, the UK Out Of Our Heads used the same artwork as the US release of December's Children.

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.

I'm giving it five stars because it's their best effort of this early period in their history - a period that ends with the release of "Aftermath." The original songs on this album are phenomenal including "Satisfaction," "Play With Fire, "Under Assistant...," and "The Spider And The Fly." The covers are well rounded with their various influences and the band seems to have found itself a comfortable spot to build upon. It's curious how albums were released back in the day, where the fickle taste of the public was combatted with the constant production of new albums so the popular bands of the time weren't forgotten. So the Stones produced a glut of albums in a few short years and it proved quite a learning process, one which we can listen to over and over and begin to see how subtley the band gelled, the songwriting became stronger, and these five fellows became the greatest rock and roll band ever. An excellent study in what the Stones were all about in their formative years.

For "Satisfaction" alone this is an important album. What brings it to an upper echelon is the hauntingly menacing "Play With Fire." The other ten tracks pale in comparison to these two. While "Satisfaction" is a track with few surprises left for most listeners (although after several close listens I was surprised at just how intelligent the lyrics were, as opposed to the expected anthem about sex), "Play With Fire" will be a new experience for many listeners. The other very pleasant surprise is the Sam Cooke cover "Good Times." This track gives Mick a chance to sing a bit more soulful than is his wont, and he pulls it off famously. Some of the tracks ("Mercy Mercy" and "Hitch Hike") are enjoyable but obvious filler. By and large, however, this very early Stones album shows them on the cusp of becoming the tour de force of the later 60s and 70s.

I got Our Of Our Heads at my 15th birthday party. I was really pining for December's Children or Beggar's Banquet, but I felt satisfied anyway. Upon listening, i realized how great most of the songs were. I had already heard classics like "The Last Time, "Satisfaction," "Play with Fire," "Under Assisstant...," "The Spider and the Fly," etc. (all the stuff on The Singles Collection). But songs like "Mercy, Mercy" and "One More Try" rocked out, and "Good Times" swung steadily. A lesser album than its descendants, December's Children and Aftermath, but a big one, nonetheless.