Customer Reviews

The Rolling Stones, Now!

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With the release of the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material), there is now some confusion as they have released some of the early albums in both US and UK versions.

The Rolling Stones, Now! was released on Feb 12, 1965 only in the U.S. on London Records. It was never released in the U.K., so there is no UK version on CD. This album was to be the American substitute for the UK release of The Rolling Stones No. 2. As was common at the time, the American execs tampered with the original design of the album, substituting the new American hit Heart of Stone for Time Is On My Side and eliminating Grown Up Wrong, Under The Boardwalk, I Can't Be Satisfied, and Suzie-Q. The tracks Mona, Oh Baby, Little Red Rooster, and Surprise Surprise were not on the UK release of No. 2, although Little Red Rooster was released as a single and became one of their signature songs in the UK.

More than any other Stones release, Now! showcases the original blues band that Brian was always so proud of. The way I heard the story, Brain used to play tracks from this era to show how good the band was before Mick and Keith took over. These included Down The Road Apiece, Little Red Rooster, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Bright Lights Big City, Down In The Bottom, & Road Runner (the 1st 3 of which are on Now!, the others were never released - except on bootlegs). Personally, I think Down The Road Apiece is the absolute best song they recorded during this period. The Band absolutely cooks on this one. It's what their early reputation was built on and it's what has sustained them for 40 years.....underneath all the hype, fame, and history, they are a really great band.

To understand the impact Mick had on the British scene, all you have to do is listen to Everybody Needs Somebody To Love. His command is impressive and this is really the first time you get to glimpse the superstar he was to become. Little Red Rooster deserves some commentary too....it became a big hit for them in the UK (where the blues were appreciated more than in America). They later did a better version with an old friend named Eric Clapton who used to alternate with Mick as singer in their early days in Richmond and Eel Pie Island (it's on the Flashpoint CD). You Can't Catch Me is a great tribute to Berry, personally I've always liked the song Bill Wyman got onto this album....Oh Baby (although many people, including the Stones themselves considered it a throwaway). Off The Hook is a decent early Mick & Keith song (although not good enough for Mick to keep putting it on all those greatest hits albums to generate songwriting royalities). Down Home Girl has resonated through my thoughts for over 30 years now....it just won't leave me alone, but neither will Down The Road Apiece, so to me these two are the reason you keep a good copy of Now! in your collection.

This is the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material. ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog after Allen Klein became their manager in 1965. The resulting legal battles produced releases that the Stones opposed (they took out full page adds asking fans not to buy them), including the controversial Metamorphosis releases (which are now available on CD for the 1st time ever). But the sad fact is that the Stones lost control of their great early material. With these remastered SACD releases, we at last have some idea of what they really sounded like in the studio. I guess if we had these 40 years ago they would have ended up Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the Universe instead of Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the World.

The tracks were recorded in 1964 as follows:
Jan 3, 1964 at Regent Sound, London
.....Mona (I Need You Baby)
Jun 10-11, 1964 at Chess Studios, Chicago
.....Down The Road Apiece
Jun 24-26, 1964 at Regent Sound, London
.....Off The Hook
.....You Can't Catch Me
Sep 28-29, 1964 at Regent Sound, London
.....Surprise, Surprise
Oct 27 - Nov 2, 1964 at RCA, Hollywood
.....Pain In My Heart
.....Down Home Girl
.....Heart of Stone
.....Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')
.....Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (version 1, which is faster and 30 sec shorter than European release versions)
Nov 8, 1964 at Chess Studios, Chicago
.....Little Red Rooster
.....What A Shame

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.

Originally released in February of 1965 (between May 1964 and November 1965 the Stones were releasing albums at 4-5 month intervals,..crazy by today's standards!) "Now!" captures the pure essence of The Rolling Stones. This would be the last Stones album comprised soley (should be souly) of Blues, Country & Western, Rhythm & Blues, and Soul music.

"Now!" opens with Solomon Burke number "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" (which used to be the opener for many of their live shows) which showcases the band's ability to grab you by the throat and give you some good old time religion in the church that R & B built! I'm not quite sure the Stones ever sounded more rootsy than they do on this record, as is evidenced by "Down Home Girl". Singing lyrics like "And everytime I kiss you girl it tastes like pork and beans" could Jagger be anymore convincing in the role of the "Southern Valentno"? If Mick doesn't get you on this song than surely the inertwined guitars of Brian Jones on slide and Keith Richards on standard will. Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" is up next and we discover that we've been plucked off the farm and depostied in to a high speed chase on the New Jersey Turnpike. The mastery the Stones (and Keith especially) have when it comes to Chuck's music is astounding as they not only capture the sound, but they capture Berry's swagger as well. "Heart Of Stone" is next and is the strongest Jagger/Richards composition to that point. This is a song full of danger and angst that easily could been sung by Johnny Cash. "Heart Of Stone" reached #19 on the charts in the USA, not bad as you could hardly call it a love song. "What A Shame" has a Muddy Waters meets Jimmy Reed feel about and features some fine slide work by Brian. Closing out side 1 is the Bo Diddley song "Mona (I Need You Baby)" and although Jagger scores with another incrediible vocal performance, the focus here is on Brian Jones. "Now!" is the closest we will ever come to hearing a Brian Jones solo record. This was the music he loved and lived for and I have never heard anyone play Bo Diddley better than Brian Jones.

Side 2 starts with another Chuck Berry (although not written by C.B.) song "Down The Road Apiece" where "the drummer man is a cat they call Charlie My Boy" and "Mama's cookin' chicken fried in bacon grease". Check out Keith's searing Chuck Berry licks and Ian Stewart's spot on boogie woogie piano in a song that takes us right back down to the "Southland" where "There's a place you really get your kicks/It's open every night about 12 to 6". "Off The Hook" is a jaunty little R&B tune with an infectious hook (no pun), by no means a heavyweight, but then again it is nice to have a "breather" once in a while. The Stones give the "star treatment" to the Otis Redding classic "Pain In My Heart'. The sheer drama and emotion that is packed into to this song leaves the listener feeling spent upon its' completion. There is almost a three way tug-of-war taking place between Jagger's molten vocals, Brian and Keith's guitar sword play, and Charlie and Bill's sledgehammer rhythm section. "Oh Baby (We?ve Got A Good Thing Goin')" has a Nashville meets Chuck Berry groove that forces you to crack open the case and get out your air guitar. Back to Brian Jones now in full glory on "Little Red Rooster", Duane Allman caused quite a stir when he started playing slide guitar in 1967, well here's Brian taking Duane to school on a song that was recorded in early November 1964. The juggernaut ends with the Jagger/Richards tune entitled "Surprise, Surprise", again no heavyweight here, just a tight upbeat R&B tune with some fun staccato drum beats from Mr. Watts.

Note: There were two versions of "Everybody Needs'.. recorded, one that is universally considered the "bad one" which appeared on the original US release of the record, and the "good one" which appeared on the UK version. ABKCO wisely went with the "good one" on the CD reissue.

Recording Notes: "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", "Down Home Girl", "Heart Of Stone", "Pain In My Heart", & "Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')" were recorded 10/27/64 at RCA Studios in Hollywood. "You Can't Catch Me", "Mona (I Need You Baby)", "Off The Hook", & "Surprise, Surprise" were recorded 5/64 at Regent, IBC, London. "Down The Road Apiece" was recorded 6/10-11/64 at Chess Studios in Chicago. "What A Shame" & "Little Red Rooster" were recorded 11/5-6,8/64 at Chess Studios in Chicago.

Like most of the other early Stones albums, there's good music here, but not enough of it. A couple excellent singles: Little Red Rooster is by far the best of their early blues covers, thanks to Brian's slide and harp and Mick's dead-on bluesman vocals; and Heart of Stone, a sullen R&B-infused rocker. A few of the originals here are derivative lyrically, but still fun: What a Shame is packed to the brim with clever hooks; Off the Hook has an entertaining harmonica part, and Surprise Surprise is pretty much all Charlie. That guy could drum, all right, why did he never take a solo? Anyway, Mona is also a solid tune, one of their best (and most underrated) early covers. As usual, though, I can't really speak for much of the rest: There's a good reason why songs like Everybody Needs Somebody to Love; Down Home Girl; You Can't Catch Me and the ridiculously over-the-top Pain in My Heart disappeared like they did. So there's filler galore here, but patient Stones fans will find a lot to like aobut Now!

During the 2002 RUSH to re-release the Rolling Stones to SACD, abkco, london and DECCA failed on "NOW." The first track:"EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY TO LOVE", was reduced to a 3 minute some seconds, rarely heard version, from the original abkco/London 420 in the plastic jewel case which offered a 5:04 'European'track,(from LK-4661, aka; Volume 2) vinyl Lp, as originally recorded by DECCA U.K., and SHOULD have been mono, to present The Rolling Stones 'their-way.' Suggest try to get the first release of NOW, in plastic jewel case. abkco could have done a much better release, in original mono, and a few Stereo tracks, mostly Stereo on After-Math, which seems to remain about "the Best" LP, CD, from the Fab-Five

The black & white artwork on the jacket of this album (great reproduction with the newly remastered digi-pack) tells the story. 5 English kids who have done their homework listening to the likes of Solomon Burke, Howlin' Wolf & Bo Diddley to name a few, and are already absorbing their influences ; thereby creating a new synthesis of rock & roll all their own. Not a bad achievement, seeing as this is only their 3rd American release in 1965. I love Aftermath, Exile On Main St., Let It Bleed etc. This is still a personal favorite of mine. Maybe it's because their innocence lends a certain charm to the record. Only 4 out the 12 cuts are penned by Mick & Keef but the rock & roll spirit of this album is pure. The Stones sounded youthful but professional. They were taking their music serious yet still seemed to be having a lot of fun making this record. Heart Of Stone is perhaps the most familiar track on this album, but really, the covers of Down The Road Apiece, Little Red Rooster should be heard by anyone interested in The Stones early years. Buy this CD & enjoy!

first off: make sure that you get the 2002 ABKCO remastered version of this album. Same goes for all the early stones recordings. The original cd versions had very inferior sound. The ABKCO remasters, on the other hand, are spectacular in sound. The bass is deep and powerful, and the guitars are so vibrant and clear, they sound like they are being played live right in your living room. As for the album at hand ("Now"), this was the stones 3rd record, and their finest up to this point. The record sports three excellent rockers: "everybody need somebody to love," "down the road apiece," and "oh baby (we got a good thing going)." a couple of great blues tunes: the funky, "down home girl," and their raw and fantastic version of "little red rooster," with wonderful slide guitar. My favorite track happens to be their haunting reworking of the bo diddley song "Mona," with its interesting rhythm and an outstanding vocal from jagger. The album also has the first jagger/richards penned hit: the pretty ballad "heart of stone," which made its way into the american top 20. A winner all the way, this is early rolling stones music at its best.

Brian Jones loved blues and rythm and blues and that was the vision he had for the Stones. In their first five albums they stayed true to his vision and they have never been better. There is not a bad cut. This album kicked ass in the sixties and it still does.
Buy it, play it, think of how it was and how it could be again.

This is the best of the Stones. Although Brian Jones had his personal idiosyncracies you can't fault him on his musical accomplishments. Rhythm guitar and harp playing are what made this band come together. The whole organization is kept moving by Charlie Watts who is the standout artist on this particular outing. His rim crashes make each one of these tunes a keeper. By recording in three blues locations the band overcomes any black/white analogies, criticisms etc. With the help of Muddy Waters et al they learned their roots and weren't afraid to demonstrate them on this master disc. 'Now' points to the blues and each guitar and drum beat make this a house rockin' band which grabs you immediately. This is still the way it feels after 40 years. Right on!

This was the Rolling Stones third album. It features four original songs and eight covers of old rock and roll, R&B and blues songs. This is another outstanding album by the group. The covers (some of which are pretty obscure) are all excellent. And the four originals showcase the emerging songwriting talents of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards. In the UK, the Howlin' Wolf song "Little Red Rooster" was the single from the album, and it shot all the way up to #1 on the charts. In the US, the original song "Heart of Stone" was the single, and it reached #19 on the charts. Every Rolling Stones fan should have this CD.

The Rolling Stones, Now! is one of the most deeply rooted in R&B albums the Stones have ever done. Songs ranging from Chuck Berry Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" to Bo Diddley's "Mona" to Otis Redding's "Pain In My Heart", the band wears their R & B influences on their sleeves. "Heart Of Stone" is an excellent Jagger-Richards original and "Little Red Rooster" is tailor-made for Mr. Jagger's strutting persona. Now! is one of the least commercial albums the band has released, but they put their blood and guts into it.