England's Newest

I bought this album when it first came out in 64/65?. I liked it then and I still like it. I still have the original vinyl but I wanted something to play in my car.

Just as The Beatles' American label tampered with their early releases as a means of milking US fans, so London squeezed the maximum mileage out of the Stones's early catalogue. They did this by making use of their extensive singles and EP material, creating five albums prior to 'Aftermath' whereas there where only three in the UK. Perhaps that's why you can get the early US releases on CD but not the UK ones. This, the debut, only featured one change: 'Not Fade Away' replaced 'Mona' (I think), presumably because having a big hit made the album more attractive. To me, it's a minor irritant, as I always liked hearing 'Route 66' kick things off.Not only were the Stones far from the finished article when they made this, they were also struggling for material to fill it. The sole Jagger/Richard composition, 'Tell Me', apparently came about only because Andrew Oldham insisted they write something and shut them in the kitchen until they came up with something. The track not surprisingly sounds a little awkward and self conscious, more pop than r&b, but isn't a bad effort. They also made up an instrumental based on 'Can I Get A Witness', but the album still only weighs in at around half an hour, though that was average for the era.So, why do I love this album? Firstly, the choice of covers is superb throughout. Keith Richards was presumably responsible for the frequent Chuck Berry covers and 'Carol' is one of the band's best. The other choices show off their attributes well, whether fast numbers such as 'Can I Get A Witness?' or the slow, gritty 'I'm A King Bee'. This album is a classic blueprint for future British r&b bands. Both 'Route 66' and 'Walking The Dog', for instance, featured in Dr Feelgood's early repertoire.

Great to hear tunes/songs from when the Rolling Stones were in the infancy and had just started being g notice by the young generation of the early 60's

I used it to listen to

Borrowed this as a vinyl album in about 1963 and was really impressed. Couldn't afford to buy at that time and recorders were not as available as a few years later. So it's been 59 years and finally I got it and I am really pleased. Always loved their version of Route 66, wowed by King Bee and their accolade to Bo Diddely. Brian, Bill and Keef really earn their chips.

Replacement for an old cassette that tangled up.

bought this on cd as I used to have it on vinyl still sounds good.

Really Good selection of the 60's stuff we all loved even way back then!!!