Rolling Stones NOW/What a shame
‘THE ROLLING STONES, NOW!’ It’s gotta be the sixties, right? How long did Andrew Oldham take to come up with that title? Pure genius. But forget the title, this is one fine album from the Londoners. It was released in 1965. By that time the Stones’ popularity in the UK and across the Atlantic waves in the US of A was really taking off. Some pundits were even brave enough to postulate that the Stones may rival, even overtake, their all-conquering cousins from the north, The Beatles. Certainly, the RS made much of their louche appearance which diverged so blatantly with the clean-cut Beatles. Touché Andrew. Thus I find it amazing that Ed Sullivan—the nondescript television host whose style and demeanour was as far from rock music as one could get—gave the invitation to the Stones to appear on his show. Sullivan had the power to make anyone a hit in the US—that many Americans watched his show. But don’t be fooled by his suit-and-tie deportment. This guy could smell a hit from a mile—that’s why he was where he was. So when the RS appeared on his show, they actually appeared on millions of televisions in the US. Welcome to the states Mick and co.
Early RS—I love ’em! They were fine exponents of 12-bar blues, which they imported from US blacks. Keith Richard has Chuck Berry’s style down pat, while Mick’s interpretations are superb. But let’s not forget the Jagger/Richards compositions: ‘Heart of Stone’ is an out-and-out classic, while ‘What a shame’ is a tremendous song, one which never received much recognition. It was released as a single, but didn’t even chart in the UK—what were you on Oldham! Richards is just so damned cool with his laid back chordal method. He has to be one of the great inventors of riffs in rock music. In my opinion the only man who could challenge him is Jimmy Page. Just listen to any five Zep songs in a row, and you’ll get five complete different riffs—you’re a genius Mr Page.
Back to ‘Shame’: who knows which of Richards’s 3,000 guitars he was playing, but it sure sounds nice. Of Richards, Chris Spedding says, ‘He shows a fascination with chords and rhythm while avoiding flamboyant virtuosity in favour of riffs which are direct, incisive and unpretentious.’ A Rolling Stone who’s unpretentious? Hit me with that again!! Shy or not, his panache with his axe has landed Herr Richards fourth on Rolling Stone’s (magazine) 100 best guitarists. Finally, Mick gets a gold star for his lovely work on the harp.
The crème de la crème of this album is ‘Little Red Rooster’, written by prolific blues master Willie Dixon. The Stones owned this song, and it was a deserving #1 hit in the UK, still the only blues number ever to make it to the top there. (For a full review of the song see this website.)
Now if I were the Stones’ manager, I’d be getting my boys to resurrect these old classics—they’re so darned good, and a heap of fun.
One number they did much later, ‘Far Away Eyes’, is not a blues track, but it’s close—gospel. The band enjoys sending up the gospel radio stations that fill the Sunday airwaves in southern California.
Believe it or not, the Stones are longtime country music fans. They deliberately incorporated the Bakersfield country style in this song. In much of the tune Jagger mimics a radio DJ with his usual flare. But first prize goes to Ronnie Wood, whose efforts on the lap steel are nothing short of sensational—what a great musician he is! No wonder the Stones grabbed him in ’75 after The Faces disbanded (he replaced Mick Taylor, another fine guitarist).
Ralph's World of Music 