Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 16:53:11 -0400 From: "Stewart Mason" To: Subject: Re: new to Stones Message-ID: <035701c55734$9c0fbc40$1d02a8c0@Sparky> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stacy Lynn" > Lets say I never really listened to any Rolling Stones. And lets > say > of what Stones I have heard, I definately preferred the earlier > poppy > stuff to the later bluesier stuff. Also keeping in mind what you > may > know of my musical taste... > > What would you recommend I listen to to introduce me properly to the > Rolling Stones? The canonical introduction, the 1972 two-disc comp HOT ROCKS. Singles and essential album tracks from '64-'71, most of the big hits and enough of a hint of the later sound to let you know if you really want to go further. Most people will probably tell you to go for one of the albums -- and if you really want to go that way, I suggest BETWEEN THE BUTTONS, which is their response to circa '66 Kinks, Who and Beatles, adding a big dose of Carnaby Street art-pop to the sound** -- but when you get right down to it, the Rolling Stones were always, first and foremost, a singles band. Frankly, a lot of their albums are fairly weak overall, even from the so-called "classic era." **(The US edition of BETWEEN THE BUTTONS adds both sides of the "Let's Spend the Night Together"/"Ruby Tuesday" single in place of a couple of minor songs, which will greatly increase the chances of your having heard any of these songs before. Both the US and UK editions of their albums are available on CD now.) Josh Chasin's friend Lane Steinberg was right: The stuff that the Stones recorded in the mid-60s was first-rate prototypical power pop. I'm pretty sure that most bands currently active in the so-called pop underground would give their eyeteeth to write and record such relatively obscure Stones tracks from the era as "Miss Amanda Jones", "Stupid Girl", "Complicated", or "Yesterday's Papers", to say nothing of innovative pop hits like "Mother's Little Helper" or "19th Nervous Breakdown". Not to mention "Paint It, Black", a song relatively subdued in its instrumental punch that nevertheless manages to convey more menace than the entire Pantera catalog. The later, open-tuning period of the band from *Beggars Banquet* through *Exile On Main Street* now tends to overshadow their Swinging London mid-sixties period, since the later, rootsier period has long since settled into being the definitive sound of the band. And as a result I think that the *Aftermath*/*Between the Buttons*/*Flowers* Stones tend to get short shrift. So, too, does the more direct approach of their two latter '65 albums, *Out Of Our Heads* and *December's Children*. But if you dig power pop, these are important albums to have in your collection -- although I'd agree with Stewart that for the uninitiated general listener (as opposed to the power pop aficionado) *Hot Rocks* is the place to start. Gregory Sager