Rolling Stones Discography Download

[Olowookere Devost]

MickJagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts remained stalwart figures throughout, as Brian Jones was replaced by Mick Taylor, who was in turn succeeded by Ron Wood. Original member Ian Stewart died in the mid-'80s, then founding bassist Bill Wyman left in the '90s. Other key contributors like Bobby Keys, Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins and Ian McLagan have also died.

Nothing stopped the band, as the upstart blues enthusiasts evolved into dark and legendary rockers with the versatility to morph into funk, disco, punk and sleek R&B. As this extensive album discography shows, the Stones just kept rolling.

Commercially speaking, the Rolling Stones were never bigger, with every album shooting straight up the charts and tours selling out in no time. But behind the scenes they were starting to unravel. Ultimately, it took the Stones nearly a year and a half to complete this record, as they moved from the guitar-guided rock 'n' roll workouts that dominated the first half of the decade toward funk, soul, jazz, reggae and a stew of simmering sounds not usually found on Rolling Stones records. Black and Blue similarly meanders from groove to groove, with little purpose.

The Stones' first album in 11 years is a throwback to their youth: a collection of blues covers by some of the greats that inspired them. What a kick it is to hear the band enjoying itself again, especially Mick Jagger, whose harmonica playing slashes and tears throughout. They haven't made an album this good in decades.

Commercially speaking, the Rolling Stones were never bigger, with every album shooting straight up the charts and tours selling out in no time. But behind the scenes they were starting to unravel. Ultimately, it took the Stones nearly a year and a half to complete this record, as they moved from the guitar-guided rock 'n' roll workouts that dominated the first half of the decade toward funk, soul, jazz, reggae and a stew of simmering sounds not usually found on Rolling Stones records. Black and Blue similarly meanders from groove to groove, with little purpose.

The Stones' first album in 11 years is a throwback to their youth: a collection of blues covers by some of the greats that inspired them. What a kick it is to hear the band enjoying itself again, especially Mick Jagger, whose harmonica playing slashes and tears throughout. They haven't made an album this good in decades.

England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)Album Score: 11By far, the best thing about these guys is they have attitude, and it doesn't sound they're just blowing off steam. I'd imagine there were quite a few British rock bands in this early period who spent their evenings in night clubs, going nuts all over their instruments... Unfortunately, the only thing they came out with is a bunch of sloppy nonsense. Alternately, there were tons of British rock bands who were neat, and clean and always playing the right notes, but they were sterile. The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, took the best these two factions had to offer and melded it into this awesome debut album. The album is full of R&B covers that were played nicely and tightly, but there's a menacing, raucous quality to them thanks to the furious guitar performances and Mick Jagger's verve-ridden vocal performance. Sure, this undoubtedly would sound pretty tame to the '00s audience who is used to nu-metal music and their lead singers making vomit noises in microphones, but this was pretty wild for its day. In fact, I'd imagine even nu-metal musicians would get a bit of a high listening to this. Oh man... it's no wonder people all around the world are obsessed with The Rolling Stones. Do you want to know how good these R&B covers are? In a nutshell: I don't particularly like R&B, and yet I like the album. It's a miracle, really. Did anybody do R&B better than them? I have no freaking idea, because I hardly ever listen to the genre. But other people have said nobody did it better than them, so I feel justified enough to nod my head in the utmost agreement.Well, let's talk about some of these songs before I start to run out of space! The album begins with an energetic cover of Buddy Holly's catchy tune, Not Fade Away that's fully equipped with a furious acoustic guitar, a chugging harmonica, confident lead vocals, and those awesome clapping sounds at regular intervals. Really, this was an awesome cover from the start, but the clapping seals the deal. And then there's Route 66, a blues cover that's possibly the most well-known cover here. The clean pop-rock treatment they gave it makes it sparkle, but the attitude gives it a rustic, leathery odor (OK, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only one to hone in on scents). And then there's I Just Want to Make Love To You, which has a faster, jumping pace and a perhaps more passionate instrumental performances (without ever seeming like they're overdoing it). A possible exception to that is those especially voluminous vocals. But that's a great song!Of course, the Rolling Stones nail most of the fast-paced songs, but the slower, bluesy ballads seem a bit of a weak spot to me. Honest I Do and You Can Make it if You Try both strike me as boring. Part of my dislike for them might just be my personal bias against blues music, which I am admitting right here in the open! But no matter how many times I hear them, I feel fairly disengaged. Not that they did them horribly... they just didn't do them great. A cover of Marvin Gaye's Can I Get a Witness is also a bit of a weak spot, because it strikes me as too plain. I'm also not a huge fan of an instrumental take-off, Now I've Got a Witness, even though it does contain some mighty nice instrumental solos. Whenever it comes up, though, I feel like the album somehow got cheapened.One song from this album that gets talked about an awful lot is their intepretation I'm a King Bee, and the overwhelming love is more than justified. The sliding electric guitareffect brought in throughout the song along with Charlie Watt's menacing, pounding drum beat was present in the original, but it didn't sound this good. Everything about these guitars are great... and a crazy, high-pitched solo in the middle gives me visions of being attacked by these 'king bees.' I agree with everyone else in the world; it's an instant classic.The one and only original composition on here, Tell Me (You're Coming Back) is surprisingly a good one. Perhaps it's a tad dull, and the chorus is something of a '50s clich, but it's surprisingly rather touching. It's also interesting that it's not blues-derived, which indicated early on that they wanted to deviate away from that.While England's Newest Hit Makers might be nowhere near as great as some of the masterpieces The Rolling Stones would pull off later in their career, it was an explosive debut that should still have an impact on listeners to this very day. Hear it even if you don't particularly care for old school R&B.Read the track reviews:

England's Newest Hitmakers

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