I also like "Some Girls," along with "It's Only Rock'n'Roll."  I love the title track on the latter, along with "Dance Little Sister," and I also like "Luxury" and "Time Waits for No One."  Aside from "Miss You" on the former, I thought that album was a great response to the punk rock explosion of the 70s.  I especially like "When the Whip Comes Down" and "Shattered," along with "Beast of Burden."  Yes, I know "Beast of Burden" is kind of cheesy, but I still like it. 

As for the 80s, they had their moments.  I like "She's So Cold" from "Emotional Rescue," along with "Hang Fire" from "Tattoo You."

enzo said:

I'm a huge fan of Emotional Rescue, myself.  The Stones are The Stones no matter what era-every album they put out in the '60's-'70's realm was great...Some Girls?  

They have a great '80's catalogue that still makes me crazy.  All About You/Waiting On a Friend-Keef's bio was a great read, too.

enz

I'm a huge fan of Emotional Rescue, myself.  The Stones are The Stones no matter what era-every album they put out in the '60's-'70's realm was great...Some Girls?  

They have a great '80's catalogue that still makes me crazy.  All About You/Waiting On a Friend-Keef's bio was a great read, too.

enz

My current preference is for out-of-the-gate Stones. I never owned The Rolling Stones Now! until recently and it really got me hammering on the early records again.  December's Children, 12X5, Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones, Aftermath, Flowers, Out of Our Heads.  All brilliantly raw.

I gotta agree and qualify my earlier statement.  I love the early Stones original stuff, most of their early covers left much to be desired.

Time For Tiffin said:

For me,with a few exceptions, the Jagger/Richards writin' style really came together in the later 60's.

The early RnB standards LP s are piss poor with so many other British RnB bands doing alot better job.

Aftermath?eerrmmmmmm........well the covers cool.

For me,with a few exceptions, the Jagger/Richards writin' style really came together in the later 60's.

The early RnB standards LP s are piss poor with so many other British RnB bands doing alot better job.

Aftermath?eerrmmmmmm........well the covers cool.

He's right. Aftermath is amazing. An absolute gem of a record.

MikeL said:

I'll have to look for that.

The Ultimatemost High said:

The UK version Aftermath is a list topper.

Exile has some good songs but as a whole, it's not their best. Rock critics are the one's who labeled it a masterpiece, they like it because it's not as commercial as some of the other LP's. I believe they like it because most of the song's don't follow the standard rock and roll formula. That's all fine and good but don't mistake the way they wrote then for being deep, remember they were fucked up on drugs and booze during that recording. I'll take the raw Stones any day, that to me is their best work.

Though I love the later Stones classics, the early stones resonate with me the most, just out of the sheer roughness of it all.  I love the way the tambourines go hopelessly out of time with the snare on some tracks, or the way you can hear fuzztone pedals being clicked on etc. 

I've been reading Keef's book too, I love his explanations about recording some parts with an acoustic guitar that was simply fed into the tape machine so hot that it completely fuzzed it out.  Great stuff!

I'll have to look for that.

The Ultimatemost High said:

The UK version Aftermath is a list topper.

The UK version Aftermath is a list topper.

I understand your point.  I myself get tired of hearing "Happy" and "Tumbling Dice."  However, there are some overlooked gems on the albums I just mentioned, such as "Stray Cat Blues" from "Beggars' Banquet," "Live With Me" from "Let It Bleed" and "Soul Survivor" from "Exile."

As far as their early stuff goes, I only have "England's Newest Hitmakers" and "12x5."  I might be getting "Aftermath" and "Their Satanic Majesties Request" in the near future.

joey fuckup said:

This has always been a debate that I would have with other Stones fans...Everybody I know considers "Exile" to be the best album in their whole discography, which I'm not disagreeing at all on that. For me personally, I'll take "pre-1970" Stones anyday. I have nothing against '70's era Stones music, but it's so overplayed, especially on most any rock station (it definately is here). The '60's era Stones gets so overlooked nowadays, with only a huge hit, like say "Satisfaction" getting airplay on said radio stations. And whatever oldies stations that even do exist anymore, choose to overlook many of their gems that us garageheads really dig. So overexposure of their catalogue has definately influenced my tastes on such a great band, however, being that I love '60's garage rock 'n' roll, I find their "1st Wave" to be more of a fit for me...

This has always been a debate that I would have with other Stones fans...Everybody I know considers "Exile" to be the best album in their whole discography, which I'm not disagreeing at all on that. For me personally, I'll take "pre-1970" Stones anyday. I have nothing against '70's era Stones music, but it's so overplayed, especially on most any rock station (it definately is here). The '60's era Stones gets so overlooked nowadays, with only a huge hit, like say "Satisfaction" getting airplay on said radio stations. And whatever oldies stations that even do exist anymore, choose to overlook many of their gems that us garageheads really dig. So overexposure of their catalogue has definately influenced my tastes on such a great band, however, being that I love '60's garage rock 'n' roll, I find their "1st Wave" to be more of a fit for me...

I've been getting reacquainted with the Stones since reading Keith Richards' autobiography, and I bought used copies of "Beggars' Banquet,"  "Let It Bleed," and "Sticky Fingers."  Personally, I thought those three albums, along with "Exile on Main Street," were their best.  Do you agree, or do you prefer the Brian Jones' era Stones?

BTW, my interest in the Beatles and Stones tends to wax and wane as the years go by, so that's why I've been making those recent purchases. 

I front and play rhythm guitar in my punk rock band TV Tramps (the rest are dudes) and I can say that the main groupie type guys I've had were pariahs and shut ins! lol My boyfriend is pretty much my biggest and sexiest fan :)

kopper said:

And, if you can find it, get the double-CD version of the "Madness Invasion" comp.

Yeah, that's a great one!

Jonathan Hanusa said:

Lost Legends of Surf Guitar

Bitchen series!

Some other favourites of mine:

Both volumes

All 3 of them!

Also, the collection of Lux & Ivy's Favorites is a great one.  Kind of like the addendum to Songs The Cramps Taught Us.

+ Sixties Rebellion...

Nitrocellulose lacquer "checking" or crazing is considered a desirable quality to collectors of old guitars. I'd say leave it alone unless it's starting to chip off. If you can't live with it, have it assessed by a luthier. Don't store guitars/amps in self strorage units, basements or attics - unless they're climate controlled.

I've got a late 60's Burns Baldwin Vibraslim bass, had it in storage for a few years, got it out and the lacquer is all cracked. Anybody got any repair tips or tricks?

He kept it very carefully hidden with his hair, and years later he underwent a series of operations to get this problem fixed.  I first read about this in Chris Lendt's book, "Kiss and Sell."

The Ultimatemost High said:

Really?  I didn’t know that about Paul.  I just went searching for photos and you can never see his ears.  He even wears a headband over them.

Really?  I didn’t know that about Paul.  I just went searching for photos and you can never see his ears.  He even wears a headband over them.

You're right, it does work better for songs that are more produced.

What you said about having two ears made me think of Van Gogh, so I couldn't resist:)  Maybe I should have made a reference to Paul Stanley, because he was born with a cauliflower ear.

The Ultimatemost High said:

Heh.  Yeah, that’s just a dumb joke.  But stereo experimentation in the 60’s has an appeal.  I think it made psychedelia that much more entertaining.  

Heh.  Yeah, that’s just a dumb joke.  But stereo experimentation in the 60’s has an appeal.  I think it made psychedelia that much more entertaining.  

I guess that means Van Gogh would have preferred mono:)  Can't say what his favorite band would have been, though.

The Ultimatemost High said:

Stereo.  I have two ears.  :)

Stereo.  I have two ears.  :)