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. 

Great choice:)  I especially like the track "Live With Me."

Erik Johannes Matze said:

The Rolling Stones ~ Let It Bleed (1969)

The Rolling Stones ~ Let It Bleed (1969)

Better late than never:)

Stacey said:

Late to this conversation, somewhat..

Pinning down my favorite is hard because I really like so many of their albums..but I really think "Between The Buttons" is underrated, and then I never get sick of listening to "Sticky Fingers"...I am sort of all over the place, personally. I can even dig the cheesiness of "Emotional Rescue" and "Miss You"..

Late to this conversation, somewhat..

Pinning down my favorite is hard because I really like so many of their albums..but I really think "Between The Buttons" is underrated, and then I never get sick of listening to "Sticky Fingers"...I am sort of all over the place, personally. I can even dig the cheesiness of "Emotional Rescue" and "Miss You"..

That's the one time I saw them , in Dallas , in '81. bUT , I NEVER HEARD THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A "FAREWELL TOUR".     I ALMOST COULD'NT AFFORD A TICKET , THEN (I think they were $18.) ! I WAS IN LINE TO GET A TICKET IN '78 , WHEN THEY PLAYED A MUCH SMALLER VENUE , WILL ROGERS AUDITORIUM , IN FT. WORTH (THE SHOW THAT WAS JUST RELEASED ON DVD AND CD , RECENTLY.). I did'nt get a ticket. My Brothers all did, and they did'nt stand in line. Plus , they got their tix for face . I missed two smaller venue tickets in Chicago, at The Double DOOR (I WAS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THE DAY TIX WENT ON SALE , BUT I DID'NT KNOW ABOUT IT.) AND tHE ARAGON VOMITORIUM . I got the word the cops were cracking down on scalpers , so tickets would be available on the street for face , if not a little more. Face , MINUS "SERVICE CHARGE" , was $50. ON THE STREET , EVERYBODY WAS CHARGING $400 , A SET PRICE , JUST LIKE HEROIN !

I'D STILL LIKE TO SEE THEM ONE MORE TIME , BUT , NOT FOR HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS , THANX.

Well All I have to add to this is that, I went to their first farewell tour back in 81! Guess that worked out too well. Don't think I could/would afford the tickets now.

What a great subject. For me its early stones. I know this is a bit of a cliche BUT ITS TRUE, The Stones were no longer The Stones when they removed Brian Jones.

Whilst we are at it, what gets on my nerves is there are a lot of people that go to Stones concerts, because they are HUGE FANS, or more likely it is because they can afford the tickets, anyway a lot of these people wouldn't and dont any early stones track. I work with a lot of people like this.

Not at all. There's some really good ones , depends on what era you're most interested in. Some people have no preference.

G. Wood said:

Thanks, John.

Thanks, John.

TWO OF THE EARLIEST , AND MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOTS WERE "Live'R' Than You'll Ever Be" ,"European Tour 1969"(Both '69. Close enough.) , I'll try to think of some others , But this LP , LIVE IN PERTH , AUSTRALIA , 1973, only came out a few years ago.
 I FOUND IT FOR ABOUT $13 OR 15 , AND i KNOW i'VE SEEN IT MORE THAN ONCE , BUT , i DON'T KNOW HOW MANY WERE PRESSED , OFFHAND.  I'm sure whoever it is is asking that price because Keef signed it. If he did . I'm just sayin'. I don't know.
G. Wood said:

How about this one? Apparently it's rare, I've found only one copy listed for sale anywhere, and it was some crazy figure over $1000--but that one was signed by Keef. I found this one at an estate sale a few months ago. Any info about rarity or desirability appreciated.

BPG said:

What are some good 70's boots to look for?

So it's good to hear that most agree the Exile was their best. Although Let it Bleed is right up there as far as I'm concerned.

Of their earlier stuff, definitely Aftermath and Between Buttons. And Out of Our Heads (if only b/c it has the quintessential rock n roll song with the most recongizable guitar riff ever...)

I was always biased against their later stuff b/c i assumed they got old, tired and just were cashing in. But Voodoo Lounge and A Bigger Bang are great records. Finally got them on vinyl. I now own all of their US releases on wax. It took a while, but well worth it.

And for what it's worth. I love the STones and the Beatles. But when people ask me which one is better, I throw them a curve and say "THE KINKS"

Brian Jones era hands down

....Also , I just saw an ad for "The Stones in Hyde Park" coming out , legitimately , for the first time , ever. If  you've never seen a bootleg copy , it's not a very good performance. Brian had just died , and Mick Taylor had been with the group a matter of days. They did what they could , under the circumstances . There are certainly moments , though , I'd say it's of more historical than musical importance . It's sloppy , even by The Stones' standards , and even though Taylor was first to admit to being scared stiff to play before an estimated 100,000 people , it's hard to imagine the others not feeling  the same , though they'd probably never admit it , themselves. It would be nice , all the same , to see the best possible quality copy. I bought a copy in Mexico for about Four American Dollars , thinking , what can I lose? It turned out to be a pretty good copy , though , somehow , that made the shortcomings more obvious than on my crap SLP copy. I don't want to prejudice anyone , but this is NOT the powerhouse band that ripped it's way through America like a buzzsaw though a package of toilet paper, in a few short months.

By Jones , I think he's got it.....Some material , particularly on albums like "Goats Head Soup" and "Black and Blue" , was'nt BAD , merely sluggish. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN THEIR ARTISTIC DECLINE (THEIR WERE MORE TO FOLLOW) , THOUGH , WAS "MELODY" ON "B & B", A COLLABORATION WITH BILLY PRESTON , ONE THAT JAGGER COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR SAYING IT WAS'NT FEASIBLE TO TRY TO PERFORM , LIVE. BUT , WHEN I SAW BILL WYMAN , ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO , THAT WAS THE ONE STONES SONG HE AND HIS GROUP PERFORMED. BUT , THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD TO BE HEARD ON NEARLY ALL THEIR ALBUMS.
   
G. Wood said:

You know what... It's all good. Except some of the stuff Mick insisted on when he was in his 'dance' phase.

You know what... It's all good. Except some of the stuff Mick insisted on when he was in his 'dance' phase.

I definitely side with the Brian Jones camp. I love their early material, especially their pop songs - Blue Turns to Grey, I Am Waiting, Connection, I'm Free, Singer Not the Song. Jagger-Richards could write hooks just as solidly as Lennon-McCartney when they wanted to.

I think "A Bigger Bang"is a great record. It sounded like "Exile " outtakes , when I first heard it. When the alleged official " Exile" outtakes package came out (Jagger singing , today , over instrumental tracks not used on"Exile".)....There were plenty of existing tracks they could have put out , legitimately , for the first time... TAYLOR IS A MONSTER , BUT , IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE REALLY PISSED OFF AT EACH OTHER , STILL. I don't know if it'll ever happen , maybe a guest spot on a show or two....
 
doornail said:

you know the more I hear the boots from the 70's with Mick Taylor, the more I tend to like his era best.  His guitar work was some of the best guitar work in a Rock and Roll band, ever, In my opinion.  He even made Keith step up his game during this period.  It is hard to rule out the Brian Jones years, which I am not.  I also dig some of Bigger Bang too.  The interplay between Ron and Keith is amazing too.  Those weaves of sound they creat live are incredible.  So, I guess if I had to choose one era, it would be the Mick Taylor years.  I am hoping for a reunion with Taylor for the 50 anniversary.  

Wow. I don't know what's more subversive , The Mothers advertising in Marvel comics , or their records selling at Woolworth's.....Different times indeed.  When I was a kid  , some of the "variety" stores would have a shitload of one and two hit wonder LPs , but only once a year , maybe. Nothing like The Seeds , tho'.

In '66-67, when I was 12-13, I used to scour the cutouts at Woolworth's. I remember getting earlier Stones albums for less than new singles. All kinds of other stuff, too, like the first two Mothers albums, Seeds, whatever stopped selling after a year. It was a different world.

Wow , I was just barely making over $3 from my crap job when "Some Girls" was the most recent Rolling Stones album , so I barely had any money for records. With younger people , the 60's were still a singles market , kids who were too young to work , but could scrounge the 60 cents for a single by not drinking milk for a week or something .

In many cases  people probably were just as happy with a couple of singles than an iffy LP.....But , The Stones, who were putting out albums about every four months from 64 - 66 , more or less , were usually very consistent. Then , of course , Sgt. Pepper came out , and ALBUM ROCK was born..... Radio stations started playing long tracks and non - single cuts , but the Hot 100 kept chugging along. I'll still take "Their Satanic Majesties".
 
G. Wood said:

Not so sure about that...I remember albums were $3, less on sale. That was about an hour's pay for your average crappy job, just like the cost of a CD or album DL is about an hour's pay for the same crappy job today. More or less. Singles were something like 60 cents. So I don't really think that was it. The filler, yeah, maybe. But I think it was a holdover from 78s, which had been the standard for decades. Plus, radio was a strong factor, they played the hits, that's what the singles were.

David Kitching said:

The reason singles were so important in the sixties was that LP's were so expensive. Another reason was the already mentioed filler tracks, I'd hear people saying how they'd bought an LP and there was a load of boring crap on it. And they wouldn't buy anything else by them.

You really should. ALL those albums are essential.

MikeL said:

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...

you know the more I hear the boots from the 70's with Mick Taylor, the more I tend to like his era best.  His guitar work was some of the best guitar work in a Rock and Roll band, ever, In my opinion.  He even made Keith step up his game during this period.  It is hard to rule out the Brian Jones years, which I am not.  I also dig some of Bigger Bang too.  The interplay between Ron and Keith is amazing too.  Those weaves of sound they creat live are incredible.  So, I guess if I had to choose one era, it would be the Mick Taylor years.  I am hoping for a reunion with Taylor for the 50 anniversary.  

  I was not a big fan of Post "Beggar's Banquet" Stones for years. Not like I thought it was bad, but , I had it coming out of my ears , some 20 - odd years ago. I've always been a huge fan of the Brian Jones - era Stones , but , now , I'm a fan of all those albums you mention .....

All great records , no denying. But , I like the more unlikely  stuff , too....I really like "Their Satanic Majesties Request" and "Between The Buttons". I even like "Metamorphosis" , though that's not really an "Album". If you go over their back catalogue with a fine toothed comb (And scour the better bootlegs.) , you'll find great songs that most 'Fans" won't recognize  , and tribute bands would'nt touch , even if The Stones themselves  might slip them into their show. But , yes , this was a great creative period , and let's not forget "Get Your Ya Ya's Out".

Gotta Agree with MM and JF....

michael mcconnell said:

joey f could not have said it any better
 
MikeL said:

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...