I dig the Kingsmen version, wonderfully raw and crude. Great recorded sound, pretty gutsy on the low end for white boys in '63! Sonics cut is cool too though, especially the way they change the chords and make it kinda meaner, know what I mean?

Totally!!! THat is a BITCHIN' version!!! Truly punk rock!!

Axel Björnsson said:

swamp rats

I think the early singles are pretty unbeatable, especially "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby". Not a big fan of their albums though - few good tracks here and there [mainly on "Aftermath" and "Satanic Majesties"], lot of filler in my opinion.

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.

Mono generally. Seems more often the actual band are involved in a mono mix, whereas the stereo is done later by an engineer. Not always the case obviously, but generally. I guess later in the 60s people started to actually think more about stereo separation - advances in multitrack technology obviously makes a difference. 2 and 4 track stereo is pretty limited for obvious reasons.

Mono for DJing, Stereo for home listening. Having to hear a shitty 60's stereo recording in a club sucks, especially bands like Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and a few Beatles songs are horrid when played in a club. But I do agree stereo did do wonders for some psychedelia.

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.  :)

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.

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?