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England's Newest Hitmakers

The Rolling Stones - England's Newest Hitmakers Audio CD

A fair review of the The Rolling Stones "England's Newest Hitmakers" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Rolling Stones reviews here, or go back to the The Rolling Stones tabs.

Band: The Rolling Stones
Title: England's Newest Hitmakers
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-09-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Not Fade Away 2: Route 66 3: I Just Want to Make Love to You 4: Honest I Do 5: Now I've Got a Witness 6: Little by Little 7: I'm a King Bee 8: Carol 9: Tell Me 10: Can I Get a Witness 11: You Can Make It If You Try 12: Walking the Dog

not before, not since
I might add that, for me personally, the advent of the Stones blew the Beatles onto the backburner for ever. The value of this album, as a memento of the enormous impact the Stones had when they first burst upon the scene, has been amply confirmed by all and sundry here, by reviewers since 2002. Lovely harmonies and weepy love sentiments were nice, but this was something else. Man, this was raw, this was adult stuff, and for a reason: most of it was written by lusty old musicians who spoke in a code about things forbidden by the "polite society" of their time. It would be a while before the white kids who first heard this figured out what "king bee" and the honey he was seeking were all about, and that "making love to you" didn't actually mean wooing a schoolgirl under the moonlight. What strikes me today is how well the album came out. There was so much snickering at the time, about none of these newfangled bands knowing how to play an instrument decently, and although the kids didn't care about that, they pretty much assumed it might be true. Well, not at all. For beginners, the boys had incredible chops. Although keith had only about three licks to his name, he did them with such abandon that they came out stellar - and don't forget that in the studio, where the screaming of girls doesn't cover your fumbling, it takes extra courage and several takes to get it right. In fact, listening to the albums that came after this one, you get the impression that he had already been made somewhat self-conscious and his solos were less adventurous in speed and just sheer reliance on luck. And no, in spite of the fact that the media had crowned Brian the geniuis of the band, he did not play those searing solos, Keith did. And while Bill's bass was yet to be given the prominence it deserved, here he already contributes to the incredibly percussive, bottom-smooth Stones sound, along with Charly. Ironically, Mick is perhaps the least Mick he would ever be. His passionate and affectless singing is on fire, but on "Can I Get a Witness" he's practically unrecognizable.
As for the virtues of the SACD version, well, there definitely are many, but they are subtle. Frankly, if you have the first version of the CD (1986, I think), you're fine too, save your dollars for a rainy day. As is very often the case with material from that era, you simply cannot create miracles out of crappy old tapes, remaster as you may: you raise the volume until your ears bleed, and inevitably, you can only do that because you have digital means of shaving off extreme top and bottom dynamics that would otherwise translate into distortion. But basically, it's the same product it always was - clearer and louder, but that is hardly the point with a primitive rocker from the sixties anyway, is it? Pandemonium is half the charm. I am thankful to the engineers for not attempting to polish this beyond recognition - the tape hiss on a few songs is worse than ever (on one song, you can hear tape deterioration), which is part of the remastering price, and they left it that way rather than massacre everything to obtain a pristine copy it was never meant to be. .

"I just wanna make lo-ove to you"

I ve owned only 2 Rolling Stones albums - one is Between the Buttons, sometimes called the most British of the Stones' albums. There are many great reviews here, so im just gonna keep to my feelings about this album without trying to give out what's exactly on it for the first-time listeners. The other one is "hitmakers". According to Andrew Loog Oldham, this album is supposed to have had no name at all, which could ve been perfectly contrasted with barely combed, quazi-grinned Stones. Decca gave it a commercial twist and we got the Hitmakers.

You know, when i was little, and first heard the greats, i thought everybody must sound just like that! Like the Stones, the Purple, Zeppelin etc. But no, with age i ve come to realize that not everyone at all sounds like that, in fact barely anyone can even come close to sounding "like that". Its hard to say (and i don't think im the one to nail it) what the Stones mystery all about. It has blues, roll, beat and also some sentimental vibes that we may not usually associate with the forever-smiling Mr. Jagger.

They handed us back our own music
And, then here comes the Rolling Stones, handing us back our own music-Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and the Blues greats that were Never heard on white radio. In the early 60's, Elvis was in a daze after the army, no longer in control of his own music, Buddy Holly dead, Chuck Berry jailed briefly and bounced off the radio, Jerry Lee Lewis was "disgraced", his career in limbo, and other roots rock and rollers were suffering under the heavy weight of Lightweights on the radio, Fabian, Steve and Edey, etc. Their versions of these songs were often superior to the originals, and it's an important milestone in rock and roll that they kept this music alive. Of course, the Beatles tipped their hat to Carl Perkins, but the Stones breathed much needed life into rock and roll, as it was fizzling out in the US. As the saying goes, The Beatles wanted to Hold Your Hand, but the Stones wanted to Burn Your Town! Hats off to the Stones in the Brian Jones era. Great stuff indeed. .

"I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be..."
Released in 1964, the group's U. Yes, even the Rolling Stones were once young and hungry. S. debut (and the counterpart to their self-titled U. K. LP) is an urgent slab of hardcore blueswailing from the soon-to-be Greatest Rock and Roll Band In The World. This was made in the days when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards hadn't yet come into their own as songwriters. Indeed, only three of these songs are group originals. And I'm using the word "original" in a very liberal sense here: "Now I've Got A Witness" is basically an instrumental version of a Motown tune by the name of "Can I Get A Witness" (a version of which appears toward the end of this album), while "Little By Little" is- let's face it- a very derivative uptown R&B/blues shuffle. Finally, "Tell Me" has Phil Spector's fingerprints all over it, with its teen-drama lyrics and swooning melody. The funny thing is, these aren't really bad songs: "Little By Little" is full of bemused attitude, with plenty of gin-joint instrumentation and a great drawling vocal from Jagger, with a wild guitar solo thrown in the middle. "Tell Me" may be derivative, but it shows that the 'Stones knew how to maximize the effect of their favorite cliches: It's an incredibly catchy song, with a soulful chorus and a totally freakin' sweet guitar part. It also proves that even when Mick was mewling and pleading for his girl to take him back, he still sounded way cooler than anybody you'll ever meet. And have I mentioned the guitars? "Now I've Got A Witness" is, well, actually pretty boring. They can't all be winners, I guess.

No, these 'Stones were not known for their songwriting. What made their music, self-penned or otherwise, worthwhile were the performances. And they really were amazing performers: Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones (who, in the absence of a dominating creative voice within the group, was actually seen as the head Stone) was an absolute beast of a musician, attacking his instrument(s) with prodigious insanity and plenty of raw attitude. Richards, meanwhile, was just about the only guitarist who could make a suitable partner; the two bounced off of each other brilliantly, intertwining rhythms and leads with dizzying virtuosity. Like any self-respecting rhythm section, Charlie Watts (drums) and Bill Wyman (bass) were completely brilliant despite a virtual lack of recognition. They lent a certain primal umph(!) to the proceedings, giving these songs a salivating swing that shimmed its way from one end of the record to the other without ever letting up. And then there was that Mick fellow. . .

Anyway, the songs. The ones I haven't already mentioned, anyway: The opener is a cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," and it's incredible; it drips with animal fury and gutter sexuality, and it's also hypnotic and ferocious and a little bit scary. It's the kind of thing I wouldn't want my girlfriend to hear, because she'd realize that compared to the people in the song, I'm not a real man. There's also a wild, wild cover of Chuck Berry's "Carol," and an unbelievably cool version of "Route 66. " Lots of cool blues tunes, too- Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do" is pure caveman seduction, and "I'm A King Bee" has some stinging leads (I didn't want to make that joke, but I really couldn't think of another way to describe the guitars on it). There's also a totally outta-hand rip through "I Just Want To Make Love To You. "

The album ain't perfect- the aforementioned "Now I've Got A Witness" is one strike against it, and the uninspiring "You Can Make It If You Try" is another. "Walking The Dog" is sleazy and fun, but so is the rest of the album, so this one doesn't really stand out as such. Plus, those whooping, whistling noises in the chorus are really annoying. The rendition of "Can I Get A Witness," while not as bad as some people say, isn't terribly exciting either.

But it's great, for the most part. It's fun, it's raw, and it rocks really hard. Plus, the cover art is really cool. The 'Stones were really good at sneering. .

An Energetic Debut
Their first album showcases the myriad of influences that inspired them, but without being note for note covers. Before they were "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band", the Rolling Stones were the greatest rhythm and blues bar band in England. The band takes these songs and makes them their own. If not on par with their later releases, this album provides a glimpse of the Stones in their infancy. There's no denying that the energy is here, if not the polish. The Muddy Waters/Howling Wolf blues roots are clearly seen, as is the Chuck Berry/Buddy Holly early rock fascination. We see that this is Brian Jones's band as it was before the Jagger/Richards/Andrew Loog Oldham triumvirate took over. We also see the first steps in the eventual direction the Stones would take with the song "Tell Me", the first of many Jagger/Richards compositions. The songs may be rough and ragged at times, but they are delivered with a youthful exuberance that far outweighs any flaws. The remastering process has rendered the sound much clearer than the original CD release, making this a must have for any Stones fan. People looking to purchase their first Stones album may want to look to Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. , Let It Bleed, or Beggars Banquet, as those albums are more representative of the band at its creative peak. .

You can see a complete list of all The Rolling Stones discography, or go back to the The Rolling Stones tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.