They were a bunch of scruffy young British lads doing covers of their R&B and Blues heroes at the local clubs. They were struggling to come up with originals and their hit singles were by others, one of them coming from a certain Lennon-McCartney. They had taken their name from one of their heroes, Muddy Waters’ LP and this was their debut album. England’s Newest Hit Makers was what it was called for the American release (for the UK release it was simply Rolling Stones) and later this became the official title. The year was 1964.

9 out of the 12 tracks here are covers of greats like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed and Rufus Thomas. They are rough around the edges, with a rather white vocals, given the dominant genre of the album. But a keen listen will make you realize that these lads are in the right direction. Drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman give the right framework to the guitars of Keith Richards and Brian Jones and the ensemble give good interpretations to the originals.

Take the kick off track of the album, Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) and listen to its heightened Bo Diddley treatment by the boys. It’s a treatment that they used in many of their subsequent songs. Or take the Chuck Berry style guitar in Route 66 (Bobby Troup, Nat King Cole). In other tracks like I’m a King Bee (James Moore) and Carol (Chuck Berry), they continue to shine a light.

But the real treat here is their (Mick Jagger-Keith Richards) first original, Tell Me. Pay attention to this one and you will hear many later day iconic classics. Ruby Tuesday, Angie, Out Of Time…they are all in there. And it isn’t really Blues or R&B. It’s the Stones sound.

The LP reached No. 1 in the then UK Charts eclipsing The Beatles for a while. In the subsequent years, the Stones sharpened and stabilized their sound on singles and albums that would shape their path as one rock’s all-time greatest groups.Today, 52 years later, the lads are still making music, jumping around the stage globally, delivering their own covers (I’ve been lucky enough to catch them on one such occasion). In fact, they just announced their upcoming Blues album wherein another legend, Eric Clapton would be contributing. Now, isn’t that something really delicious to look forward to?

Year: 1964

Genre: Rock and Roll, Rhythm & Blues

Duration: 31:05

Label: London

Producer: Eric Easton & Andrew Loog Oldham

Rating: 4/5

 Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet / musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 26 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, and Classical, amongst others are his prized possessions.