England's Newest Hitmakers (Remastered Super Audio) [Original recording remastered, SACD]

On the face of it this is a re-packaged version of the Stones first UK album which was released in 1964 and titled simply The Rolling Stones - but beware because it's not.
The original UK release did not contain Not Fade Away which,in fact,came out as a UK single. However the original UK vinyl album did contain a track which is not on this CD, that being the bluesy I Need You Baby (Mona). This is a pity because Mona, as the song became known is very good and was in fact covered by Craig McLachlan in the late 80's.
This CD must presumably be based on the USA version of the album as it was common practice to release different UK/USA albums and singles etc.in those days. The Beatles suffered from similar problems until about 1967.
The UK track-listing was made available on CD in original mono by London Records only in the States in the late 80's and is now available again through Amazon as an import and can also be downloaded from Amazon MP3 site.
Whether the UK version of the album will ever see the light of day as an official UK release again remains to be seen but the CD import or MP3 download will satisfy the needs of fans for the time being.
Having said that this is an excellent debut album by any standards and the re-mastered CD mix is much better than the tinny, flat sound of the original Decca Records vinyl way back in 1964. Apparently the album was recorded in one track mono and no true stereo mix has ever been in existence.
The Rolling Stones

The debut album by the Stones has many things in common with the Beatles first effort 'Please, Please Me'. The most obvious of which is the sheer raw energy that both records contain. Indeed it could be argued that neither band ever captured the same adrenaline rush on any of their subsequent albums. The difference, of course, was in the image. The Stones debut contained absolutely no wording on the cover of the original UK release. It was also self-titled and showed an unsmiling group staring arrogantly at the camera as if daring the person looking at it to make a smart-arsed comment. When released in the US however, it was given a (rubbish) title and the group name plastered on the front. The tracklisting was also tampered with-'Not Fade Away' added to the beginning and the swampy, throbbing rendition of 'Mona' dropped. Understandable given the similarities between the two tracks, but for UK fans it's just not right that the rousing 'Route 66' doesn't open the album and the fourth track HAS to be 'Mona'. The album was recorded at Regent Sound in London. An incredibly primitive,tiny, studio that only had two-track machines, egg boxes on the walls for soundproofing and a speaker hung on a nail for playback. In a way,though, this crude recording set-up helped contribute to the 'live' feel of the record as overdubbing would have been kept to an absolute minimum. Taken as a whole, the album is a rush of nervous energy that the listener can't help but be swept up in. Songs speed up as the band get excited, particularly on 'Carol', taken at such breakneck speed that Jagger can hardly get the words out. It's the definitive version of the song (sorry, Chuck Berry fans!). Elsewhere, 'I Just Wanna Make Love To You' features an explosive middle section as the whole band ratchet up the volume under an astonishing harmonica solo from Brian Jones. 'Now I've Got A Witness' has the kind of mix that modern engineers wouldn't even consider- Keiths' solo comes in way too loud- but it just wouldn't sound right any other way. 'Little By Little' is another highpoint, particularly when Keiths' ramshackle guitar break is interrupted by Jagger informing the band it's "My turn", and helping himself to an excellent harmonica solo. The big Jagger-Richard song on here is of course 'Tell Me (You're Coming Back)'. It's slightly clumsy but never less than charming, even Keiths' off-key backing vocals are strangely appealing. Anyone who has an original vinyl copy will know that the song ran slightly longer and ended rather crudely. It just stopped without fading out properly. The new Re-master rectifies this and overall keeps the rawness of the album relatively intact. However, as someone who grew up listening to an original 1964 pressing it's not as In-Your-Face as the vinyl, which bursts out of the speakers. At least they've kept it in Mono though.

Just as The Beatles' American label tampered with their early releases as a means of milking US fans, so London squeezed the maximum mileage out of the Stones's early catalogue. They did this by making use of their extensive singles and EP material, creating five albums prior to 'Aftermath' whereas there where only three in the UK. Perhaps that's why you can get the early US releases on CD but not the UK ones. This, the debut, only featured one change: 'Not Fade Away' replaced 'Mona' (I think), presumably because having a big hit made the album more attractive. To me, it's a minor irritant, as I always liked hearing 'Route 66' kick things off.

Not only were the Stones far from the finished article when they made this, they were also struggling for material to fill it. The sole Jagger/Richard composition, 'Tell Me', apparently came about only because Andrew Oldham insisted they write something and shut them in the kitchen until they came up with something. The track not surprisingly sounds a little awkward and self conscious, more pop than r&b, but isn't a bad effort. They also made up an instrumental based on 'Can I Get A Witness', but the album still only weighs in at around half an hour, though that was average for the era.

So, why do I love this album? Firstly, the choice of covers is superb throughout. Keith Richards was presumably responsible for the frequent Chuck Berry covers and 'Carol' is one of the band's best. The other choices show off their attributes well, whether fast numbers such as 'Can I Get A Witness?' or the slow, gritty 'I'm A King Bee'. This album is a classic blueprint for future British r&b bands. Both 'Route 66' and 'Walking The Dog', for instance, featured in Dr Feelgood's early repertoire.