The Rolling Stones Album: “December's Children (And Everybody's) [Remaster]”

From the screaming hysteria of the live tracks to the occasionally off key vocal 'harmonies' to the Byrds' California 'folk-rock' influence, "December's Children's" is as haywire and vital as the Stones' lives and experiences must have felt in the fall of 1965. This is the Stones' fifth (U.S.) and last 'early' album, and it kicks off with one of the group's fastest, wildest rockers ever, the minute-and-a-half 'She Said Yeah,' whose metallic grunge sets the tone of things to come and whose spirit would be reigned in a bit and harnessed for '19th Nervous Breakdown' in early '66. The loping, bottom-heavy take on Chuck Berry's classic 'Talkin' About You' is up next, with its slashing Keith Richards guitar, followed by a true stereo recording of Muddy Waters' 'Look What You Done,' from the great 1964 Chess sessions, and it is definitive early Stones Chicago blues (special credit goes out to Ian Stewart's piano). 'The Singer Not The Song' is the first of six Jagger/Richards originals, and with Byrdsian guitars, utterly unsentimental warmth and lyricism, and statement of purpose, it marks a true step forward and yet another highlight of what at first feels like an awfully bedraggled album but with time and familiarity proves to contain many defining and superlative moments. Such as the rush and roar of what follows: the live 'Route 66,' closing out side one on the old London label vinyl. As "December's Children" was patched together, a mix of new material and earlier tracks, we are also treated to a soulful and affecting take on Arthur Alexander's 'You Better Move On', which dates back to 1963 making it the earliest recording to be included...The second half of the set opens with Charlie Watts' unforgettable intro to 'Get Off Of My Cloud,' a terrific followup to 'Satisfaction,' from Jagger's similarly-themed if more surreal lyric to Keith and Brian's dual guitar attack (one of their last, for Brian would soon lose interest in the instrument, coloring next year's "Aftermath" with a whole array of imaginative sonic effects). "I'm Free" is another classic original, as loose as most of the tracks herein but with some understated organ(and J.W. Alexander, of Sam Cooke fame, adding percussion); it would be revisited on the 1969 comeback tour as well as 1995's superb "Stripped". 'As Tears Go By' is the fine ballad originally written for Marianne Faithfull, though I'm not sure Mike Leander's strings really fit in the context of this otherwise noirish soundscape, perfectly captured in the title 'Blue Turns To Grey,' one of J/R's most subtle lyrics to date. Add another solid-if-minor original ('Gotta Get Away,' which was likely as rushed as its title) and we come to the apocalyptic closer, Hank Snow's 'I'm Moving On,' undoubtedly one of the Stones' most driving and powerful live recordings - Wyman's bass is thunderous, Brian adds characteristically ghostly slide guitar, Mick's bluesy, train-like harmonica, and Keith's vocal refrain ("yes I'm movin...") near the end cap a brilliant performance that sort-of presages "Aftermath's" eleven-minute 'Going Home.' This is likely the earliest example of the Stones' immersion in country, though the performance itself is molten lava.

The brevity and slapdashness of "December's Children" can't hide its vitality, right down to a fractured sense of dislocation (the Stones had been touring constantly for close to three years) - if you're looking for audiophile sound or perfect pitch forget it, but anybody else should get to know the frustration and isolation, the blues, greys, and proto-garage rock energy of "December's Children." And as with the rest of the band's 1963-70 catalog, Abkco's remaster will be revelatory even if, like me, you've known the album for decades.

I bought this because it is listed as an SACD.

What I was sent is a DSD disc. It does not register as an SACD on my player. It sounds miserable.

What gives, has the SACD been replaced by this other format?

It's one of my favorite Stones albums. I am not pleased.

I fell in love with the Stones' music listening to this LP at about 12 years of age. Brian's presence, his pose, and his panche added so much to this group before Mick and Keith took it to another level. But it's not Mick and Keith's fault Brian burned out. I love the ballads and the covers, Charlie's drums, Stu's piano, Bill's bass, Keith and Brian playing off each other, and of course, Mick's harp and heartfelt vocals. The songs reflect a young ansgst the Stones outgrew. The live recordings propel the collection forward. That I still listen to this LP 40 years later shows how strong my love is. 40 years! That's how strong my love is, 40 years later, still cruising on Route 66.

I don't know about you, but I feel December's Children is without a doubt the album where the Stones magic was born. Starting here, the Rolling Stones became an unstoppable rock and roll monster that has remained that way for over 40 years. These were one of the most important rock bands in history, and the songwriting really turned it up a notch on this album with really interesting and melodic songs such as "The Singer Not the Song" and "As Tears Go By". Just listen to the album and you'll agree that something special was happening, and continued that way for quite a while.

Most of the people really underrates this Stones album,for me December's Children is one of the great albums of their 1964-65 Rn'B years along with the debut album and The Rolling Stones Now!. In fact,this one is less bluesy than the debut and The Rolling Stones Now! but it's really more successful than Out of our heads and 12*5 ,even if they're fine albums. With this album songwriting of Jagger/Richards starts to evolve and it creates a basis for their masterpiece, Aftermath(1966). Album starts with the short and fast rocker She Said Yeah. The loud and fast rhythm guitar of Brian Jones and crazy guitar solo of Keith Richards makes it a proto-hard rock song. Talkin'About You is another Chuck Berry cover from the boys which is really successful with Richards' terrific Chuck Berry guitar licks. You Better Move on is another cover on the album which is acoustic and it's mostly similar to British beat sound. Look What You've Done is a Muddy Waters cover and one of my favorites on the album. Jagger's dirty blues vocals, Jones' harmonica and Richards' riffing creates a cool blues song. The Singer Not the Song, Blue Turns To Grey and Gotta Get Away are somehow far from the Stones' blues roots and they're closer to British beat sound or to The Beatles but they're still wonderful songs and they show the evolution of the songwriting within the band and creates an idea that the classic Jagger/Richards songwriting takes its clue in the upcoming album,Aftermath. Get off of My Cloud is the second rock classic that the Stones made in 1965 after Satisfaction and it's the most well-known song of the album. Charlie's thunderous drumming and the dual guitars between Richards and Jones makes it really groovy. As Tears Go By is an attempt by the Stones to create their own "Yesterday". It starts with an acoustic guitar like The Beatles' Yesterday and the strings join after the second verse(it's really strange for a die hard blues band in '65!!). Well, it's not successful as the Fab Four's classic song but it still shows the songwriting becomes more mature and also shows that the Stones can also play and write great songs beside the blues. I'm Free is the third classic in the album. This song was played in the memorable Hyde Park concert in 1969 after Brian Jones death and it was in the setlist of the band's famous North American Tour of 1969. It is a great Jagger/Richards composition and sometimes it reminds me a kind of electric folk-rock, especially with its guitar solo, that The Byrds did in 1965. There are also two live tracks that are recorded during the British tour. Route 66, is also on the debut album. In the beginning, as Jagger screams "let me hear you say yeah!!", Keith starts to play that fantastic riff and the crowd goes totally insane. Second live track, I'm Moving On starts with the fast rhythm section of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Wyman's heavy bass lines makes it a proto-hard rock song just like She Said Yeah. Slide guitar playing of Brian Jones proves that he is one of the great slide players of the genre. However, these two live tracks sounds really poor because of the live recording technology of that time but you can still hear a great rock n' roll band playing. And if you listen closely, you can notice that the band quickly passes to the riff of I'm Alright(which you can hear in Out Our Heads) after they finished I'm Moving On.