The Rolling Stones Album: “Out Of Our Heads [Digipak] [Remaster]”

Description :

This is a Hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both Super Audio and regular CD players. The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (vocals, harmonica); Keith Richards (vocals, guitar); Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, piano, organ); Bill Wyman (bass); Charlie Watts (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Ian Stewart (piano, organ, marimba); Jack Nitzsche (piano, organ, percussion). Engineers: David Hassinger, Ron Malo, Glyn Johns. Recorded in Hollywood, California, Chicago, Illinois & London, England. Includes liner notes by Andrew Loog Oldham. All tracks have been digitally remastered. The Rolling Stones: Keith Richards, Brian Jones (guitars); Mick Jagger (harmonica); Bill Wyman (bass guitar); Charlie Watts (drums). Additional personnel: Jack Nitzsche (organ); Ian Stewart (marimba); J.W. Alexander (percussion). Audio Remasterers: Jon Astley; Bob Ludwig; Steve Rosenthal; Teri Landi; Pascal Byrne. Early Stones recordings don't get much better than this. Firmly established as celebrities, the band began to use the pandemonium they inspired as an artistic source. Nowhere is their initial reaction to fame and music business drama more apparent than in the humorous, mocking "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man," in which the Stones effectively skewer the sleazier side of the record industry. Naturally, this will always be known as the album that features the original version of "Satisfaction," which would remain the band's signature tune throughout their career, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Equally effective as a Jagger-Richards distillation of rock and R&B is "The Last Time," a tune easily the equal of Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now," which the Stones handily covered on 12 X 5. Standing out from the crowd is the harpsichord-driven, English folk-inspired "Play With Fire," a menacing minor key song full of subtly expressed psychological violence. This tune, a marked change of pace for the band, hinted at the stylistic variety they would later explore.

Granted, this version doesn't have the group's biggest hits, but it flows together nicely, with the soul covers and "She Said Yeah" brought together on the same CD, plus such fine originals as "Gotta Get Away" and "I'm Free." While he is no Otis Redding, the young Mick Jagger brings passion and personality to the proceedings here, and the other members can more than hold their own with Booker T and the MGs, even without horns. (And with them, they went on to give us _Sticky Fingers_ and _Exile on Main St._.) The consistent excellence of this early album arguably makes it better realized than either _Aftermath_, even if the latter (which relies exclusively on original material) is generally seen as the turning point for the group as albums artists.

Others might disagree, but I think that buying both the US and UK versions of this album, together with the weaker _December's Children, is completism run amok, too much redundancy for your money. Instead, I recommend simply supplementing the UK album with _Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)_, which will give you the stereo version of "Heart of Stone," plus the famous hits from the US _Heads_ and _December's Children_ ("The Last Time," "Satisfaction," "Get Off of My Cloud"), featured with the rest of the group's American hits up through 1966's "19th Nervous Breakdown."

I've always been a big fan of the US releases of Out Of Our Heads and December's Children. What I didn't know is that the UK version of Out Of Our Heads is actually a composite of songs featured on both of the above mentioned US album releases. What you don't get are the hit singles from those albums; Get Off My Cloud, Last Time & Satisfaction. But, the songs included in the UK album feature the Stones, in their prime, covering some classic Motown; Mercy Mercy & Hitch Hike, (Marvin Gaye), Stax Volt; That's How Strong My Love Is, (Otis Redding) and Sam Cooke's timeless classic Good Times.

The songs seague beautifully and hold together more cohesively than on the US albums and the digital remastering is far superior to the US releases that were originaly released on CD in the mid '80's. If you like the Stones, in their early British Blues period circia 1965-67, then you'll love this one. It ranks right up there with Aftermath and 12x5 and Rolling Stones Now as their blusey and raunchiest best!

I loved it that ABKCO released several of the classic Rolling Stones catalog from the 60's in the British versions as well as the more familiar American albums. In the case of Aftermath in particular, the buyer gets a much better album than the American version. I also bought the UK versions of Between the Buttons and Out of Our Heads. The latter purchase was a big disappointment however. In general, the sound quality has been extraordinary on the ABKCO releases on hybrid SACD. Out of Our Heads UK is the exception. The sound quality is muddy and extremely low fi. I am assuming that the original masters must be in poor condition, because other albums from the same period, like Big Hits, High Tide Green Grass sound fine. I applaud the idea of releasing the British Out of Our Heads album, because it is a cool selection of cover tunes and Jagger/Richards originals, but the atrocious sound quality makes it a bad purchase choice.

Who needs caffeine anymore - I wake up dancing to this shining display of mastery + hormones. From the raucous kicker "She Said Yeah" through the freaky-before-its-time "I'm Free", the Stones give us 12 powerful elucidations of how this music, in their intent hands, shook the world for good. A blend of brilliant covers on the one hand and forays into original songwriting on the other, the album shows off not only the Stones' splendid roots but also what those roots are inevitably flowering into: the greatest rock & roll band in the world, what else?!

A major remastering project of this scope for a group as big as the "Stones", should be done properly. Unfortunately, it was not. This is a great album, and I was going to give it 4 stars on that alone, this review will focus on the new remastering.

The disc is all in MONO. That would be OK, if at least they told us. The quality of the record varies a little from track to track, probably due to various sources. "Heart of Stone" is available in STEREO on Hot Rocks 1. "I'm Free" is on Hot Rocks 2, but still in MONO. This info should be noted somewhere, anywhere on the discs, but is not. There is no way for the serious collector to know what version it is, until you listen. This is inexcusable, as it will require buying extra cds with alot of overlapping of songs to get the whole collection.

I am told there is misleading info on ABCKO's website that with a Super Audio player, you can hear this in 5.1. None of the discs are in 5.1 format. This SACD sounds very good in MONO on a regular player, but is noticeably better on a Super Audio player.(Also in MONO)

They could have included release and recording dates and the times of the songs as well.

Its a good thing this is a great album with improved sound and nice digipak, because the info is conspicuous in its absence.