The Rolling Stones is the debut studio album by the English rock band of the same name, released by Decca Records in the UK on 16 April 1964. The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on London Records on 30 May 1964, subtitled England's Newest Hit Makers, which later became its official title. Recorded at Regent Sound Studios in London over the course of five days in January and February 1964, The Rolling Stones was produced by then-managers Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton. The album was originally released by Decca Records in the UK, while the US version appeared on the London Records label. The majority of the tracks reflect the band's love for R&B. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (whose professional name until 1978 omitted the "s" in his surname) were fledgling songwriters during early 1964, contributing only one original composition to the album: "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)". Two songs are credited to "Nanker Phelge" – a pseudonym the band used for group compositions from 1963 to 1965. Phil Spector and Gene Pitney both contributed to the recording sessions, and are referred to as "Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene" in the subtitle of the Phelge instrumental "Now I've Got a Witness".
If this were the only Rolling Stones album it wouldn’t be on the list.
Just a few covers of black musicians which did it better
As with the first album of the Beatles, listening to this is historically interesting but nothing you need to check out. A cover of blues songs and not as interesting as their later works.
It's pretty good, I can see why it caught on, and their debut album is certainly an important moment in rock history. The fact that all but one are covers makes the album less interesting, and the one original is a sleeper. I like the bold move of not including the band name on the cover, but it would have been even better if they didn't put the label name there either (if I'm honest that almost ruins the effect).
Enjoyable, but yer not getting more than 3 for an album of covers.
They're a good cover band, though I'm not a fan of covers, especially on 1001. It would take a few years before they got over writer's block and became hit machines. But if this and their next couple of albums, free of original compositions, was all they ever put out, we would have never heard of them.
Really? Karaoke R&B covers, would have preferred the opportunity to hear literally *anything* else instead. Not mean spirited enough to give a 1* as the efforts are technically OK and I like the cover photo, but damn close. No more completist crap please
News flash - most derivative band of all time started off with a generic derivative covers album. This is the most uninteresting album in the history of humankind. It makes me feel primal rage from how bland it is. The time is now, Mick Jagger. You are not ready for The Frog War of '24.
A blunt punch in the front bottom. The Rolling Stones are the only group of men I would let loose on my mother. She's gagging for it, the slag.
It’s alright R&B and blues styled music, but I have no idea why they chose this over one of their later albums. It’s got none of their famous songs, nor does it work well as an album. Purely meh.
I think I actually liked this more than their later stuff. Sacrilege, I know. I liked the majority of the songs. My favourite was "Carol" which I see now is a Chuck Berry cover. I listened to this twice through, which means that's 5 material.
It's The Stones but in a more subdued way. You can tell it's their very early stuff. Sounds and feels like them but punches lighter to me
Nacimiento de la leyenda. Vinilo.
1. How did Charlie Watts ever get caught up with these people? Did he lose a bet? 2. This album doesn't make me want to stab myself in the ears.
I can see why this album was chosen to be on this list since most people including causal Stones fan might not have heard it. It gives an intro into one of the biggest bands of all time and the Brain Jones lead era. Is it good? It's ok, the problem is listening now I've heard and love the versions of theses songs by the American blues artists that originally performed them. The Rolling Stones versions don't really measure up, perhaps in England in the early 60's they sounded new and fresh but not now. I will admit the version of King Bee is still really, really good.
Slight but satisfying. There's not much of a hint of what was to come for the band, but it's clearly better than most of their contemporaries.
I can't help but think of that scene in Spinal Tap, as a skiffle band, The Thamesmen. Those slightly embarrassing early years. 2.5
This is The Rolling Stones first album and I’m struggling to think of any other reason why it is included on the list. It’s a competently played set of (mostly) covers and isn’t necessarily “bad”, but it’s not really notable except that it’s an early-ish example of British guys covering American blues songs, but that was kind of par for the course in the mid-60’s and something that the Beatles had done. The Stones, I guess were meant to be a ragged, unruly counterpoint to the Beatles and they certainly are here: the songs are not covered with as much finesse or polish as a Beatles cover of a blues number might be. Whether that was an intentional stylistic choice, a limitation in skill or a combination of the two is probably debatable. Either way, this was the first step for one of the biggest rock bands of all time and I guess it is interesting to see where they started, but does it rank among the greatest albums of all time? For me, no. Although, it is impressive that they managed to get a record deal and put out their first album with only one original song on it.
The sound overall is a tad too slovenly.
I like the Rolling Stones and personally enjoyed listening to this album, but it shouldn’t on this list, it’s a covers album with no stand out hits,
I guess the first album of a band as big as the Stones has to be included. It falls short compared to the Beatles and The Who’s first albums since it lacks the creativity those other debut albums had and doesn’t have a meaningful original tune. I always thought of the Stones as followers rather than trend setters - darn good followers but followers nonetheless. This album validates that.
Just too early. Shades of what was to come, but R&B/Honky Tonk covers just don't thrill me. Ground breaking at the time I'm sure, but just dull and dated 60 years later sadly.
I know this is the start of a legendary band and this album had a big impact on the culture yadda yadda yadda. This album is just straight up bad. All covers. No originals. Not the worst I've heard, I actually quite like Mona (I Need You Baby), but it was the most unneccesary thing I've heard. Like adding Beatles For Sale just because The Beatles had a big impact
If it wasn't for the band's name, there's no way this album would get curated here. And while I'm at it: there are way too many Stones curated here.
I love the folk sound mixed with traditional rock. It's light-hearted and interesting. Fun album.
This album made me realize why the Rolling Stones are considered to be as influential as they are. And I actually enjoyed it!
Very nice!
These kids might be going places. One to watch
Blues
It might well be an album of covers but my, brilliantly done covers. Doesn't take a genius to work out what a huge success they went on to be. Fabulous
I knew most of the tracks off this from radio-play in 1964/65. I didn’t own the album until the mid-70’s & for many years after that, it was the Stones album that I gave more spins than any other. There are 3 songs penned by The Stones : the instrumental Now I’ve Got A Witness; Little By Little - co-penned by Phil Spector (& majorly influenced by Jimmy Reed’s Shame, Shame, Shame) & featuring Spector on maracas & Gene Pitney on piano (they just happened to drop into the recording session in London), it was the b-side of Not Fade Away in the U.K., released two months before the album; and Tell Me, their first self-penned single in the U.S., in June’64, with Honest I Do on the flip. So the bulk of the album were covers - Route 66, written by Bobby Troup, who also co-wrote (unbelievably) My City Of Sydney, had been a big hit for The Nat King Cole Trio; I Just Want To Make Love To You written by Willie Dixon, who also gave them a big hit with Little Red Rooster; Bo Diddley’s Mona - they’d just had a hit with Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away, which had been a variant on the unique Diddley beat; I’m A King Bee was written & recorded by Slim Harpo (James Moore); Carol was the beginning of the band’s love affair with Chuck Berry; Can I Get A Witness had been a hit for Marvin Gaye, having been written by the great Motown composers, Holland / Dozier / & Holland (on my original Australian mono copy of the l.p., Lamont Dozier is listed as Bozier); Walking The Dog was written & recorded by Rufus Thomas (Carla’s father); Ted Jarrett, a Nashville r&b composer & producer wrote You Can Make It If You Try; and, although the writing of Honest I Do is attributed to Hurran/Calvert, it was in fact written by Jimmy Reed. One of the things that struck me when I gave the album several spins in the last few days is the amount of harmonica on the album - 3 tracks feature Mick & 3 tracks feature Brian Jones. And they both do really well with it. A record I love dearly.
Songs from my era.
This was a fun album. A good bluesy rock groove that got my foot tapping. I enjoyed pretty much every song. A proper first album from a legendary group.
The originals, they set the bar!
I didn’t realize how old The Rolling Stones were. Very beach boys. 5 for its continued groovyness and historical influence.
All covers. So bluesy! I loved it.
Very old style rock. Chuck berry esque, bluesy. Got that swing to it. Great album. 9/10
The Greatest Cover Band Ever!!!
Nacimiento de la leyenda. Vinilo.
Tell me hyvät kitarasoundit 4/5
Classic
This might not have scored as high as it did if I didn't just love hearing where the Rolling Stones came from and their ode to this music. What a great début!
Very fun to listen to this debut Rolling Stones album. I am certainly more familiar and keen to their original works, but this is one that I needed to listen to before I die.
While Mick Jagger's literal voice is unmistakable, it's clear the band hasn't found the Rolling Stones' voice quite yet. This sounds like some talented kids imitating their musical heroes. But if you're going to make a list of 1001 albums you must hear before you die, I think you've got to put the Rolling Stones' debut on that list. So even though I wasn't blown away by the music on this album, it's still pretty great and earns 5 stars for historical significance.
Who are these suited lads looking so dapper? I’m glad this very early Rolling Stones album should be on this list. It’s pretty interesting to hear them as they found their way, and I liked all the covers. Not my favorite Rolling Stones album, but that’s a pretty high bar, and I still enjoyed this a lot.
You have to look at this album in context of time. R&B performed by white guys was revolutionary in 64. Maybe the 'bad boys' image of the Stones was founded by this album.
Love it, classic, the template of a band.
"The Rolling Stones" (1964), the eponymous debut album by the legendary rock band, is a raw and electrifying burst of rhythm and blues energy. From the opening chords of "Route 66" to the soulful cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You," the album captures the youthful exuberance and musical prowess of the early Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger's charismatic vocals, Keith Richards' gritty guitar, and the band's overall synergy make this record an enduring classic. It laid the foundation for the Stones' iconic sound and established them as a force to be reckoned with in the rock 'n' roll scene. "The Rolling Stones" is a 5/5, a landmark debut that set the stage for decades of rock greatness.
hell yeah man
Love
Album 183 of 1001 The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones Rating : 5 / 5 Favorite Track : Route 66 Most likely, if The Rolling Stones had never released another album after this I wouldn't rank it the same...but they did. This album is often panned because it is just cover tunes. That doesn't really matter to me. It is an enjoyable record. This was at a point of time where a lot was going on in the music world. Give a band a break for trying to find their place. Their cover of Route 66 is one of my favorites of all time. Quite comfortable putting this album up there with those I find most enjoyable. Nobody is talking about giving them writing awards for this. It is just good bluesy entertainment.
El començament d'una llegenda. Per més anys que passin, això continua sonant igual de desgarvat, rebel, sorollós i irresistible. 5 estrelles no només pel que va significar, sinó per la seva pròpia vàlua com a àlbum. Versions que milloren les originals, originals que marcaven l'emprempta d'una de les millors societats compositives de la història. Oblidant tot el que el futur depararia, el treball per si mateix ja mereix el seu propi lloc a la història
They should have quit while they were ahead.
Super Album pour une premier j'ai adoré. 5
pedras rolantes
This is the kind of stuff that I was hoping to hear a ton of with this list. Mona- I thought this was Bo Diddley at first. There was another song that sounded just like a chuck berry song.
Oh what a stellar album. I’m new to most Rolling Stones but as far as debuts go, this is way better than most. Perfect and timeless.
What a completely unexpected debut for the Rolling Stones! These blue classics just fly through my headphones though. Very important piece of music history, and an album very well deserving of this distinction. Favorite track: Carol
Peerless and answers the question for me of comparisons to The Beatles - how can you compare apples to oranges?
It's the rolling stones
From the very beginning the Stones had a raw and decadent sound, the crude production adds rather subtracts. Sure it relies heavily on covers but that's just a reflection of those times. Easily the best of their early albums.
It was really good to hear the first Stones album and then think about their uber-famous songs and how much they have changed over the years. I liked the bluesy vibe to this one.
4.0 3x
Better than I expected
Great musicianship
The beginning of an era but nothing ridiculously special about this album.
Lots of blues with lots of covers. I like it! It's a fun album.
fun, I wasnt familiar with their earlier work, its different but i really enjoyed it
My third stones album in as many months... This is my favourite yet, raw and bluesy. I have found some of their stuff a bit too HONKY TONKY and not really my thing, this was decent though!
I wasn't too excited going into this one, because of the low reviews and my general feelings towards The Rolling Stones I actually really prefered this album to their other stuff!!! I knew a lot of the songs, I enjoyed their covers, and I thought the sound suited them. It did sound a bit Beatles-ish at times but that's why I liked it! A very pleasant surprise 4 ⭐️
4.0
A tribute album to the greats of the blues. Of course their covers just aren’t quite the same but it’s impressive nonetheless - and with a British twist. For a debut album in 1964 it’s aged pretty brilliantly.
Kurde no, spoko jest ten album, chyba jednak lubię Stonesów :-> Ma pazur, dobrze mi się go słucha, po prostu. Teksty nie są szczególnie ambitne, ale też nie mają być. Są smart, zapadają w pamięć i nie dziwi mnie, że wiele z nich stało się klasykami (wyobrażam sobie, że dobrze się je odśpiewuje tłumem na konertach). Chłopaki ewidentnie inspirują się U.S.A od samego początku, jest Rock & Roll, jest vibe country, ogólnie mocny 'murican vibe. Mam wrażenie, że dobrze bym się bawił na koncercie Stonesów, kupuję ich energię i lubię wokal Jaggera. Słabsze 4, ale 4.
A really good album that tells you where the Stones are headed. 4 stars or B+.
Not bad, old Stones.
fun listen... they kicked so much more ass than the beatles in this era
Classic rock. Very much a bluesy rock vibe. Simple but done well.
It's a classic - I prefer the UK version with Not Fade Away.
Rhythm & Blues covers with a couple of original compositions - this group shows promise and could go far
I hadn’t listened to this one previously. I can see why they then grew from here. You always hear about the stones roots in blues etc. very evident in this recording.
The Stones aren’t in their final form but I can see how this must’ve riled up the Beatles fans and introduced them to some blues.
Sick album. Route 66 is awesome. Fun listen. This sounds like young rolling stones and they are rockin. 4 stars
Beach rocky blues! Cool to listen to the first Stones album. Crazy that they are still alive and motoring 60 years later. Enjoyed this more than I expected cause I'm not a huge Stoner.
Thought o was listening to Lee hooker but lo and behold it's the rolling stones plundering. But oddly original and well crafted. 4 stars.
I mean it's the rolling stones! Good album
I think it's a really important album from a historical perspective, as it's one of the albums that, while not as good as the original versions of these songs, introduced them to an audience that wouldn't have known about these songs at the time and was part of the launching pad for what has become modern music. As for how enjoyable it actually is to listen to now, I'd say it's about a 3, but the historical importance brings it up to a 4. I get why it's on the list, but it makes little sense out of context of it's time for why it's on the list.
I'm giving this a four largely because it is a white British band repackaging American blues in a high quality way for a worldwide audience. It's a mystery to me -- other than flat out racism -- as to why the blues greats weren't appreciated in the USA in the 50s and 60s... they are now revered, as they should be.
Favourite song - Carol
Just like what I said for the yardbirds: this has a lot of very palatable (if slightly forgettable) blues rock. Easy listening.
Jaunty jangly Stones. I prefer the more bluesy souly tracks. Love a half hour album. Top tracks: I’m a king bee (kinda sexy) Walkin the Dog (vibes), You Can Make it if you try (more bluesy)
Favorite Track: King Bee
Je hoort het potentieel van de band, gewoon echt lekkere muziek, weinig minpunten te bedenken, behalve dat er maar 1 origineel nummer op staat.
We all start somewhere.
Some really good R&B on this.
Apparently these were all covers? They did a pretty good job I gotta say, this was great. Stand-out: Mona (I Need You Baby), Tell Me
Fun early Rolling Stones
A pretty strong debut mostly of the live show with one jagger Richard and Nanker Phelge tracks. The stones were probably the best of the early British blues bands - maybe early Fleetwood Mac were the rivals. I know the Irish contingent are screaming Rory but he’s just a bit later. None the less the blues are authentic and the band will go on to be much much more than this debut suggests. They would transcend blues without leaving it completely behind.
The Rolling Stones by The Rolling Stones This is not a review. NON! I’m coming out of anaesthetic and not allowed to do anything important. So this. Are your wondering Who in Hell the Rolling Stones Are and what is going on? Yes - this album is (maybe) OK as a taster of their early R&B covers. Who knew, right? Fun toe tapping RB twanging fun guitar. A delight. But its ALL covers. Practice. Only listen all the way if you want to be swatty for the exam. But they got SO much better and grown up - their attitude was just building. Later is So much. Better. After much mucking - the 60s was a period of exploration, despite themselves and the Beatles rivalry, they did get it right in the end. So. FOR A GOOD TIME - SKIP THIS ALBUM and go straight to ONE OF THESE 3. They are the lux, the sound that makes you scrunch your face and yell YEAH and dance and jive. Beggars Banquet (1968) Exile on Main Street (1972) Sticky Fingers (1971) Meanwhile Footnotes for Young People: There weren't enough songs to go around in the 50s and 60s. Covers were so accepted, sometimes there would be 3 versions of the same song in the pop charts. Boring but true. The Stones first 4 albums are basically all covers. The final track, “Walk the Dog” was written by a man named Rufus. Yes, Woof! It was his surprise number 1 hit. And has been covered at least 30 times. The lyrics euphemistically mean anything, right? And he probably retired on the royalties. So write poetry that lasts kids, don't do onlyfans with backup insta feeder accounts. Until these guys came along, StoneD was another word for Drunk and took decades to only mean drug affected. Their song "Stoned" - was actually The Roling STones first original composition to get recorded (1963 - as a B side to the single "I Wanna Be Your Man" ) As for the term, it was coined by Jack Kerouac eg. ( 1951) Kerouac On the Road (The Original Scroll) (2007): "I had finished the wine [...] and I was proper stoned." also see Kerouac (letter 8 Jan 1951) : "I stood completely stoned on the sidewalk in unbelievable and heavenly rapture." If you're under 30 - go at least find out who Karouac was and how he wrote a whole book on a single piece of paper. And Beat Poets. Before that, it meant to be killed by stoning like in the Bible, or to have your stones (bollocks) cut off as punishment. The rolling stones probably refers to a cliche, and folk music and the 60s was the time for cliches. We are not all cliches. 7. Nevertheless the lyrics of “stoned” by The Rolling Stones suggest an attenuated sense of space or location, seeking re-orientation, then a rapid change of state to one of pleasant euphoria, suggesting a fast acting drug: "Stoned | Out of my mind| Here I go | Ah, yeah | Where am I at? |Ah-ah-ah | Yeah, yeah ". 8 naturally, later the fun police caught on to the meaning. The single was withdrawn. So they changed the song name to “Stones”. Which confuses things, especially due to the nickname the Rolling Stoned. 8 no 9!. For a trivial taste of how very far off track the Stones got before refinding their roots again. Listen to “In another land” which is soooo baaaad and includes a high quality recording of Bill Wyman snoring for 20 seconds. My review. This - My first listen to the particular early record, and I'd agree that this first album will surprise anyone under 50 - it was so new to UK and Europe for the times, all these thumping American R&B covers - not at all what we thought of if we got to know the superstar Stones in 80s & 90s. But some honesty - their first 6 or so albums were just covers. They sound cool. But its also disappointing to discover at first (see above) I think it wasn't until Beggars Banquet (4 years later) that albums were mostly new material and their own sound was more or less settled. And then they were standing tall doing something honest. And full throated. HERE they were young and finding their way. They even spent at least 2 or 3 albums outright copying the Beetles (shock, intake of breath!) and trying to do psychedelic music to their style (which pissed people off - they even ripped off the Sgt Peppers cover and it wasnt ironically ), and there are many Beatles songs they recorded too. Whah? And so, this was England in the 1960s. It cant be overstated how important, different and even shocking this music, content and themes were. It would have created quite a fuss and discussion, bringing rhythm and blues to the masses - it was louder and faster and compared to the madrigals your parents hummed to, this was quite the toe tapping stuff (not to mention race and morals. Don't mention sex darling its crude ) ! That said, which version of this album am I supposed to listen to? A I cant find the UK version B “England’s Newest Hitmakers” - 1964 (US release) - does the job C the re-released tracks “The Rolling Stones, Now!” ? But the quality of recording is variable. By that I mean shit. Like a sunbaked transistor AM radio up too loud. But thats a certain sound too, right? "Roll Over Beethoven" - may have gone down like Michael J Fox playing guitar at the ball (in the Johnny be Good moment in Back to the Future). Telling the world classical is over and rock n roll / or rhythm & blues is in - it did it literally and figuratively. Some songs sound like they were recorded in a barn with tin microphone, buts that the 60.s... Off to the pub with my newly acquired Brummie accent, from the last crappy record ont he list./
Good album. This is solid blues rock from early Stones. I can't rate it too high given mostly covers, but it's got really solid sound. ****
From what I'd heard on the radio from the stones, I was expecting some rusty boomer rock that feels overplayed even on first listen. Thankfully, that unfair expectation was not met, and instead I met a very solid, dynamic album. There's a lot of interesting influences at work in most songs, and even between songs, there was always an element of surprise lurking for me. Given that this is their debut, it's an incredible one at that. I greatly appreciate this album, and even though I might not listen to it as much as my other fours, I feel it's really earned it altogether.