This was one item in Dad’s vinyl collection I was determined that I, and not my brother, would take possession of.
The main reason was ‘Paint it, black’ which I remembered was on there, which is a fantastic tune. Plus you can’t go wrong with punctuation in rock song titles*
I’d forgotten what else was on it. That was a bit silly.
(I can’t get no) Satisfaction is on there, one of the greatest singles ever according to Rolling Stone (only beaten to #1 by Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’). I hadn’t owned any Stones until this vinyl, so actually hearing this song properly, at a decent (ie, slightly excessive) volume was an exhilarating experience.
There are a few tracks I don’t love – ‘Come On’ is merely ok, ‘Have you seen your mother…’ is a bit of a mess, Lady Jane is a bit embarrassing.
On the other hand, ‘Get off of my cloud’ and ’19th Nervous Breakdown’ are stonking great songs, it’s amazing how much vitality is contained within these grooves, even though guitars are out of tune, the mixes are unbalanced, and things are distorted. This stuff is alive!
The track listing:
- Have you seen your mother, baby, standing in the shadow?
- Paint it, black
- It’s all over now
- The last time
- Heart of stone
- Not fade away
- Come on
- (I can’t get no) Satisfaction
- Get off of my cloud
- As tears go by
- 19th nervous breakdown
- Lady Jane
- Time is on my side
- Little red rooster
*See also The Cardigans’ “I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer”
What? Why Bother? 