The Rolling Stones release England's Newest Hitmakers in the UK
on April 16th, 1964, and later in May for the U.S. They
had released some of these songs as singles, but the full
impact of this scruffy looking bunch of lads singing-
what sounded like nothing else out there, must have been
jolting. How many white teenagers had heard
something like "I Just Want To Make Love To You?"
Of course most of these teens had Elvis, and many
other cuddly teen-idols, but what a shock it must have
been to hear Mick's nasaly vocals.
You can hear how much Jimmy Reed's sound had
affected the band. I think it provided an easy entree
creatively for Mick with his vocals- they were a similar
range to Jimmy's as well as his harmonica playing.
His songs were very polished and urban. The Muddy
Waters and Howlin' Wolf sound was harder to
replicate at such an early age. That would be a
few years down the road, after alot of living, smoking
and drinking was done.
The rest of the tracks were all pretty snappy
and straddling the line between r&b and blues
which was tougher but ultimately more
successfull.
In those days, it was about speed (literally
and figuratively). Albums would be released
every few months, with singles released
constantly. The Stones were trying out
everything to see how it fit, ultimately
making it their own. The biggest impact
creatively, would be the ouster of Brian
Jones and Andrew Loog Oldham, and
the addition of more musically
knowledgable players like Mick
Taylor, Nicky Hopkins, Ry Cooder, Al
Kooper, and many many more.
