Out of Our Heads review

The US version of the third Rolling Stones album reviewed. This deviates from my original plan to just review the British versions, but for some reason the American versions get all the good songs so at least this post will contain more recognisable tunes. After this album, The Rolling Stones moved away from doing the covers and started doing original material a lot more.

Tracks:

1. Mercy, Mercy: 7/10 a fairly typical rock song, but it's got plenty of energy and Mick Jagger sings like he means it.

2. Hitch Hike: 6/10 The Rolling Stones have less energy in this somewhat dreary track, but it's perfectly competent and certainly isn't bad.

3. The Last Time: 8/10 with more personality and edge than the first 2 songs, this is where the album hits its stride.

4. That's How Strong My Love Is: 7/10 although overly sentimental, it's enjoyable enough to distract from the syrup.

5. Good Times: 8/10 short but effective.

6. It's Alright: 8/10 unusually optimistic for a Rolling Stones song, this live recording of their performance shows their skill as performers and the excited screams heard from the audience throughout this recording are justified. 

7. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction: 6/10 one of the most overrated songs in history, yet it's still considered the signature song by The Rolling Stones. It's repetitive, it's as sophisticated as a small child's temper tantrum about being dissatisfied, it conveys its message in the most basic way imaginable and worst of all doesn't even explain why this person can't get any satisfaction! It's a catchy, well played rock song which has genuine personality, nothing more. It's barely a 6.

8. Cry to Me: 8/10 again, it's a bit sentimental but it's very energetic and effective, so one stops caring very quickly.

9. The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man: 7/10 with this one, ignore the repetitive lyrics and listen to the excellent baseline instead.

10. Play with Fire: 8/10 it's a bit too short to truly hammer its point in, but it's a very good one and a nice change of pace.

11. The Spider and the Fly: 7/10 a Jagger/Richards original, and certainly not one of their best although it has some interesting bits and quite an intriguing title.

12. One More Try: 8/10 a more successful original which is repetitive but the writing is intelligent, it's catchy and it doesn't outstay its welcome.

Best song: The Last Time
Worst song: Hitch Hike

Summary: As I've said before, I was previously somewhat unimpressed by The Rolling Stones but this is another good early album. Again, it feels a bit slight and I've already made my thoughts on Satisfaction's popularity clear, but for an album full of covers it is surprisingly effective, and The Rolling Stones inject their rebellious personality into every song, ensuring that nothing is ever phoned in.



Final rating: 8/10