On Air [Deluxe Edition] [2 CD]

by The Rolling Stones

Overview

Heavily bootlegged over the years, the Rolling Stones' BBC sessions from the '60s didn't see official release until 2017, when Universal put out On Air as both a single-disc and double-disc set. The Stones first entered a BBC studio in October 1963 when they were peddling their debut single, "Come On," and their last session arrived in September 1965, just after releasing "Get Off of My Cloud" as the sequel to the smash "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." During these three years, the Stones racked up several number one hits in the U.K., but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards didn't start writing in earnest until 1965, which means On Air winds up drawing a portrait of the Stones as a working covers band. This is precisely what they were at the dawn of their career: a quintet playing the Chicago blues and American R&B and rock & roll they loved, discovering their own voice within other people's songs. What's notable about On Air is how quickly the Rolling Stones developed their own signatures within the confines of covers (eight of which the band never cut in the studio). Charlie Watts swings with a vengeance, Bill Wyman counters with percolating bass runs, Mick Jagger sings with a savvy sense of remove, while Brian Jones and Keith Richards are so closely intertwined, it's hard to separate the riffs from the solos. Much of this can be heard on the Stones' studio albums from this period, but the live setting -- done primarily on the Saturday Club show, but also The Joe Loss Pop Show and Top Gear -- heightens the excitement, giving the performances rough edges that are nearly as appealing as the group's interplay. Some of those rough edges are sanded off by an "audio source separation process," where engineers de-mixed the original BBC sessions and then reassembled them into new stereo mixes. A bigger soundstage doesn't necessarily suit the BBC sessions, where the primitive production suits the raw performances -- for proof, listen to the second disc in the deluxe set, which wasn't de-mixed -- but it's ultimately a minor flaw in what's otherwise an essential set. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2017
Label:	Polydor / Universal
UPC:	0602567027409
Rank:	118291

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Come On
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
3. Roll Over Beethoven
4. The Spider and the Fly
5. Cops and Robbers
6. It's All Over Now
7. Route 66
8. Memphis, Tennessee
9. Down the Road Apiece
10. The Last Time
11. Cry to Me
12. Mercy, Mercy
13. Oh! Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin¿¿¿)
14. Around and Around
15. Hi Heel Sneakers
16. Fannie Mae
17. You Better Move On
18. Mona

Disc 2

19. I Wanna Be Your Man
20. Carol
21. I'm Moving On
22. If You Need Me
23. Walking the Dog
24. Confessin' the Blues
25. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
26. Little by Little
27. Ain't That Loving You Baby
28. Beautiful Delilah
29. Crackin' Up
30. I Can't Be Satisfied
31. I Just Want to Make Love to You
32. 2120 South Michigan Avenue

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Rolling Stones   Primary Artist
Ian Stewart   Piano
Bill Wyman   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Brian Jones   Guitar,Harmonica
Keith Richards   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Charlie Watts   Drums
Mick Jagger   Vocals,Harmonica

Technical Credits

Paul McCartney   Composer
Bert Russell   Composer
Bo Diddley   Composer
Bobby Womack   Composer
Jimmy Reed   Composer
Bobby Robinson   Composer
James Clarke   Remixing
Chuck Berry   Composer
Ellas McDaniel   Composer
Don Raye   Composer
Lewis Jones   Engineer
Jay McShann   Composer
Robert Bateman   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Bobby Troup   Composer
Walter Brown   Composer
Rufus Thomas   Composer
Jerry Wexler   Composer
Paul Pritchard   Engineer
Morris Levy   Composer
Muddy Waters   Composer
Buster Brown   Composer
Chris Bolster   Engineer
Hank Snow   Composer
Wilson Pickett   Composer
Phil Spector   Composer
Bert Berns   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Arthur Alexander   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
John Loengard   Images
Richard Havers   Text,Composer
Muddy Water   Composer
Nanker Phelge   Composer
Rufus Thomas Jr.   Composer
John Barrett   Engineer
Shirley Womack   Composer
Alex Wharton   Mastering
Barbara Lynn Ozen   Composer
Clarence L. Lewis   Composer
Robert Higgenbotham   Composer
Ronald Miller   Composer
Don Covay   Composer
Solomon Burke   Composer
Sonny Sanders   Composer