The Cavern
Rock & Words
DECEMBER’S CHILDREN (The Rolling Stones, 1965)
Artista: The Rolling Stones (A)
Recording Dates: Mar – Sep ‘65
Release Date: Dicember 14th, 1965. UK
Record Label: London Records / Decca
Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
Calificación: 6.5
Era: Rock & Roll II, Early Sixties (1960-1966)
Subgenre: British Invasion
Best Song: Get Off Of My Cloud.
Tracklist: ) 1) She Said Yeah; 2) Talkin' About You; 3) You Better Move On; 4) Look What You've Done; 5) The Singer Not The Song; 6) (Get Your Kicks On) Route '66; 7) Get Off Of My Cloud; 8) I'm Free; 9) As Tears Go By; 10) Gotta Get Away; 11) Blue Turns To Grey; 12) I'm Moving On.
What a cool album cover!!! Of all the early Stones album covers, this is definitely my favorite. In this photo, they achieve a more cohesive group pose, a darker look, and they appear more badass in a natural way, not as contrived as on Out Of Our Heads or 12 X 5. Plus, the photo is taken from further away and in black and white, giving a great perspective of the band at the end of that hallway. I once saw a Stones t-shirt with this cover, and honestly, I've always found the photos of the band's early lineup, even with Brian Jones, more interesting—more natural and before Mick and Keith became celebrity posers in the '70s. The t-shirt I saw was obviously not an original, but I saved it for later and never found it again, so I deeply regret not buying it back then.
Hey! Corvan! Snap out of it!!!! (slap) This is supposed to be an album review, not a street fashion review, or an album cover review. Uhr… well yes, but unfortunately, if this is the best Stones album cover of the 60s, it's also their weakest album of the decade, so I actually started with the most interesting thing about the album.
The truth is, this is one of those bastardized American Rolling Stones albums, released by London Records to capitalize on: a) the Christmas season (is that why the title is so enigmatic?) and b) the explosion caused by "Satisfaction" a few months earlier, with the band's subsequent popularity. So the American executives said, "If the Beatles made a goldmine last Christmas with For Sale, let's do the same," and compiled mostly second-rate B-sides, a few interesting singles, material that had already been released on other EPs, a couple of unreleased tracks, and a couple of live recordings. The material is so weak that this time December's Children doesn't even have a British equivalent… at least Decca had some decency.
Thus, December's Children loses much of what the band had gained with Out of Our Heads: many of the original tracks are rather weak, with the exception, of course, of "Got Off of My Cloud," which is much more advanced than the rest of the material, and "As Tears Go By," which is the equivalent of the Beatles' "Yesterday." Again, the selection of covers isn't the most suitable, and in general, the album is once more oriented towards pop than the R&B they mastered so well at this point. It's almost unbelievable that the next album, Aftermath, came out just a few months later, with a radical change in sound, a complete maturation of the songwriting duo Jagger and Richard, who now composed all the songs themselves and mastered pop at a high level. It seems impossible that a few months later they would release their first masterpiece, but it's important to consider that the band members weren't really involved in the record label's decision or the selection of songs for this album. And in that case, the Beatles also made a huge mistake with For Sale before they began their maturity.
At least on December's Children, the live tracks "Route 66" and "I'm Moving On" reveal a generally unknown side of the Rolling Stones' early days: that it wasn't until '69 that they became an impressive live musical juggernaut, but that by 1965 they already sounded tremendous and were a perfectly oiled sonic machine. The only downside is that both tracks are offensively short.
The album opens with “She Said Yeah”, which, upon closer inspection, isn't half bad. It's a furious rocker, originally by Sonny Christy and Roddy Jackson. Here, the Stones sound insanely aggressive for 1965, recapturing that menacing and somber atmosphere through Mick's unrestrained vocals and those brutal riffs that suddenly merge into solos. The song itself is very energetic, with impressive bursts of energy and sudden stops throughout its 1:40 duration, featuring outstanding work from Watts and Wayman, who delivers a tremendous performance on bass. The song can't be considered a classic, but it stands out from the album's average with its wild, punkish aura.
“Talkin’ About You” is a mid-tempo song that doesn’t particularly stand out. It has a great bass line and is well-executed, but it’s nothing extraordinary, and that’s the problem with most of the album. They aren’t bad songs per se, but they’re very average by the Stones’ standards. The solos sound generic, and it falls short of other Chuck Berry covers the band has done, such as “Carol.” Perhaps the highlight is the vocal melodies they’re beginning to experiment with, which they’ll perfect on subsequent albums.
Then comes “You Better Move On”, a very bland, very pop song, with that (acoustic?) guitar riff that's almost like a waltz. This sounds exactly like the kind of ballads that American executives started using in the late 1950s to kill rock. It's cute, I won't deny it, but after the successful recording of “Under the Boardwalk,” this sounds like a cheap and completely unnecessary copy. As a side note, Arthur Alexander, the song's author, also wrote “Anna (Go to Him),” which makes the Rolling Stones' mellowness all the more surprising, given their usually darker and more aggressive sound compared to the Liverpool band.
Next up is “Look What You've Done”, a very generic, echo-heavy blues track where Brian's harmonica playing stands out, and that's about it. It's not aggressive, there's no particular hook, no riffs, Jagger's intonation sounds flat, and the echo makes it sound like he's praying in a cave, with the enthusiasm of an oyster. It's nothing like the enormous sexual tension of other harmonica-laden blues tracks like “Confessin' The Blues” from 12X5.
Things get even worse with "The Singer Not The Song", which, presumably, and in the opinion of many, could have the dubious honor of being the worst song ever written by the Jagger-Richards duo (before the 80s). First of all, the song is full of clichés, a kind of arpeggiated riff that might have been enough for the Everly Brothers to make teenage girls swoon, but the Stones??? The ones who would later be called "Their Satanic Majesties"???? It's said that in this track they tried to imitate the Merseybeat sound, dependent on vocal hooks, and a kind of prominent guitar riff, with optimistic tones and an innocent air. I think even Gerry & The Peacemakers, the greatest exponents of Merseybeat, laughed at this attempt for being corny. It's sugar in huge doses, and when you hear that falsetto ending, you can't help but feel secondhand embarrassment. It shows that even the Rolling Stones, the same ones who months earlier had released the ultimate anthem of discontent of the 60s, had limitations. The song could just as easily have been called “The Singer AND The Song.”
Fortunately, we started to recover a bit with the live version of "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66", which is worthwhile for two reasons: first, Bill's relentless bass playing, which never stops, always sounds dynamic, provides direction, and adds a certain darkness to the song that the guitar lacks. And second, Keith's great work, from the arrangements he gradually introduces from the beginning of the song to the tremendous guitar solo at 1:22, highlighting the first few notes of the solo, almost timid, before unleashing a burst of great technique. This shows that the band has talent, but sometimes they still struggle to fully realize it. Mick goes off-key a couple of times, but he displays great energy, and this version is undoubtedly better than the one on England's Newest Hitmakers. The only pity is that it's so short.
We continue to see clear improvement. In fact, “Get Off Of My Cloud” is by far the best song on the album. Jagger and Richards finally remember their progress as songwriters and deliver another of their timeless classics, almost on par with “Satisfaction.” It wasn't written for this album, having already been released as a single, but that doesn't diminish its ability to steal the spotlight from the rest of the tracks, showcasing the maturity and sound that would shine on the next album, already hinting at psychedelia. The riff is legendary, not crafted with a single string, but with Keith and Brian's aggressive, cyclical guitar work, and with much greater rhythm and intensity than that of “Satisfaction.” Watts demonstrates that he is also a top-tier drummer, laying down a complex rhythm with breaks and excellent, machine-gun-like fills that deserve a monument. The lyrics depart from the mellowness of previous songs, sounding once again menacing, dark, and explicit for those who care to see them. Isn't "Get off my cloud" clear enough? This is the kind of aggression I like from the Stones, not quite as vulgar as in the '70s, but breaking rules, being incredibly intelligent, yet possessing that kind of natural malevolence that not even the worst metalheads can imitate: "Don't hang around 'cause two is a crowd for my cloud." An all-time classic and more than half the rating for this album. Another level of lyrical and musical skill, and again, it's a good sign that the best song on the album is an original.
We continue with “I'm Free”, which is better than average, or at least better than the covers. Rhythmic, catchy, and again flirting with pop, this time they manage to make it work through that rapid phrasing. It's also another song with an implicit message of rebellion in the lyrics. The track is also one of the most well-known, even though it's not exactly a classic or a generational anthem, partly because the band likes to perform it live and it was captured at the legendary Hyde Park concert a few days after Brian's death, and also at Stripped, the semi-acoustic album from the late 90s. Interestingly, that bridge-chorus at :25, which is repeated, transports us to the aforementioned Beatles' "For Sale," with the "Hold me, love me…" from "Eight Days A Week." Good, without being monumental, much better in the longer live versions we mentioned.
Next up is “As Tears Go By”, a ballad that's also on another level compared to the rest of the album. Legend has it that their manager and producer, Andrew Loog Oldham, locked them in a room, threatening not to let them out unless they wrote a hit the size of “Yesterday,” which at the time was breaking records and generational boundaries. According to the legend, when they emerged from the room, they had this song, complete with the gorgeous string arrangements Brian had created. The comparison, then, is apt. In less than three minutes, he achieves a piece with an acoustic foundation, beautiful vocal harmony, introspective and melancholic lyrics that don't sound forced, and a very baroque violin arrangement that seems to weep throughout the song, adding drama and taking over the role of a solo from 1:15 onwards. What's remarkable, in case you didn't know, is that Brian Jones plays all the violins and cellos himself. The truth about this song is that Mick had written it long before for Marianne Faithfull (dedicated to her and for her to sing), but the idea didn't come to fruition until this album. That doesn't make the legend any less amusing, nor does it detract from the fact that it's a magnificent song. I don't know if it's truly a classic, because I first heard it on the first Stones compilation I ever bought, called "The London Years," and I fell in love with it immediately, but it doesn't appear on many other compilations. I think it's excellent, with a somewhat troubadour-like feel that they would later imitate, with less success, in "Lady Jane." It's definitely not "Yesterday," but it's the closest any other band has come without sounding like blatant plagiarism.
The album's high point is shattered by "Gotta Get Away", another original track that doesn't particularly stand out. With its mid-tempo pace, it fails to take off; the riff doesn't work, and while it's very pop, it lacks spark. Nothing memorable here, not even the vocal harmonies, making it mere filler.
“Blue Turns To Grey” says it all in the title. While it evokes a Tudor-esque aura with an arpeggiated guitar, it's rhythmic and all, but disastrous and utterly uninspired. Simple, poppy, and with attempts at hooks that fail to make it work even at gunpoint. The album was just starting to recover, and they come out with this… To sum it up: They don't sound like the Rolling Stones. Strike one!
Fortunately, the album closes in grand style with "I'm Moving On", the second live track, where they definitively demonstrate their overwhelming live power. The bass, the bass—listen to Bill Wayman's bass and be ecstatic. The main riff is carried by this instrument, practically stealing the entire song with a springy effect that was quite rare for the time. Brian's slide guitar is magnificent, giving that bluesy touch that only he could bring to the songs. Then Mick engages in a simple yet superb harmonica solo at :40, Charlie doesn't let up on his cymbals, and there's a section at 1:15 where Mick and Keith have a delightful dialogue. Towards the end, Richard makes his guitar thunder like a real train, mirroring the harmonica. Seriously, for a live recording from 1965, the only complaint is that it's only 2:18 long and that they didn't do this more often in the '60s. An impressive closing that helps to end an otherwise mediocre album in a more than decent way.
After all, it's not truly awful, but it's bad, and in short, we have a pre-psychedelic classic and a majestic ballad among the original tracks, and two live songs among the covers that stand out. Then there are "She Said Yeah" and "I'm Free," which maintain a more or less decent standard, and the rest is pure filler, some of it insulting. So, it's the Rolling Stones' weakest album of the Brian Jones era, and if it weren't for Ronnie Wood and gems like Black & Blue or Dirty Work, it would be among the worst of their immense career. But as a mitigating factor, we have the fact that it wasn't a studio album planned by them, but by the cash-grubbing executives at London Records, who ultimately achieved their goal of a hefty bonus. And I don't know if it had anything to do with it, but perhaps the guys gave their all to redeem themselves months later with Aftermath, a true collector's gem, which would mark their maturity as a group and the beginning of their transition to riskier sounds.
I don't think December's Children is for everyone, and it's definitely not for those just getting into the band's early days, but rather for the die-hard fans. Even so, the Rolling Stones' worst album (with Brian Jones, I should clarify) far surpasses the best albums of many other bands from that era. Moral of the story: never play songs you might regret; some malevolent executive might be recording a Christmas album...
By the way, if anyone sees a t-shirt with the amazing cover of this album, please let me know!
By Corvan
Jul/9/2010
