Customer Reviews

Where it all began... - By: Gerard Hennessy, 21 Apr 2008
Not a Rolling Stones album of course, but a fascinating source of information & exploration for anyone interestedin finding out about the music that influenced the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Bandin the World (and should'nt that be Rhythm & Blues Band anyway?) when they were just a group of music mad teenagers scattered around various parts of North Kent, South London & Gloucestershire.

Rumour has it that Mick Jagger was carrying some of this very music with him when he first met Keith Richards on Platform 3 of Dartford Railway Station c.1962. Meanwhile downin Cheltenham, Brian 'Elmo' Jones was perfecting his Elmore James licks & working his way through the Muddy Waters songbook, including noting that Rolling Stone Blues might make a useful band name one day.

This excellent album is the latest release from Snapper Musicin their ongoing 'Blues Roots' series, & contains a top quality mix of both well-known & extremely-rare tracks. It is wonderful to see Rev. Robert Wilkins, Leroy Carr & Robert Petway placed side-by-side with Chuck Berry, B.B. King & Howlin' Wolf, as well as the aforementioned Elmore James & Muddy Waters. Naturally, with an undertaking of this complexity - the licensing alone must be a nightmare - there are a few omissions. There is no Willie Dixon (Painin my Heart), Amos Milburn (Down the Road Apiece), Gene Allison (You can make it if you try) or Alvin Robinson (Down Home Girl). And sadly there is nothing either from a man who is one of the least credited influences on the Stones - Jimmy Rogers. Not alone did they base their version of I Can't Be Satisfied directly on his interpretation, but he also gave them the title of one of their biggest early hits (The Last Time), & his 1951 number My Little Machine became the template for several of the band's early r'n'b based recordings.

However these quibbles aside - & who knows, perhaps there is a Volume 2 on the way?? - this budget-priced album is a very worthwhile investment for any genuine Stones fan. A word of appreciation too for Michael Hendon's precise & informative liner notes. Clear, straightforward & very much to the point.

Go on, get yer ya ya's out!