December's Children (and everybody's) Released: December 4, 1965
History has decreed that The Rolling Stones’ fifth American studio album, December’s Children (and everybody’s) is one of their slightest releases. This tends to ignore the fact that almost the whole record was recorded in just two days in early autumn, 1965.
Who's on December's Children (and everybody's)
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Andrew Loog Oldham
Manager, producer -
Bill Wyman
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Keyboards -
Brian Jones
Guitars, sitar, keyboards, accordion, trumpet, saxophone, backing vocals -
Charlie Watts
Drums
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December's Children (and everybody's) in depth
On Sunday 5th September, the band entered RCA Studios in Hollywood. By that night they’d completed versions of sonny bono and Roddy Jackson’s explosive, distorted, riff-driven She Said Yeah and Chuck Berry’s Talkin’ ‘Bout You, as well as a new Jagger/Richards composition called The Singer Not The Song and two versions Get Off Of My Cloud. That is, by anyone’s reckoning, a pretty good work rate.
The very next day they returned to finish a fantastically downbeat piece of headache pop called Blue Turns To Grey – the only Stones song to ever be a hit for Cliff Richard And The Shadows – an oddly breezy Gotta Get Away and I’m Free, a massive hit 25 years later for The Soup Dragons. Also recorded on that day was Looking Tired, a song destined for the bands’ next album, which luxuriated in the Jesus-people baiting, record-company-infuriating title of Could You Walk On Water? It was, of course, never released under that name.
“We could have made a much better thing out of this album.”
Brian Jones, 1965
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Ok, so there were downsides. Arthur Alexander’s You Better Move On is a limp stroll through a song that, next to the weapons-grade fire-power of Get Off Of My Cloud or the furious, pre-punk, garage-rock energy of She Said Yeah, sounds incredibly dated, muted, pale even. This, patently, is not the sound that a band wishing to destroy everything in its path should ever wish to make. Muddy Waters’ Look What You’ve Done is a nice enough track, but there’s nothing new added here: it’s a perfunctory, respectful stroll through a song that, like You Better Move On, is already part of the band’s distant past rather than their immediate future.
By the same token, As Tears Go By had already been a hit for Marianne Faithfull in November 1964, while Singer Not The Song eventually collapses in on itself, caught as it is, between looking back to finger-in-the-ear Merseybeat harmonies and forward to fringe-jacket-wearing Byrds’-like jangling folk rock.
Out where things really mattered – in the theatres and cinemas and concert halls – The Stones were making an intense, sensual, powerful racket. Hank Snow’s 1950 hit I’m Moving On – here in a live version – is a full-pelt rave-up, Watts’ and Wyman’s drums and bass lock in tight together, while Jones’ and Richards’ guitars layer sheets of noise, only to jab needling slide guitars through them all.
The other live track, a version of Bobby Troup’s (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66, may be almost entirely free of any sort of identifiable bass at all until a quite astonishing late run, but the fact that these bastards can really play, that they clearly have mastered how to take a crowd right up to the point of teeth-gnashing hysteria then leave them dangling, unable to escape their own delirium even for a second, is obvious to anyone with a working set of ears.
The question is, how do you capture that sort of spectral power when your schedule looks like this? Saturday – gig in Belfast. Sunday and Monday – recording in Los Angeles. Tuesday – flying. Wednesday – gig in The Isle of Man. It’s actually insane.
Listen to I’m Free, during the chorus at 1:30, just after the guitar solo. The song basically falls apart, the tambourine, vocal and backing track all veering away wildly; but, within three or four seconds the band are all back in step with each other. Listen to the way Charlie Watts’ military snare-snaps forever propel the timelessly brilliant Get Off Of My Cloud forward, forward, forward.
There’s no time for another take, get it down, do it now, the cab’s outside with the engine running and we’re all an hour late already. We’ll be doing another one of these in a few months. Come on! Run!
Comments (15)
“As Mick said, this album is a "collage" of new and old songs; but the mix is really good: blues, R&R, Pop.
Submitted by R. Nault (not verified) on Sat, 2011-01-01 18:30.I really like Get Off My Cloud: it starts like a AK-47; Charlie knocks the place; chords are simple but this is the strong part of the Stones: how to take a simple song and make a strong one.
The intro is fantastic too with She Said Yeah, Talking About You.
The two live ones are great: Route 66 and I'M moving on. Pure energy.”
“My first album, bought the english version Out Of Our Heads (mono)...only 29mins long She Said Yeah, Mercy Mercy two electric opening tracks ,I've been hooked since....”
Submitted by Bert (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 20:54.“I really think that any reviews posted on the Stones official site should NOT in any way downplay the power of their music. To me, a true and through fan of their music, there are very few of their songs that I would say is sub-par. For one, I really like Mick's rendition of 'You Better Move On' on this album. It's charming and sweet, and falls right in line with what the Stones attitude came to be about... We're not mainstream, you may not like us, you may not like us dating your daughter, and if you're the other guy you may not like us dating who you think is your girl, but you're just gonna have to deal with it! She seems to know what she's getting and she likes it. Get off of my cloud!”
Submitted by ShockThemShowThem (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 18:33.“This is a great album by a great band!”
Submitted by Kelly Carloss (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 17:58.“Get Off Of My Cloud is a rocking pop masterpiece.
Submitted by Frank Hoier (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 15:39.It should be taught in schools all around the world.
The rhythm guitar part doubles as a lead guitar riff, and the drums!
Good god those brit kids could rock!”
“In spite of even what YOU say, lads, this is one of the best albums you've ever done! "Blue turns to grey" is 'our song' for me and my wife for 37 years!
Submitted by caique fellows (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 15:16.Keep on rocking, lads!”
“Great album. Early teen dances I used to get up and get snuggies from the girls during 'The Singet Not the Song.'
Submitted by AnRoyonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 15:06.Still brings a tear to my eyes.”
“Wish I could buy it, but there is no money for what I would like, just what we absolutely need. ”
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-23 14:53.“nice”
Submitted by krassimir (not verified) on Thu, 2010-11-18 13:13.“Even my 11 year old brain knew this wasn't up to par when it came out. I loved the hits but that was all. The other songs sounded like filler and being that age the heart is what listens not the brain. Intuitively it felt wrong for me. But I just didn't play it as much as the others, that's all. Blue turns to gray was good though and I loved the cover! By now sides were clearly drawn in my NY neighborhood. I was on the Stones side, although The Kinks were starting to give them a run for the money and a guy named Bob Dylan was starting to draw attention. I was a Stones man all the way!”
Submitted by Lanzarishi (not verified) on Sat, 2010-07-24 16:22.“I am going to buy it because I really am December's child and I like the songs.”
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2010-06-15 14:45.“This album was and still is in my vinyl collection. The stones , for me in 1965, were the best band, because of the rhythm and blues, was always the guiding force behind their sound.
Submitted by Joe Donoghue (not verified) on Tue, 2010-06-15 10:48.The ongoing battle, in the U.S., who is the best band, Beatles or Stones was a talking point.
I graduated elementary school in 1965 and the Stones albums were the ones you wanted playing, at the graduation parties, so that the girls could hear the tracks on albums, never played on the radio. in most cases, the reaction was positively, WOW!”
“This is a classic album! Tunes like "Talkin' 'Bout You", "You Better Move On", "Blue Turns To Grey", and needless to say "Get Off Of My Cloud"- all GREAT songs. Maybe not one of their better known albums, but it should be!”
Submitted by Darren (not verified) on Mon, 2010-06-14 22:49.“Great review, but I love every single track on that album.”
Submitted by Mark Wita (not verified) on Mon, 2010-06-14 19:53.“My very 1st album! I was Stones and my sister Beatles. We use to drive our parents nuts trying to drown out one another's stereos.”
Submitted by David P (not verified) on Mon, 2010-06-14 15:55.What do you think?