The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (vocals, harmonica); Keith Richards (vocals, guitar); Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, piano, organ); Bill Wyman (bass); Charlie Watts (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Ian Stewart (piano, organ, marimba); Jack Nitzsche (piano, organ, percussion).

Engineers: David Hassinger, Ron Malo, Glyn Johns.

Recorded in Hollywood, California, Chicago, Illinois & London, England. Includes liner notes by Andrew Loog Oldham.

The Rolling Stones: Keith Richards, Brian Jones (guitars); Mick Jagger (harmonica); Bill Wyman (bass guitar); Charlie Watts (drums).

Additional personnel: Ian Stewart, Jack Nitzsche (harpsichord); Phil Spector (unknown instrument).

Early Stones recordings don't get much better than this. Firmly established as celebrities, the band began to use the pandemonium it inspired as an artistic source. Nowhere is the band's initial reaction to fame and music business drama more apparent than in the humorous, mocking "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man," in which the Stones effectively skewer the sleazier side of the record industry. Naturally, this will always be known as the album that features the original version of "Satisfaction," which would remain the band's signature tune throughout its career, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg.

Equally effective as a Jagger-Richards distillation of rock and R&B is "The Last Time," a tune easily the equal of Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now," which the Stones handily covered on 12 X 5. Standing out from the crowd is the harpsichord-driven, English folk-inspired "Play With Fire," a menacing minor key song full of subtly expressed psychological violence. This tune, a marked change of pace for the band, hinted at the stylistic variety they would later explore.

Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.124) - Ranked #114 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "[F]or the first instance on album, the Stones were building an original songbook as hard and dark as they were."

NME (Magazine) (7/8/95, p.46) - 7 (out of 10) - "...you can trudge through the standards for only so long and, having seen the plaudits heaped on Lennon & McCartney, Jagger & Richard set out to get a piece of the songwriting action on OUT OF OUR HEADS..."