Peter Checksfield, author of The Rolling Stones – The Brian Jones Years, draws from his research of every song recorded during this formative period, to select five standout outtakes that capture the essence of the Brian Jones era.
Go Home Girl
[rec. 14/11/63 – De Lane Lea Studios, London]
Arthur Alexander recorded some great songs, including ‘Anna (Go To Him)’, ‘A Shot of Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Soldier Of Love’, ‘Where Have You Been (All My Life)’, and of course, ‘You Better Move On’ – a song covered by the Stones for their debut chart-topping EP. ‘Go Home Girl’ from 1962 isn’t as well known, but is the equal of those numbers – and the Stones’ mid-tempo recording is wonderful, with superb vocals, and Stu’s piano to the fore. Rejected for release, it is now – with the March 1963 IBC and September 1963 BBC recordings officially released – the band’s earliest essential outtake, thankfully easily available via bootlegs.
Down In The Bottom
[rec. 11/06/64 – Chess Studios, Chicago, USA]
In June 1964, the Stones visited the USA for their first overseas tour, and while there, spent two days recording at the hallowed Chess studios in Chicago – a place where so many records by their heroes, including Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, had recorded. ‘Down In The Bottom’, a Howlin’ Wolf song from 1961, is an absolutely storming performance, with Brian playing some blistering slide guitar, while Mick closes with one of his finest ever harmonica solos. Why this was never issued remains a mystery, but it is without doubt one of the group’s finest outtakes. A very different version with prominent piano – possibly from an earlier session at Regent studios in London – also circulates, as does an unreleased BBC recording.
Get Yourself Together
[rec. 03-11/08/66 – RCA Studios, L.A., USA + 08/11/66-06/12/66 – Olympic Studios, London]
From the sessions that produced the ‘Between The Buttons’ album, ‘Get Yourself Together’ is a tough and aggressive Rhythm ‘n’ Blues work-out that is up there with ‘Please Go Home’ for wild abandon. At least two versions, as well as an instrumental backing track, circulate on bootleg, though all feature the powerful grunge twin guitar sound of ‘Miss Amanda Jones’, but Rock even harder. Why it wasn’t released remains a mystery. Perhaps it was just too retro-sounding for the musical advancement of much of the album? Stones super-fans The Chesterfield Kings issued a powerful version on their 1994 ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ album, under the title ‘Can’t Believe It’.
She’s Doing Her Thing
[rec. 02-22/07/67 + 03/10/67 – Olympic Studios, London]
Throughout their entire career, the Stones have recorded some wonderful outtakes – often better than some of their released stuff. Unfortunately, the ‘Satanic Majesties’ sessions are largely an exception to the rule, with much of what remained in the can being little more than rough sketches and jams, without vocals. Also circulating as instrumentals under the names ‘Jam One’ and ‘Title 15’, ‘She’s Doing Her Thing’ does feature vocals, and is an up-tempo song with simple chord changes. Perhaps inspired by The Small Faces’ work at the time, Mick chooses to sing in an exaggerated Cockney accent – giving the song a proto-Punk sound more than a decade before the band recorded ‘Punk’ songs like ‘Lies’ and ‘Where The Boys Go’.
Still A Fool
[rec. 18/05/68 – Olympic Studios, London]
Now this was really going back to basics. Also known as ‘Two Trains Running’, ‘Still A Fool’ is a Muddy Waters song from 1951 that the band almost certainly knew back in their Richmond club days. It goes on almost forever – nearly 7 minutes for an edited version and almost 10 minutes for the full length cut – but with Keith playing the main riff, Brian on slide, Mick on vocals and harmonica, probably Stu on piano, and the usual solid Bill and Charlie rhythm section, this really is the real deal. It’s not perfect, with Brian in particular sounding a little shaky at times, but this just adds to the poignancy of the occasion. It was almost certainly the last time the original band got together to jam on an old Blues song.
Further information
Peter Checksfield: THE ROLLING STONES – THE BRIAN JONES YEARS!
