The Rolling Stones - 1960's Tracklist Redos (1964-1967)

 Holding off from Part 2 of The Who timeline for now, here's something that I've been looking to do for a while now. Similar to the Beatles' pre-1967 studio albums, Decca did something similar with the Rolling Stones, making basically different albums between the US and UK for whatever reason. However, unlike the Beatles' albums, there isn't exactly a consensus for which country's albums are the "canon" discography. That is because both country's albums had exclusive songs to them, not even including the UK non-album singles that were packaged in the US albums. Both countries had pros and cons for each Stones album, which is what gave me the idea to do this. I'm going to take the pros from each version of each album to create an ultimate pre-1967 discography for the Stones. For this, I'm going to limit myself to just using tracks from the US and UK albums, plus some singles and EP tracks in certain cases. I may do a more in-depth Stones timeline down the road using more obscure songs and out-takes.

The Rolling Stones (1964)

Side A (15:34)

1. Route 66 - 2:20 [1]

2. I Just Want to Make Love to You - 2:17 [1]

3. Mona (I Need You Baby) - 3:33 [1]

4. Poison Ivy - 2:06 [2]

5. You Better Move On - 2:39 [2]

6. Little by Little - 2:39 [1]

Side B (16:32)

1. Not Fade Away - 1:48 [3]

2. Carol - 2:33 [1]

3. Tell Me (You're Coming Back) - 4:05 [1]

4. Can I Get a Witness - 2:55 [1]

5. You Can Make It If You Try - 2:01 [1]

6. Walking the Dog - 3:10 [1]

[1] The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones

[2] The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones [EP]

[3] The Rolling Stones - England's Newest Hit Makers

Off to somewhat of a lame start, there really isn't too much to change for this album. That's not to say that the album is already almost perfect, quite the opposite really, but most of their other songs from this era are either quite mediocre or just plain not good, or they're covers, which I've tried to stay away from if there are some good originals to pick from. "Not Fade Away" is an obvious exception, as it is one of their best early singles. The two covers from their self-titled EP were chosen to do away with some other pretty boring covers.

The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)

Side A (18:32)

1. It's All Over Now - 3:27 [1]

2. Down Home Girl - 4:11 [2]

3. Time Is on My Side - 2:50 [1]

4. Good Times, Bad Times - 2:32 [1]

5. Empty Heart - 2:35 [1]

6. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love - 2:57 [3]

Side B (15:17)

1. Around and Around - 3:03 [1]

2. Grown Up Wrong - 1:50 [2]

3. Down the Road Apiece - 2:55 [2]

4. Little Red Rooster - 3:00 [3]

5. Off the Hook - 2:38 [2]

6. Susie Q - 1:51 [2]

[1] The Rolling Stones - 12 x 5

[2] The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones No. 2

[3] The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones, Now!

Compared to the first album, No. 2's tracklist is completely redone, with less than half of the original songs staying. That isn't to say that the replaced songs are all immaculate, it's really that a lot of the original songs are pretty lackluster in my opinion. But we have some real great early Stones songs, such as "It's All Over Now" and "Little Red Rooster" make their appearance here, and they really shape this album into something greater. "Around and Around" replaces fellow Chuck Berry cover "You Can't Catch Me", only because I think the former has a better performance. Similarly, the version of "Time Is on My Side" used is the one with the organ intro as a sort of concession to the album's American counterpart. Lastly, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" uses the 3-minute edit found on The Rolling Stones, Now! to balance out side lengths. It's been said that John Lennon chastised this album for the length of that song alone, so perhaps using the edit is for the best.

Out of Our Heads (1965)

Side A (16:05)

1. She Said Yeah - 1:34 [1]

2. Mercy, Mercy - 2:45 [1]

3. Hitch Hike - 2:25 [1]

4. The Last Time - 3:41 [2]

5. Good Times - 1:58 [1]

6. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - 3:42 [2]

Side B (14:52)

1. Get Off of My Cloud - 2:52 [3]

2. Play with Fire - 2:13 [2]

3. Gotta Get Away - 2:06 [1]

4. Heart of Stone - 2:50 [1]

5. Blue Turns to Grey - 2:27 [3]

6. I'm Free - 2:24 [1]

[1] The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads

[2] The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads [US]

[3] The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's)

This is where it really gets good. I've always been fond of Out of Our Heads, and to this day I think it's one of the Stones' most underrated albums in their entire discography. It's blues rock and R&B done right, with most of the sloppiness from their first two albums gone. But with this recreated tracklist, we can see how much wasted potential there really was here. "Satisfaction" is the obvious head-turner here, but all the other singles from this era fit the album great; it's the only album here that almost feels like a greatest-hits compilation. This was actually the first album where I had some trouble fitting everything into a 12-song album; songs like "That's How Strong My Love Is" and "The Spider and the Fly" almost made this one but were cut due to said album restraints. "Blue Turns to Grey" is the only completely US-exclusive song here harking from December's Children. I thought it was too good to pass up, and it ended up being the pen-ultimate song on the album. I originally wanted to use "As Tears Go By" either on this album or the next one, but I realized that the single released too late to use on this album and too early for the next one, so it remains a non-album single.

Aftermath (1966)

Side A (21:32)

1. Paint It Black - 3:46 [3]

2. Stupid Girl - 2:52 [2]

3. Lady Jane - 3:06 [2]

4. Under My Thumb - 3:20 [2]

5. Long, Long While - 3:01 [1]

6. Take It or Leave It - 2:47 [2]

7. Mother's Little Helper - 2:40 [2]

Side B (22:03)

1. 19th Nervous Breakdown - 3:57 [1]

2. Flight 505 - 3:25 [2]

3. High and Dry - 3:06 [2]

4. I Am Waiting - 3:10 [2]

5. Think - 3:10 [2]

6. Out of Time - 5:15 [2]

[1] The Rolling Stones - Singles 1965-1967

[2] The Rolling Stones - Aftermath

[3] The Rolling Stones - Aftermath [US]

The Stones' first two albums are better in the UK, Out of Our Heads is better in the US, but Aftermath? It's hard to say. Many people will point to the US having "Paint It Black" and it generally being less bloated, but the "bloat" that the UK had was comprised of some pretty good pop writing by Jagger and Richards. As a compromise, this album has 13 songs, more than the US version but less than the UK's. Some of the lesser material, such as "It's Not Easy", "Doncha Bother Me", "What to Do" and especially "Goin' Home", unfortunately had to go to make room for some singles, "19th Nervous Breakdown", the aforementioned "Paint It Black" and it's B-side "Long, Long While". Aftermath was already great to begin with, but this tracklist is really something to write home about. I originally considered using Aftermath outtakes "Sittin' on a Fence" and "Ride On, Baby" here from the US-only album Flowers, but it's oft debated on whether it's considered a true studio album or not, so I decided not to in the end.

Between the Buttons (1967)

Side A (18:51)

1. Let's Spend the Night Together - 3:29 [1]

2. Yesterday's Papers - 2:20 [2]

3. Connection - 2:13 [2]

4. Back Street Girl - 3:22 [2]

5. Cool, Calm & Collected - 4:15 [2]

6. Ruby Tuesday - 3:12 [1]

Side B (18:35)

1. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? - 2:34 [3]

2. All Sold Out - 2:15 [2]

3. She Smiled Sweetly - 2:42 [2]

4. Complicated - 3:18 [2]

5. Miss Amanda Jones - 2:48 [2]

6. Something Happened to Me Yesterday - 4:58 [2]

[1] The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons [US]

[2] The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons

[3] The Rolling Stones - Singles 1965-1967

And finally, we come to the underdog of the Stones' 60's output, Between the Buttons. Some people will tell you that this album is perfect as is, but I don't 100% agree. Songs like "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" and "Please Go Home" are somewhat mediocre to me, especially when they're replaced by the double A-side single "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday", only used on the US version of this album. There's also "Back Street Girl" a UK exclusive and the excessively-titled "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" which is a great song and fits the nature of this album. Similar to their first album, not much can be changed here due to there not being a whole lot available.

Starting with 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request, their US label finally took the hint and started releasing the Stones' albums to be identical with their UK counterparts. While this is for the better, it's a shame because that means I have to end my reimaginings here. As there are many Stones outtakes from the 1960's alone, you could go a lot deeper than I did in making these albums the best they could possibly be which I may do sometime in the future. These albums have a lot more potential than a majority of people think, which is what makes making Stones fantasy albums, and fantasy albums in general, a lot of fun.