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December's Children (And Everybody's)
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $12.99
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Manufacturer: Abkco
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0018771945123
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Abkco
Manufacturer: Abkco
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Abkco
Release Date: 2002-09-03
Studio: Abkco
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Editorial Reviews:
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DECEMBER'S CHILDREN marked a crucial point in the Stones' development. The band was beginning to move away from its blues/R&B roots toward something more uniquely its own. Certainly those roots were far from absent in the songs composed for this album, and the Stones still cover their share of the masters here (Chuck Berry, Arthur Alexander, Hank Snow), but something new was afoot. The aching ballad "As Tears Go By," complete with baroque orchestration, heralded a new direction in the Stones' songwriting. Similarly, the folk-rockish strains of "The Singer Not The Song" hint at previously uncharted directions. Perhaps the most crucial track here is "Get Off My Cloud, which, while it incorporates the band's rootsy influences, is possessed of a decidedly modern power that the Stones were only beginning to learn to harness. This was the beginning of a style more specific than pop, blues, or rock & roll. DECEMBER'S CHILDREN may be seen as the beginning of what can only be defined as Rolling Stones music.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Brian Jone's Stones
Comment: I fell in love with the Stones' music listening to this LP at about 12 years of age. Brian's presence, his pose, and his panche added so much to this group before Mick and Keith took it to another level. But it's not Mick and Keith's fault Brian burned out. I love the ballads and the covers, Charlie's drums, Stu's piano, Bill's bass, Keith and Brian playing off each other, and of course, Mick's harp and heartfelt vocals. The songs reflect a young ansgst the Stones outgrew. The live recordings propel the collection forward. That I still listen to this LP 40 years later shows how strong my love is. 40 years! That's how strong my love is, 40 years later, still cruising on Route 66.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Some classic Rolling Stones' moments
Comment: The first thing that strikes me as I look at the cover is how young the Stones looked back in the mid-1960s! It's amazing how well they have maintained their level of performance even as their faces now show their age. The second thing is that the center of this work is "Get Off of My Cloud." It was playing so widely that, in the middle of my first year living in a dorm at Bradley University, all sorts of variations on the song took place. I remember one of my floor mates, for example, telling someone "Hey, hey, you, you, Get out of my room." And everyone chuckled, knowing that Jim was riffing from this song.
This CD/album has no thematic coherence. It is a set of songs, most recorded in the studio plus a bit of live music, some covers, and some original Stones' tunes. Still, it's nice to revisit the raw energy and raw playing of the young Rolling Stones.
The CD starts off with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Talkin' about You." They do a good job here, and display a strong blues flavor to their playing and to Mick Jagger's singing. A nice start to this CD.
The Stones began their career as a group focusing on the blues. One of the most important bluesmen of that (or any other) time was, of course, Muddy Waters. "Look What You're Done" shows the Stones up to playing a song by one of the masters of the genre.
And then, "Route 66," a live version. Sound quality muddies what I hear when I listen; the sometimes shouting by the audience drowns things out. But I can tell that the Stones are playing energetically and Jagger's singing is fine.
And, of course, "Get Off of My Cloud," one of their great songs. One characteristic is a whole series of interesting lines with some cool wording. One illustration: "In flies a guy all dressed up just like a Union Jack." The song begins with a great riff; the drumming chugs right along.
Another classic, "I'm Free." A pair of lines speak to me.
"I'm free to do what I want any old time. . .
I'm free to sing my song though it gets out of time."
The latter line reminds one that sometimes in their early works, the playing gets a little ragged. But that somehow worked, showing off their energy and even some spontaneity.
There are some other interesting works, too, although I have never much enjoyed "As Tears Go By."
Anyhow, not a cohesive album, but I don't really care. There are some top-notch early Rolling Stones' moments throughout this CD, with lots of raw energy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A turning point in the Stones song-writing development
Comment: December's Children (December 1965) is for Stones fans who want to witness a crucial turning point in the Stones' artistic development (moving away somewhat from the pure urban-blues/roots-rock sounds that they started with). With the powerful new hard-rocking sound of Get Off My Cloud and the smartly orchestrated As Tears Go By, the Stones gave notice that their artistic growth was in full flower and not likely to ebb any time soon. The other original, I'm Free, is also very good -- hinting at future Stones classics about independence and rebellion against a conformist society. Most of the other "non-classic" songs (the excellent cover songs that tended to not end up on greatest-hits albums) are terrific performances in their own right, and especially worth the listen if you've gotten a little tired of the big hits. Just don't forget that the really signature songs from December's Children (Get Off My Cloud and As Tears Go By) can be found on both Big Hits and Hot Rocks (the two greatest hits collections that both cover the 1963 to 1966 period) -- so don't buy this album just to get those 2 songs. In short, for serious Stones fans who want to review the early efforts, and to witness the LP where the band markedly "took off" with their original song-writing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: At Their Best
Comment: This was my favorite Stone's Album when it came out in the 60's in the 33 and a third vinyl record format. I was a teen and a Stones fanatic. This was when Brian Jones was still alive. In my humble opinion, the best Stones material was created when Brian was still alive. I don't much care for the stuff that came after. I still listen to the remastered CD and get a very pleasant nostalgia rush when I listen:):)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Jagger: "It isn't an album, it's just a collection of songs"......What a collection!
Comment: Most of the people really underrates this Stones album,for me December's Children is one of the great albums of their 1964-65 Rn'B years along with the debut album and The Rolling Stones Now!. In fact,this one is less bluesy than the debut and The Rolling Stones Now! but it's really more successful than Out of our heads and 12*5 ,even if they're fine albums. With this album songwriting of Jagger/Richards starts to evolve and it creates a basis for their masterpiece, Aftermath(1966). Album starts with the short and fast rocker She Said Yeah. The loud and fast rhythm guitar of Brian Jones and crazy guitar solo of Keith Richards makes it a proto-hard rock song. Talkin'About You is another Chuck Berry cover from the boys which is really successful with Richards' terrific Chuck Berry guitar licks. You Better Move on is another cover on the album which is acoustic and it's mostly similar to British beat sound. Look What You've Done is a Muddy Waters cover and one of my favorites on the album. Jagger's dirty blues vocals, Jones' harmonica and Richards' riffing creates a cool blues song. The Singer Not the Song, Blue Turns To Grey and Gotta Get Away are somehow far from the Stones' blues roots and they're closer to British beat sound or to The Beatles but they're still wonderful songs and they show the evolution of the songwriting within the band and creates an idea that the classic Jagger/Richards songwriting takes its clue in the upcoming album,Aftermath. Get off of My Cloud is the second rock classic that the Stones made in 1965 after Satisfaction and it's the most well-known song of the album. Charlie's thunderous drumming and the dual guitars between Richards and Jones makes it really groovy. As Tears Go By is an attempt by the Stones to create their own "Yesterday". It starts with an acoustic guitar like The Beatles' Yesterday and the strings join after the second verse(it's really strange for a die hard blues band in '65!!). Well, it's not successful as the Fab Four's classic song but it still shows the songwriting becomes more mature and also shows that the Stones can also play and write great songs beside the blues. I'm Free is the third classic in the album. This song was played in the memorable Hyde Park concert in 1969 after Brian Jones death and it was in the setlist of the band's famous North American Tour of 1969. It is a great Jagger/Richards composition and sometimes it reminds me a kind of electric folk-rock, especially with its guitar solo, that The Byrds did in 1965. There are also two live tracks that are recorded during the British tour. Route 66, is also on the debut album. In the beginning, as Jagger screams "let me hear you say yeah!!", Keith starts to play that fantastic riff and the crowd goes totally insane. Second live track, I'm Moving On starts with the fast rhythm section of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Wyman's heavy bass lines makes it a proto-hard rock song just like She Said Yeah. Slide guitar playing of Brian Jones proves that he is one of the great slide players of the genre. However, these two live tracks sounds really poor because of the live recording technology of that time but you can still hear a great rock n' roll band playing. And if you listen closely, you can notice that the band quickly passes to the riff of I'm Alright(which you can hear in Out Our Heads) after they finished I'm Moving On.
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