This Is Rhythm And Blues! (Dog N Cat DAC-115)
(72:16): Night Train, Bright Lights Big City, Walking The Dog, Do Re Me, Let The Sun Shine In, You’re Breaking My Heart, Route 66, Cops ‘n’ Robbers, You Better Move On, Mona (Blues In Rhythm, March 19th, 1964 (Broadcast May 9)). Hi-Heel Sneakers, Little By Little, I Just Want To Make Love To You, I’m Movin’ On (The Joe Loss Pop Show, April 10, 1964). Reelin’ And Rockin’ (Chess Studio – June 11th, 1964). Carol, Tell Me, interview, Not Fade Away (US TV, Mike Douglas Show, Cleveland, OH – June 18th 1964). Around And Around, Off The Hook, Time Is on My Side, It’s All Over Now, I’m Alright, Let’s Get Together (T.A.M.I. Show October 29th, 1964)
Less than two years after officially forming as The Rolling Stones they were very busy with media appearances on both British and American stations. Still playing mostly covers, the media apperances emphasized their musical ability and sheer charisma over artistic triumph. This Is Rhythm And Blues! contains several documents from 1964 in very good to excellent sound quality.
The first part of the disc contains the band’s appearance on “Blues In Rhythm,” recorded at Camden Theatre in London on March 19th for broadcast on BBC on May 9th. This BBC appearance occurs by the end of their third UK tour and about a month before the release of their first album The Rolling Stones.
Previous releases of the Stones’ four song set include Camden Theatre 1964 (The Swingin’ Pig TSP-CDS-004), Get Satisfaction…If You Want! (The Swingin’ Pig TSP-CD-003), Beat Beat Beat at the Beeb (Invasion Unlimited IU 9428), Got Live If You Want it! (Decca DFE 8620) and Really Got Live If You Want it! (Pontiac).
DAC present the entire show, including the non-Stones portion, in excellent stereo sound quality. John Baldry is the host and refers to the Stones as “the charming deviationists” before Georgie Fame And His Blue Flames play their set. Fame himself was starting his career about this time, having released one album called Georgie Fame Rhythm & Blues At The Flamingo and soon to release his latest single “Do Re Mi”/”Green Onions.”
The Stones play four songs, starting with “Route 66,” the first song off of their soon to be released debut album. “Cops And Robbers” features Brian Jones on harmonica, according to Baldrey and they follow with their latest EP “You Better Move On.” Baldrey complains about these early mornings and closes the show by having the Stones play their cover of Bo Diddley’s “Mona” from the album.
About a month later, just when the first album was coming out, the Stones appeared on “The Joe Loss Pop Show” on April 10th. Previous titles with this broadcast are Beat Beat Beat at the Beeb (Invasion Unlimited IU 9428), Got Live If You Want it! (Decca DFE 8620 (VGP)), Really Got Live If You Want It! (Pontiac) and A Decade of Jumping Jagger on Stage (Stoneage Music SAM 001).
Although not as good quality as the first broadcast on this disc, it’s still great quality featuring a very enthusiastic band. They play several songs from the album including the original “Little By Little,” credited to Naker Phelge.
“Reeling And Rockin'” dates from the June 11th session at Chess Studio in Chicago which produced the EP Five By Five. The tune was left off the record, but has been in circulation since. This version sounds a bit distorted, but has a rare intro.
A week later the Stones were in Cleveland for an appearance on “The Mike Douglas Show.” The older Dog N Cat release Animal Duds (DAC 064) has “Not Fade Away,” but this is the first time the entire set appears on a silver release.
This release marks the silver pressed debut of the entire show. The sound is very good and clear mono. They begin the set with “Carol,” the Chuck Berry cover seminal for their sound, followed by the Jagger /
Richards original “Tell Me.” A short interview with the band follows. Douglas asks about The Beatles, their hair, and invites some girls onstage to sit with them. Their appearance ends with “Not Fade Away.”
The final piece on this disc is the TAMI Awards Show from October 29th. Recorded in Santa Monica California, this contains the entire set (including loud screaming girls) sourced from DVD in excellent mono. They start with “Around And Around,” another Chuck Berry cover.
They follow with another original “Off The Hook,” one of the more adventurous and original songs in the show. “It’s All Over Now” and Bo Diddley’s “I’m Alright” are the appropriate crowd pleasers.
It’s been a while since Dog N Cat released material from the Brian Jones era. This Is Rhythm And Blues! has very good sound quality (especially for the “Blues In Rhythm” show) and very nice packaging with detailed liner notes. It is a very good effort by the label worth having.
