The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones, Now!

Although their third American album was patched together (in the usual british invasion tradition) from a variety of sources, it's their best early r&b-oriented effort. Most of the Stones' early albums suffer from three or four very weak cuts; Now! is almost uniformly strong start-to-finish, the emphasis on some of their blackest material. The covers of "Down Home Girl," Bo Diddley's vibrating "Mona," Otis Redding's "Pain in My Heart," and Barbara Lynn's "Oh Baby" are all among the group's best r&b interpretations. The best gem is "Little Red Rooster," a pure blues with wonderful slide guitar from Brian Jones (and a number one single in Britain, although it was only an album track in the U.S.). As songwriters, Jagger and Richards are still struggling, but they come up with one of their first winners (and an American Top 20 hit) with the yearning, soulful "Heart of Stone." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alisa Ritz Repackaging Art Direction Andrew Loog Oldham Producer, Original Liner Notes, Liner Notes Bill Wyman Bass Bob Ludwig Mastering Brian Jones Guitar, Vocals Charlie Watts Drums David P. Bailey Cover Photo Gus Skinas Engineer Ian Stewart Piano, Keyboards, Organ Iris Keitel Repackaging Art Direction Jack Byrne Archive Research Jack Nitzsche ?, Keyboards, Piano, Percussion Jody Klein Restoration Supervision Jon Astley Analog Transfer, Digital Transfers Keith Richards Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals Laura Walton Production Assistant Lenne Allik Concept Maria Papazahariou Production Assistant Mick Jagger Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica Mick McKenna Tape Archivist, Archive Research Nicole Monea Design Production Assistant Paschal Byrne Analog Transfer, Digital Transfers Steve Rosenthal Restoration, Archives Coordinator Teri Landi Archive Research, Analog Transfer, Tape Archivist, Digital Transfers The Rolling Stones Arranger