The Rolling Stones – Out of Our Heads Review

A long stretch of covers and mixing original material into it comes to an end after Out of Our Heads. Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones’ exercise in comfort had finished. Their desire to rely just on original material is an ambitious move considering the weight of their name at the time and the competition of other contemporary pop bands of the same age. With the benefit of hindsight ,we can see The Stones are a cut above the rest, but there was no way for the band to prove this at the time, they were mixed in with all the rest, The Fuggs and The Starlighters nipping at their heels because the charts and music of this electrified variety were fresh and exciting. Closer they were, it was never quite there for Out of Our Heads, despite the crunchier sound on opener Mercy Mercy and the ever-growing confidence Jagger possessed.  

Despite those swaggering joys heard in the music, Jagger and Keith Richards’ writings take a backseat here. Satisfaction may define the band during this period, a masterclass of thumping and vigorously brilliant instrumental work, but Out of Our Heads is still reliant on those blues and R&B standards. It was dropped from the U.K. release of Out of Our Heads but the US release proved stronger, its B-Side starting with the starter pistol of what would become a bright-eyed and brilliant piece from the band. It makes up for a rather forgettable A-Side, anyway. The Last Time is a standout piece, as is opener Mercy Mercy, and sandwiched between those cries and clamours is a completely forgettable Hitch Hike. Both That’s How Strong My Love Is and Good Times remain frustratingly light. Capable covers hide a boom yet to come, one which would appear on the B-Side and disappear just as quickly.  

The Rolling Stones called the right time to stop making these cover albums. Their instrumental abilities were stretched to their very limit. They had more than enough to offer, vocally and instrumentally. Pairing it with a collection of well-written pieces was the inarguable next step and they took so long to get there. But once they did, it would be rude to forget the hard work these covers on Out of Our Heads provide. Screaming crowds on a live version of I’m Alright highlights the desire for fresh material from the popular faces of pop – and that is what they gave, after this album, that is. Capturing the live spirit is a great part of Out of Our Heads and builds well to the roar of Satisfaction.  

Everything to follow Cry to Me is a bit light. Play With Fire has another instrumental dawn which, at the same time as being ahead of the rest in pop, sounds very tame for what The Rolling Stones were capable of at this point. Out of Our Heads is like caging a wild beast. There is no need. It needs the depths and range of a great field and filing another set of covers, while amiable and well-rounded, feels like wasted breath for Jagger and company. The Spider and the Fly is a neat B-Side piece from Jagger and Richards, a developing story of love on the streets of the every day, those microscopic moments which feel as autobiographical as it gets for the unnamed man at the core, holding the microphone. Those harmonica additions are a real treat too, and it maintains Out of Our Heads as a frustratingly fun, rabid strike before a flurry of masterful punches from The Stones.