As the title states, this 2011 compilation wrangles up some
Rolling Stones EPs from the '60s—specifically, three EPs (and their outstanding b-sides) from 1964. During this embryonic stage the Stones belonged to the late, great Brian Jones, who was interested in grooming the band as the best blues and R&B outfit to soundtrack swinging London’s burgeoning mod scene. Here, the Stones open with a hard-grooving take on Chuck Berry’s “Bye Bye Johnny,” one of many “Johnny B. Goode” derivatives that would help define Keith Richards’ early guitar style. With Richards' and Jones’ tube amps cranked well past the breaking point, a raunchy cover of Barrett Strong’s “Money” sounds like the birth of garage rock. Mick Jagger’s vocals on a simmering rendition of Arthur Alexander’s “You Better Move On” display his early yearning to sing in a style beyond the band's rave-ups of the era. Conversely, when the Stones revisit another Chuck Berry tune—“Around and Around”—and do a live version of “Route 66,” both play as though young Jagger was born to sing the blues.
