LP VG to VG+

 

Jacket Nm- to NM

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

By the time  began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of  in the British Invasion,  had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based rock & roll that came to define hard rock. With his preening machismo and latent maliciousness,  became the prototypical rock frontman, tempering his macho showmanship with a detached, campy irony while and  wrote the blueprint for sinewy, interlocking rhythm guitars. Backed by the strong yet subtly swinging rhythm section of bassist  and drummer ,  became the breakout band of the British blues scene, eclipsing such contemporaries as  and . Over the course of their career,  never really abandoned blues, but as soon as they reached popularity in the U.K., they began experimenting musically, incorporating the British pop of contemporaries like , , and  into their sound. After a brief dalliance with psychedelia,  re-emerged in the late '60s as a jaded, blues-soaked hard rock quintet. The  always flirted with the seedy side of rock & roll, but as the hippie dream began to break apart, they exposed and reveled in the new rock culture. It wasn't without difficulty, of course. Shortly after he was fired from the group, was found dead in a swimming pool, while at a 1969 free concert at Altamont, a concertgoer was brutally killed during ' show. But  never stopped going. For the next 30 years, they continued to record and perform, and while their records weren't always blockbusters, they were never less than the most visible band of their era -- certainly, none of their British peers continued to be as popular or productive as . And no band since has proven to have such a broad fan base or far-reaching popularity, and it is impossible to hear any of the groups that followed them without detecting some sort of influence, whether it was musical or aesthetic.

Throughout their career,  (vocals) and  (guitar, vocals) remained at the core of . The pair initially met as children at Dartford Maypole County Primary School. They drifted apart over the next ten years, eventually making each other's acquaintance again in 1960, when they met through a mutual friend, , who was attending Sidcup Art School with . At the time,  was studying at the London School of Economics and playing with  in the blues band Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Shortly afterward, joined the band. Within a year, they had met  (guitar, vocals), a Cheltenham native who had dropped out of school to play saxophone and clarinet. By the time he became a fixture on the British blues scene,  had already had a wild life. He ran away to Scandinavia when he was 16; by that time, he had already fathered two illegitimate children. He returned to Cheltenham after a few months, where he began playing with . Shortly afterward, he moved to London, where he played in 's group, .  quickly decided he wanted to form his own group and advertised for members; among those he recruited was the heavyset blues pianist .

As he played with his group,  also moonlighted under the name  at the Ealing Blues Club. At the pub, he became reacquainted with , which now featured drummer , and, on occasion, cameos by  and .  became friends with  and , and they soon began playing together with  and ; during this time,  was elevated to the status of 's lead singer. With the assistance of drummer , the fledgling band recorded a demo tape. After the tape was rejected by EMI,  left the band to attend the Royal College of Art; he would later form . Before 's departure, the group named itself , borrowing the moniker from a  song.

The  gave their first performance at the Marquee Club in London on July 12, 1962. At the time, the group consisted of , , , pianist , drummer , and , who had briefly returned to the fold. Weeks after the concert,  left again and was replaced by , formerly of the Cliftons. also left the group -- he would later join  -- and  hired , who proved to be unsatisfactory. After a few months of persuasion, the band recruited , who had quit  to work at an advertising agency once the group's schedule became too hectic. By 1963, the band's lineup had been set, and  began an eight-month residency at the Crawdaddy Club, which proved to substantially increase their fan base. It also attracted the attention of , who became ' manager, signing them from underneath the Crawdaddy Club's . Although  didn't know much about music, he was gifted at promotion, and he latched upon the idea of fashioning  as the bad-boy opposition to the clean-cut. At his insistence, the large yet meek  was forced out of the group, since his appearance contrasted with the rest of the group.  didn't disappear from ; he became one of their key roadies and played on their albums and tours until his death in 1985.

With 's help,  signed with Decca Records, and that June, they released their debut single, a cover of 's "Come On." The single became a minor hit, reaching number 21, and the group supported it with appearances on festivals and package tours. At the end of the year, they released a version of-'s "I Wanna Be Your Man" that soared into the Top 15. Early in 1964, they released a cover of 's "Not Fade Away," which shot to number three. "Not Fade Away" became their first American hit, reaching number 48 that spring. By that time,  were notorious in their homeland. Considerably rougher and sexier than ,  were the subject of numerous sensationalistic articles in the British press, culminating in a story about the band urinating in public. All of these stories cemented  as a dangerous, rebellious band in the minds of the public, and had the effect of beginning a manufactured rivalry between them and , which helped the group rocket to popularity in the U.S. In the spring of 1964,  released their eponymous debut album, which was followed by "It's All Over Now," their first U.K. number one.

That summer, they toured America to riotous crowds, recording the  EP at Chess Records in Chicago in the midst of the tour. By the time it was over, they had another number one U.K. single with 's "Little Red Rooster." Although  had achieved massive popularity, decided to push  and  into composing their own songs, since they -- and his publishing company -- would receive more money that away. In June of 1964, the group released their first original single, "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)," which became their first American Top 40 hit. Shortly afterward, a version of ' "Time Is on My Side" became their first U.S. Top Ten. It was followed by "The Last Time" in early 1965, a number one U.K. and Top Ten U.S. hit that began a virtually uninterrupted string of - hit singles. Still, it wasn't until the group released "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in the summer of 1965 that they were elevated to superstars. Driven by a fuzz-guitar riff designed to replicate the sound of a horn section, "Satisfaction" signaled that  and  had come into their own as songwriters, breaking away from their blues roots and developing a signature style of big, bluesy riffs and wry, sardonic lyrics. It stayed at number one for four weeks and began a string of Top Ten singles that ran for the next two years, including such classics as "Get Off My Cloud," "19th Nervous Breakdown," "As Tears Go By," and "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"

By 1966,  had decided to respond to ' increasingly complex albums with their first album of all-original material, . Due to ' increasingly exotic musical tastes, the record boasted a wide range of influences, from the sitar-drenched "Paint It, Black" to the Eastern drones of "I'm Going Home." These eclectic influences continued to blossom on  (1967), the most pop-oriented album the group ever made. Ironically, the album's release was bookended by two of the most notorious incidents in the band's history. Before the record was released,  performed the suggestive "Let's Spend the Night Together," the B-side to the medieval ballad "Ruby Tuesday," on The Ed Sullivan Show, which forced  to alter the song's title to an incomprehensible mumble, or else face being banned.

In February of 1967,  and  were arrested for drug possession, and within three months,  was arrested on the same charge. All three were given suspended jail sentences, and the group backed away from the spotlight as the summer of love kicked into gear in 1967., along with his then-girlfriend , went with  to meet ; they were also prominent in the international broadcast of ' "All You Need Is Love." Appropriately,' next single, "Dandelion"/"We Love You," was a psychedelic pop effort, and it was followed by their response to Sgt. Pepper, , which was greeted with lukewarm reviews.

The ' infatuation with psychedelia was brief. By early 1968, they had fired and hired  as their manager. The move coincided with their return to driving rock & roll, which happened to coincide with ' discovery of open tunings, a move that gave  their distinctively fat, powerful sound. The revitalized  were showcased on the malevolent single "Jumpin' Jack Flash," which climbed to number three in May 1968. Their next album, , was finally released in the fall, after being delayed for five months due its controversial cover art of a dirty, graffiti-laden restroom. An edgy record filled with detours into straight blues and campy country, was hailed as a masterpiece among the fledgling rock press. Although it was seen as a return to form, few realized that while it opened a new chapter of ' history, it also was the closing of their time with . Throughout the recording of ,  was on the sidelines due to his deepening drug addiction and his resentment of the dominance of  and . left the band on June 9, 1969, claiming to be suffering from artistic differences between himself and the rest of the band. On July 3, 1969 -- less than a month after his departure --  was found dead in his swimming pool. The coroner ruled that it was "death by misadventure," yet his passing was the subject of countless rumors over the next two years.

By the time of his death,  had already replaced  with, a former guitarist for . He wasn't featured on "Honky Tonk Women," a number one single released days after' funeral, and he contributed only a handful of leads on their next album, . Released in the fall of 1969,  was comprised of sessions with  and , yet it continued the direction of , signaling that a new era in ' career had begun, one marked by ragged music and an increasingly wasted sensibility. Following's filming of Ned Kelly in Australia during the first part of 1969, the group launched its first American tour in three years. Throughout the tour -- the first where they were billed as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band -- the group broke attendance records, but it was given a sour note when the group staged a free concert at Altamont Speedway. On the advice of ,  hired Hell's Angels as security, but that plan backfired tragically. The entire show was unorganized and in shambles, yet it turned tragic when the Angels killed a young black man, Meredith Hunter, during ' performance. In the wake of the public outcry,  again retreated from the spotlight and dropped "Sympathy for the Devil," which some critics ignorantly claimed incited the violence, from their set. As the group entered a hiatus, they released the live  in the fall of 1970. It was their last album for Decca/London, and they formed Rolling Stones Records, which became a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.

During 1970,  starred in 's cult film Performance and married Nicaraguan model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and the couple quickly entered high society. As  was jet-setting,  was slumming, hanging out with country-rock pioneer . wound up having more musical influence on 1971's , the first album  released though their new label. Following its release, the band retreated to France on tax exile, where they shared a house and recorded a double album,  Upon its May 1972 release,  was widely panned, but over time it came to be considered one of the group's defining moments.

Following ,  began to splinter in two, as  concentrated on being a celebrity and sank into drug addiction. The band remained popular throughout the '70s, but their critical support waned. , released in 1973, reached number one, as did 1974's , but neither record was particularly well received.  left the band after , and the group recorded their next album as they auditioned new lead guitarists, including . They finally settled on , former lead guitarist for  and , in 1976, the same year they released , which only featured  on a handful of cuts. During the mid- and late '70s, all  pursued side projects, with both  and releasing solo albums with regularity.  was arrested in Canada in 1977 with his common-law wife  for heroin possession. After his arrest, he cleaned up and was given a suspended sentence the following year.

The band reconvened in 1978 to record , an energetic response to punk, new wave, and disco. The record and its first single, the thumping disco-rocker "Miss You," both reached number one, and the album restored the group's image. However, the group squandered that goodwill with the follow-up, , a number one record that nevertheless received lukewarm reviews upon its 1980 release. , released the following year, fared better both critically and commercially, as the singles "Start Me Up" and "Waiting on a Friend" helped the album spend nine weeks at number one. The  supported  with an extensive stadium tour captured in 's movie Let's Spend the Night Together and the 1982 live album .

 proved to be the last time  completely dominated the charts and the stadiums. Although the group continued to sell out concerts in the '80s and '90s, their records didn't sell as well as previous efforts, partially because the albums suffered due to  and ' notorious mid-'80s feud. Starting with 1983's , the duo conflicted about which way the band should go, with  wanting  to follow contemporary trends and  wanting them to stay true to their rock roots. As a result,  was a mean-spirited, unfocused record that received relatively weak sales and mixed reviews. Released in 1986,  suffered a worse fate, since  was preoccupied with his fledgling solo career. Once  decided that  would not support  with a tour,  decided to make his own solo record with 1988's . Appearing a year after's failed second solo album,  received good reviews and went gold, prompting  and to reunite late in 1988.

The following year,  released , which was received with good reviews, but the record was overshadowed by its supporting tour, which grossed over 140 million dollars and broke many box office records. In 1991, the live album , which was culled from the shows, was released. Following the release of ,  left the band; he published a memoir, Stone Alone, within a few years of leaving. The  didn't immediately replace , since they were all working on solo projects; this time, there was none of the animosity surrounding their mid-'80s projects.

The group reconvened in 1994 with bassist , who had previously played with  and , to record and release the -produced . The album received the band's strongest reviews in years, and its accompanying tour was even more successful than the  tour. On top of being more successful than its predecessor,  also won  their first Grammy for Best Rock Album. Upon the completion of the  tour,  released the live, "unplugged" album  in the fall of 1995. Similarly, after wrapping up their tour in support of 1997's , the group issued yet another live set, , the following year. A high-profile greatest-hits tour in 2002 was launched despite the lack of a studio album to support, and its album document, , appeared in 2004. A year later, the group issued , their third effort with producer .

In 2006,  filmed two of the group's performances at New York City's Beacon Theatre. The resulting , which included guest appearances from , , and , was released in theaters in 2008. The accompanying soundtrack reached the number two spot on the U.K. charts. Following , turned their attention toward their legacy. For , this meant delving into writing his autobiography Life -- the memoir was published to acclaim in the fall of 2010; it generated some controversy due to comments made about  -- but  in general spent time mining their archives, something they previously avoided. In 2010, they released a super deluxe edition of  that contained a bonus disc of rarities and outtakes, including a few newly finished songs like "Plundered My Soul." This was followed in 2011 by a super deluxe edition of  that also contained unheard songs and outtakes. That same year,  opened up their Rolling Stones Archive, which offered official digital releases of classic live bootlegs like 1973's . All this was a prelude to their 50th anniversary in 2012, which the group celebrated with a hardcover book, a new documentary called Crossfire Hurricane and a new compilation called . The Stones also played a handful of star-studded concerts at the end of the year and in the first half of 2013, several of which featured guest spots from the long-departed  . These live shows culminated with a headlining spot at Glastonbury and two July 2013 concerts at Hyde Park; highlights from the Hyde Park shows were released as a digital download on iTunes that July and, later in the year, there was a home video/CD release of the concert called Sweet Summer Sun: Live In Hyde Park.

All Lps are sight graded   Note: I Do Not Grade inner sleeves, If these are Important to you then you may e-mail me)

 

RECORD GRADING

Based On Goldmine Grading Standards:

Near Mint (NM): A nearly perfect record. There may be one or two small inaudible defects. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. A 45 RPM or EP sleeve should have no more than the most minor defects, such as almost invisible ring wear or other sights of slight handling. An LP jacket should have no creases, folds, seam splits or any other noticeable similar defect. No cut-out holes, either.

Near Mint Minus (NM-): A record that should play mint but has a few slight visible marks. The album will have as much luster as an NM, there just may be some superficial scuffs from the sleeve or very light hairlines that shouldn't be audible. An NM- album cover subjectively fits somewhere in between VG+ and NM.

Very Good Plus (VG+): A Very Good Plus record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Record surfaces may show some slight signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don t significantly affect play. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. The center hole will not have been misshapen by repeated play. 45 Picture sleeves will have some slight wear, lightly turned-up corners, or a slight seam-split. An LP jacket may have slight signs of wear also and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount.

Very Good (VG): Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song s intro and fade, but will not overpower the music otherwise. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as will light scratches (deep enough to feel with a fingernail) that will affect the sound. Labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, just two or three of them.

Good (G), Good Plus (G+): Good does not mean Bad! A record in Good or Good Plus condition can be put onto a turntable and will play though without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear. A jacket or sleeve will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the subject.

Poor (P), Fair (F): Below good. imperfections will be described.

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2. Lps 13.00

3 Lps 15.00

4 Lps 17.00

5 Lps 26.00

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2 LP 20.00

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7 Lps 54.00

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10 Lps 64.00

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12 Lps 70.00

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