The Rolling Stones Songbook

At the time, Andrew Loog Oldham must have looked the right part for releasing this record. It was such a nod to the square culture that the Rolling Stones were attempting to wipe away that you had to figure it for a joke. Sure, there were symphonic Beatles records, but somehow that was to be expected from them. Not the Stones ? no, they were rebels. Oldham was brought up on middle-of-the-road sounds and orchestral soundtracks as a kid, though, and making this album was a dream come true for him ? one that the huge success of his charges could make happen. He was also in love with the huge sound of Phil Spector and was directly inspired by the sound of Jack Nitzche's instrumental album, The Lonely Surfer. With the help of arranger David Whitaker, Oldham made a record that paid homage to all of those influences, and 40 years later it sounds quite good. It even rocks surprisingly hard at times, thanks to the wise move of having crack session men like Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones, Big Jim Sullivan, and John McLaughlin provide the underpinnings.