A rock and roll classic
This work would earn a 5-star rating for just one song, one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever--"(I can't get no) satisfaction." But there is a lot more. There are solid covers of songs by artists such as Otis Redding (e.g., "Mercy, Mercy"), Sam Cooke ("Good Times"), and Marvin Gaye ("Hitch Hike"). There are also early classics by Jagger-Richards, such as "Satisfaction," ""The Last Time," and "Play with Fire." And cool little songs such as "The Spider and the Fly" and "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man". And remember that any song attributed to "Nanker Phelge" (such as the aforementioned "The Under Assistant. . .") is a Jagger-Richards composition.

Some representative works (that is, songs that I want to write about). . . .

"Mercy Mercy": This opens the album/CD, an Otis Redding song. Mick Jagger gives a nice, credible blues version of this piece. There is raw and primal guitar work to back his singing.

"The Last Time": This is one of the Stones' best early songs. There is a nice guitar riff to open this work. The rhythm section (Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman) lay down a good base for this song. Some lyrics:

"I've told you once
And I've told you twice.
But you never listen to my advice."

And then, here it is--"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction": I first heard this as an underclass student at Bradley University. Even though my preference was classical music, I understood that this was something special. The fuzz tone riff by Keith Richards at the outset suggests that this is serious business. One typical line that resonated, I'm sure, with many who listened to this:

"I can't get no satisfaction. . . .
Baby, baby maybe come back next week
Cuz' you see I'm on a losing streak."

Drums, bass, and guitars work well together. This is almost as perfect a rock and roll song as you can get.

Then, there's "Play with Fire." This is a hard-edged song, with a degree of menace to it. Starts out with some nice acoustic guitar work.

"And the chauffeur drives your car,
You let everybody know.
But don't play with me
'Cuz you're playing with fire."

A classic rock and roll song, with some very interesting lyrics that are not necessarily typical of the time.

So, is this a seamlessly crafted album? No. Is this a terrific rock and roll work? Yes!

Satisfaction
Can't get no. Just my luck, a misanthrope stuck in lala land. All the women are low-energy and high-maintenance. No no no. I need a woman who's high-energy and low-maintenance. Preferably weighing less than me. And cuter than me. Can't get no. I'm not here, this ain't me, I'm here 'cause I couldn't do any better. Can't get no. 3 bass guitars charging metatestosterone. Gothic disgruntlement. I'm on losing streak, a mean streak, yeh yeh yeh. Frustrations! Boy or girl, who cares, can't get no. No no no. Disidentification. "Any system of slavery so well designed it does not breed revolt is the real threat" ~ B.F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity. I only get my rocks off when I'm dreaming.

Another great early Stones
It may not be as good as 12 X 5, but it's a good sampling of very Early Stones with Brian Jones. Take a listen to The Spider and the Fly. It's fun, a nice surprise, and my favorite cut on the ablum. The ablum is a little raw, but that's the way they were back then, in 1964 and 1965 and that's why they were one of my favorite groups. The Bad Boys of Rock N Roll.

One of the best early stones albums.
This was my favorite album when I was a teenager. We played it 'til there were no more grooves on the vinyl. Somewhere in the vaults, there has to be 1st generation, multi-track session tapes that could be mixed into proper stereo. The reissue of "12 X 5" has fantastic stereo mixes, so did "Now". Why not "Out of our Heads"??? This album was recorded in the US. All the major studios were using 4 track machines at this point. This great album deserves to be lovingly restored.

Mostly Satisfied 4.5 stars
Out of Our Heads tends to focus more on R & B tunes than the bluesier numbers they'd done in the past. One reviewer calls this the best of the early releases but I personally believe Now! is a far stronger release. I gave Now! 5 stars (not one stinker!) so I can only give this one 4.5.

Jagger delivers a surprisingly strong cover of "That's How Strong My Love Is". Ok, maybe he apes Otis Redding a little too much but this vocal is very good, one of the better recordings of his career I think. There is one track on Out of Our Heads that I feel should have been replaced with something a bit better. "I'm All Right" is a live track, lots of the typical screaming girls from a Stone's performance, Jagger's voice also cracks badly at one point. It isn't an awful track but surely they had better stuff in the can. Of course, this is the release with the tune that really put the Stones on the map once and for all time "Satisfaction" and who can argue with its lasting impact?

So yeah, you want this one if you love the early Brian Jones era Rolling Stones though this is really the release where it all started to go wrong for a young Mr Jones who was losing his grip on the band's direction mostly for the worse in my opinion. Sure, there are some exceptions to that comment (most notably that quartet of releases from Beggar's Banquet through Exile on Main Street) but I really loved the early edition of this band and wish there was more of that music around.