''Got Live If You Want It!'' (stylized on the front cover as ''got LIVE if you want it!'') is a six-song
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) release by
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
featuring live recordings from 1965. The title is a pun on the
swamp blues
Swamp blues is a type of Louisiana blues that developed in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s.Malone, Evelyn Levingston, "Swamp Blues: Race And Vinyl From Southwest Louisiana" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertatio ...
song "I Got Love If You Want It" by
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiri ...
; the Stones recorded his "
I'm a King Bee
"I'm a King Bee" is a swamp blues song written and first recorded by Slim Harpo in 1957. It has been performed and recorded by numerous blues and other artists and in 2008, Slim Harpo's original received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Original song ...
" for their
1964 debut album.
["I Got Love If You Want It" backed with "I'm a King Bee" was Slim Harpo's first single, released by ]Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label.
History
It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim ...
in 1957. ''Got Live If You Want It!'' reached number one in the UK and was the group's last EP.
Although not issued in the US, three of its songs were included on albums released there by
London Records in 1965: "
I'm Alright" on ''
Out of Our Heads
''Out of Our Heads'' is the 3rd British and 4th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in two editions with different covers and track listings. In the US, London Records released it on 30 July 1965, whil ...
''; and "
Route 66" and "
I'm Moving On" on ''
December's Children (And Everybody's)
''December's Children (And Everybody's)'' is the fifth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 4 December 1965. Compiled from disparate sources across the band's recording career up to that point, includin ...
''.
With different tracks mostly recorded in 1966, London used the title for a
live album released in December 1966.
Recording
Renowned for its raw-sounding quality, ''Got Live If You Want It!'' has endured as a live artifact, more for its historical than musical appeal. Reportedly
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
had hung microphones over the balcony for the recording; however, this is called into question as "I'm Alright" on the ''
Got Live If You Want It!'' LP (recorded and released a year later) contains the same backing track but with different vocals. This would have been impossible if the recordings were made as described. Additionally, "
I'm Moving On" features (at the very least) a harmonica overdub as the instrument can be heard underneath Jagger's vocal during the first verse while Brian Jones (the group's other harmonica player) is playing slide guitar. These two tracks may even be studio recordings re-tooled to give the impression of being live. The lack of studio documentation relating to The Stones' Decca recordings makes this difficult to confirm, but this approach was used the following year on the US ''Got Live If You Want It!'' LP.
Release and reception
In a review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
,
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
gave the EP three out of five stars. He noted, "The EP was crudely recorded, but the raw energy of the group's early performances does shine through, particularly on the two best tracks, the cover of Hank Snow's 'I'm Moving On', and
o Diddley's'I'm Alright'."
["Route 66" and "I'm Moving On" appear on '']December's Children (And Everybody's)
''December's Children (And Everybody's)'' is the fifth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 4 December 1965. Compiled from disparate sources across the band's recording career up to that point, includin ...
'' (1965) and "I'm Alright" on ''Out of Our Heads
''Out of Our Heads'' is the 3rd British and 4th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in two editions with different covers and track listings. In the US, London Records released it on 30 July 1965, whil ...
'' (1965, US edition)
Unavailable for decades, ''Got Live If You Want It!'' was reissued on
CD in 2004 on the ''
Singles 1963–1965
''Singles 1963–1965'' is a box set compilation of the singles and EPs by The Rolling Stones spanning the years 1963 to 1965. Part of a series of repackages by ABKCO Records, who licence The Rolling Stones' 1963–1970 recorded works, '' ...
'' box set. In November 2010, it was made available digitally and in 2011 as part of the ''60's UK EP Collection'' digital compilation. On 29 November 2013, the EP was reissued on 7-inch vinyl record as a part of
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
Black Friday 2013.
Track listing
Personnel
The Rolling Stones
*
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
– lead vocals, harmonica, percussion
*
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
– guitars, backing vocals
*
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
– guitars, backing vocals
*
Bill Wyman – bass guitar, backing vocals
*
Charlie Watts – drums
Chart positions
References
{{Authority control
1965 EPs
Albums produced by Andrew Loog Oldham
Live EPs
The Rolling Stones EPs
1965 live albums
Decca Records live albums
Decca Records EPs
The Rolling Stones live albums