September 1965 the Rolling Stones released their third studio album, "Out Of Our Heads". Author James Hector puts the album in some fine perspective: Unlike "No.2", which was pieced together from songs recorded in three corners of the world, "Out Of Our Heads" was very much the first album taped at RCA Studios, Hollywood. Compared with the makeshift studios they'd been used to, RCA was a microcosm of America itself - a seemingly endless expanse, stuffed with all manner of expensive gadgets and worldly staff.
The band returned to the studio many times during the next two years, recording several of their best-known hits there. But on "Out Of Our Heads", the relationship had yet to flourish. Sure, the band taped "The Last Time", "Satisfaction" and "Get Off Of My Cloud" during the making of the album, and each was a singularly unique creation. But a combination of lukewarm material and some hasty production work rendered 'Heads' a marking-time album. It showed little development, apart from an almost total exclusion ban on country blues, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
The album contains 12 tracks. Ian Stewart plays marimbas on a cover version of Sam Cooke's "Good Times", and piano on five tracks: "Cry To Me", "Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')", Chuck Berry's "Talkin' 'Bout You", "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" and a cover of Roosevelt Jamison's "That's How Strong My Love Is". Hector again: The band loved the sound they got at RCA, but by the time "Out Of Our Heads" had been mixed, it was the work taped at Chess Studios, Chicago, which was most impressive. One of those to benefit was "That's How Strong My Love Is", which boasted a tremendous performance from Mick Jagger.
Source: James Hector, The Complete Guide To The Music Of The Rolling Stones, Omnibus Press, 1995.
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