The Rolling Stones - Vol. 3, Now! (JAPANESE Edition UK 1965)

"The Rolling Stones, Now!" is the third American studio album by "The Rolling Stones", released in Feb 12, 1965 by their initial American distributor, "London Records".
It was never released in the UK Now! was to be the American substitute for the UK release of "The Rolling Stones No.2".


As was common at the time, the American execs tampered with the original design of the album, substituting the new American hit "Heart of Stone" for "Time Is On My Side" and eliminating "Grown Up Wrong", "Under The Boardwalk", "I Can't Be Satisfied", and "Suzie-Q".

The Rolling Stones live at Hullabaloo, 1965. Photo credit Bob Bonis

The tracks "Mona", "Oh Baby", "Little Red Rooster", and "Surprise Surprise" were not on the UK release of "The Rolling Stones No.2", although "Little Red Rooster" was released as a single and became one of their signature songs in the UK.

The Rolling Stones: Little Red Rooster / Off The Hook, London Records, Japan HIT 440 February 1965

The album contains a different, and shorter, version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" than the recording on "The Rolling Stones No. 2", although the latter version was accidentally used on the 1986 CD of "The Rolling Stones, Now!".
For the back cover, "London Records" simply took the back cover of "The Rolling Stones No. 2" and amended the tracklisting and label information. Where the UK liner cover said "No. 2" after 'THE ROLLING STONES' was simply whited out for the American cover. One thing that was overlooked, however, was a mention of "Ian Stewart" playing organ on "Time Is on My Side", which made no sense on "The Rolling Stones, Now!" as the song was not on that album. This credit was deleted from the 1986 and 2002 reissues.

The Rolling Stones: Heart Of Stone / What A Shame, London Records, Japan HIT-462

The liner notes on initial pressings contained "Andrew Loog Oldham"'s advice to the record buying public, which was quickly temporarily removed from some subsequent pressings:

The Rolling Stones in Italy, 1965; Brian Jones with his "Gibson Firebird VII"

"(This is THE STONES new disc within. Cast deep in your pockets for the loot to buy this disc of groovies and fancy words. If you don't have the bread, see that blind man knock him on the head, steal his wallet and low and behold you have the loot, if you put in the boot, good, another one sold!)"

The Rolling Stones in Italy, 1965

"Now!" is almost uniformly strong start-to-finish, the emphasis on some of their blackest material. The covers of "Down Home Girl", "Bo Diddley"'s vibrating "Mona", "Otis Redding"'s "Pain in My Heart", and "Barbara Lynn"'s "Oh Baby" are all among the group's best R&B interpretations. The best gem is "Little Red Rooster" a pure Blues with wonderful slide guitar from "Brian Jones" (and a number one single in Britain, although it was only an album track in the US).


More than any other Rolling Stones release, Now! showcases the original Blues band that "Brian Jones" was always so proud of.

The Rolling Stones in Australia, 1965

"Now!" captures the pure essence of "The Rolling Stones". This would be the last Stones album comprised soley (should be souly) of Blues, Country and Western, Rhythm and Blues, and Soul music.