Got Live If You Want It! (Live)

Album review

Off the bat, it should be clarified that this release is not the same as the far more famous 1966 American Rolling Stones LP Got Live if You Want It! This live, five-track EP was released in the U.K. in June 1965, and does not include any of the material that showed up on the U.S. Got Live if You Want It! LP. The EP was recorded earlier than the American LP of the same title, in March 1965 in Britain, and was never released in the States, though three of the cuts -- "Route 66," "I'm Alright," and "I'm Moving On" -- showed up on U.S. LPs later in 1965. So why should collectors care? Well, the other two tracks -- "Pain in My Heart," and a brief snatch of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" -- never did gain U.S. release. (Nor did the cut titled "We Want the Stones," though this is just a crowd chanting "we want the Stones" four times, for which the Stones had the chutzpah to take a songwriting credit, using their Nanker-Phelge group pseudonym.) 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 "I'm Alright" (which, though bearing a Nanker-Phelge credit, is clearly based on the Bo Diddley song of the same name). As for the two songs that didn't see American release, "Pain in My Heart" is taken at a higher key than the studio version, and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" is inconsequential, as it segues into "Pain in My Heart" after 35 seconds. Those two rarities have circulated on numerous bootlegs, as have a few other live tracks ("Down the Road Apiece," "Time Is on My Side," a full version of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love") that were recorded at the same time, but not released.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo