Out of Our Heads

The majority of the songs were written and previously recorded by American rhythm and blues artists.^[1] According to music critic Richie Unterberger, the US edition largely had mid-1960s soul covers and "classic rock singles" written by the band, including "The Last Time", "Play with Fire", and "Satisfaction", that drew on the band's R&B and blues roots, but were updated to "a more guitar-based, thoroughly contemporary context". Among the soul covers were Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike", Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me", and Sam Cooke's "Good Times".^[2] Kent H. Benjamin of The Austin Chronicle wrote that the album is "the culmination of the Stones' early soul/R&B sound".^[3] Writing of the UK edition, AllMusic's Bruce Eder characterised it as rock and roll and R&B.^[4] The music critic Gary Mulholland writes that the UK version begins with a key proto-punk song – the band's speedy cover of "She Said Yeah" – but otherwise, the majority of the album is "a primitive template for what would later be tagged 'blue-eyed soul'", also noting that "That's How Strong My Love Is" is a sincere deep soul track.^[5]

Initially issued in July 1965 in the US, Out of Our Heads (featuring a shot from the same photo session that was used for the cover of 12 X 5 and The Rolling Stones No. 2) contained recordings made over a six-month period, including the top-10 hit "The Last Time" and the worldwide number one "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" with B-sides^{[clarification needed]} as well as a track from the UK-only live EP Got Live If You Want It!. Six songs from it would be included on the UK version of the album. "One More Try" is an original that was not released in the UK until 1971's Stone Age. Riding the wave of "Satisfaction"'s success, Out of Our Heads became the Rolling Stones' first US number one album, eventually going platinum.

The British Out of Our Heads – with a different cover – added songs that would surface later in the US on December's Children (And Everybody's), and others that had not been released in the UK thus far (such as "Heart of Stone"), instead of the previously released live track and recent hit singles (as singles rarely featured on albums in the UK in those times). Issued that September, Out of Our Heads reached number two on the UK chart behind the Beatles' Help!. It was the Rolling Stones' last UK album to rely upon rhythm and blues covers; the forthcoming Aftermath was entirely composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

The US edition of the album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).^[12] In 2003, this edition was also listed at number 114 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,^[13] then was re-ranked at number 116 in the 2012 revised list.^[14]

Garry Mulholland, writing retrospectively in Uncut, poses that the UK version of Out of Our Heads coheres as an album better than the US version, despite both versions being "cynical [hotchpotches] of recordings from the previous six months." He wrote of the UK version: "The covers of recent American deep soul classics that dominate showcase the band's sincere love of black balladry and dance music, while the four originals point the way, hesitantly, towards the stunning pop-art group who would soon emerge on Aftermath."^[5]

In August 2002 both the US and UK editions of Out of Our Heads were reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.^[15]

All songs written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted

As per the American release:

The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica (on "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" and "The Spider and the Fly"^[16]), tambourine (on "Play with Fire")
• Keith Richards – electric guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (on "The Last Time" and "Play with Fire")
• Brian Jones – electric guitar, acoustic guitar (on "Good Times" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), harmonica (on "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" and "One More Try"^[17]), piano, organ
• Bill Wyman – bass guitar
• Charlie Watts – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Jack Nitzsche – percussion, piano (on "Satisfaction"), organ (on "Cry to Me"), harpsichord (on "Play with Fire")^{[citation needed]}
• Phil Spector – tuned-down electric guitar (on "Play with Fire")^{[citation needed]}
• Ian Stewart – piano, organ, marimba (on "Good Times")
• J.W. Alexander – percussion

Technical personnel

• Andrew Loog Oldham – producer
• David Hassinger – engineer
• Ron Malo – engineer
• Gered Mankowitz – photography

• Smith, Sid. "Review of The Rolling Stones – Out of Our Heads". BBC.
• Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2016). The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-0-316-31774-0.

• Out of Our Heads at Discogs (list of releases)