[SACD-R][OF] The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones, Now! - 1965/2002 (Rock)

Iso was made with sacd-ripper version 0.36 for PS3, from the magical Mr Wicked. I use both Zcftr29 and Geo_log’s script tools for these conversions, as and where/when appropriate.

01) ISO image created using sacd-ripper for PS3
02) Edited Master Dff file extracted using SACD_Extract
03) Edited Master Dff file analysed using foobar + foo_input_sacd and DR Meter plugins to find peak track(s)
04) Dff files for loudest tracks extracted from the ISO using SACD_Extract and converted using Weiss Saracon 1.61-27 at 24bit/88.2kHz with -6.00dB gain
05) Non-clipping gain calculated using SoX
06) Final pass conversion using Weiss Saracon 1.61-27 at 24bit/88.2kHz with 5.39dB gain as calculated above
07) Final pass PCM file split into individual tracks (discarding first 41 samples) using track lengths calculated from cue file generated by SACD_Extract
08) Spikes at beginning of first/end of last tracks eliminated by deleting 24 samples and replacing with the adjacent 24 samples using SoX to give the correct track length
09) Finalised tracks converted to flac [level 8] and tagged using tag.exe
10) Dynamic Range measured using Foobar DR Meter plugin

The original material shows a progression. ‘Heart Of Stone’ has a memorable chorus & ‘Off The Hook’, a B-side I believe, has the confidence of their best cover material. Then, of course, there’s the cover of Willie Dixon’s ‘Little Red Rooster’, a rare blues number 1 hit. It still hits the spot. Of their early US releases, ‘Now!’ is one of The Stones’ most confident & consistent.

This is the 3rd USA Stones studio album released in 1965 by their initial USA distributor, London Records.
The album contained 7 tracks from their 2nd UK album The Rolling Stones No. 2, the recent USA Top 20 hit “Heart of Stone”, & other songs which would appear on the UK edition of the Stones’ next album Out of Our Heads later in 1965.

The cover songs on this 1965 gem are a bit more obscure than on the Stones’ 1st 2 long-players, not a bad thing for a band still getting its writing chops together (if admirably; “Heart of Stone” & “Surprise, Surprise” are particularly strong). If there were still doubts that these London kids had any business playing this music, a casually scorching “Down the Road Apiece” should have allayed them; the stomp they lay on Bo Diddley’s “Mona” & Jagger’s lazy drawl on the New Orleans obscurity “Down Home Girl” make for canny mood changes.

Amazon review:
By Docendo Discimus TOP 500 REVIEWER

“The Rolling Stones Now!” isn’t often mentioned when people talk about the Stones’ greatest albums, but in all fairness it should be.
“Now!” is almost uniformly strong from start to finish, including superb covers of “Down The Road Apiece”, Bo Diddley’s vibrating “Mona”, Otis Redding’s “Pain In My Heart”, & one of the group’s best early gems, “Little Red Rooster”, a pure blues with wonderful slide guitar playing by Brian Jones (it gave the Stones a #1 single in Britain).
As songwriters, Jagger & Richards were still learning, but they did come up with an American Top 20 hit, the great, soulful “Heart of Stone”, as well as the thumping, Chuck Berry-styled rocker “Off The Hook”.

“The Rolling Stones Now!” is a muscular slice of blues, rock n’ roll & soul music, & a must-own even for moderately serious fans.
4 1/2 stars – highly recommended.

foobar2000 1.1.13 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2012-07-03 15:38:11
————————————————————————————–
Analyzed: The Rolling Stones / The Rolling Stones, Now!
————————————————————————————–
DR Peak RMS Duration Track (+5.39dB gain)
————————————————————————————–
DR13 -1.55 dB -15.82 dB 2:59 01-Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
DR13 -1.17 dB -15.72 dB 4:13 02-Down Home Girl
DR11 -1.93 dB -14.14 dB 3:40 03-You Can’t Catch Me
DR12 -0.04 dB -14.82 dB 2:50 04-Heart Of Stone
DR12 -0.90 dB -15.61 dB 3:07 05-What A Shame
DR12 -1.45 dB -15.31 dB 3:35 06-Mona (I Need You Baby)
DR11 -1.16 dB -15.01 dB 2:56 07-Down The Road Apiece
DR13 -1.47 dB -16.40 dB 2:35 08-Off The Hook
DR12 -1.21 dB -14.72 dB 2:12 09-Pain In My Heart
DR12 -0.25 dB -14.94 dB 2:09 10-Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin’)
DR14 -0.01 dB -16.48 dB 3:07 11-Little Red Rooster
DR13 -0.61 dB -14.17 dB 2:32 12-Surprise, Surprise
————————————————————————————–
Number of tracks: 12
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 88200 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 2600 kbps
Codec: FLAC