Today we have the Rolling Stones' second studio album 12 X 5. Released in 1964, the album was only released in the US. In the UK, five of the songs were released as an EP with the rest of the songs released as singles or later appearing in The Rolling Stones No. 2, which was only released in the UK. While most of the songs are covers like on their debut, three songs were written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and two songs were credited to the whole group.
"Good Times, Bad Times" and "Congratulations" show that the Stones can sound just as raw and powerful with an acoustic guitar and it's the first inkling that Richards could turn into a first-rate guitarist and songwriter. Despite this, the Stones have yet to write anything as exceptional or catchy as their contemporaries, the Beatles, although instrumentally they're nearly equal. The recordings are crisper and the arrangements are tighter than on their debut. With all the originals here being at least mildly impressive, I see no reason why a large artistic leap isn't around the corner. B [Later: A-]
