On Air (Rolling Stones album)

On Air is a live album by the Rolling Stones released on 1 December 2017.^[6][7] The standard versions of the album contain 18 live and studio recordings of the band aired on the BBC in 1963–1965. Deluxe editions of the album contain an additional 14 tracks.^[8] It emerged 20 years after initial newspaper reports that such an album could be forthcoming.^[9]

On Air
Live album by the Rolling Stones
Released	1 December 2017
Recorded	1963–1965
Studio	BBC
Genre	Rock, blues
Length	49:00 Standard edition 84:00 Deluxe edition
Label	Interscope, Polydor
the Rolling Stones chronology
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (2017) On Air (2017) Voodoo Lounge Uncut (2018)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Tom Hull	B+[4]
Vice (Expert Witness)	A−[5]

Background

On Air is a compilation album containing live in the studio performances by the Rolling Stones that were broadcast on various BBC radio shows from 1963 to 1965,^[6] including blues and rock 'n' roll covers and early Jagger/Richards hits such as "The Last Time" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".^[10] The album was released in multiple formats, including CD, double-CD deluxe edition, heavyweight vinyl and special limited-edition coloured vinyl. The release follows that of a coffee table book by Richard Havers, which shares the same title.^[11]

The standard versions of the album contain 18 tracks, while the deluxe editions contain 32 tracks.^[6][7] Eight of the tracks have never been recorded or released commercially by the band.^[6] The quality of the individual recordings varies considerably, with some being recorded in mono, and others in stereo. Despite this, the Los Angeles Times considered many of the tracks to be "crisp, clean and potent".^[12]

Critical reception

The album received a favourable Metacritic score of 84,^[13] with Uncut calling it a "essentially [a] sequel"^[10] to the band's previous album, Blue & Lonesome, which was released in December 2016. Uncut also stated that On Air captures the "full flowering" of the Jagger/Richards songwriting relationship.^[10] The Los Angeles Times considered the album to be comparable to similar, previously released BBC recordings made by the Beatles during the period.^[12] Robert Christgau wrote in Vice: "Billed 'R&B' as they started playing out in 1963, the Stones were catchier and quicker than blues, and on these 32 radio transcriptions they sound like the premier bar band of their time if not ever. Where Blue & Lonesome is a sodden thing – many old rockers have recorded sharper, spunkier, wiser music – this collection proves what world-beaters they were even before they got serious about songwriting."^[5]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Radio show	Date	Length
1.	"Come On"	Chuck Berry	Saturday Club	26 October 1963	2:03
2.	"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	Saturday Club	18 September 1965	3:46
3.	"Roll Over Beethoven"	Chuck Berry	Saturday Club	26 October 1963	2:19
4.	"The Spider and the Fly"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	Yeah Yeah	30 August 1965	3:14
5.	"Cops and Robbers"	Kent Harris	Blues in Rhythm	9 May 1964	3:44
6.	"It's All Over Now"	Bobby Womack, Shirley Womack	The Joe Loss Pop Show	17 July 1964	3:18
7.	"Route 66"	Bobby Troup	Blues in Rhythm	9 May 1964	2:32
8.	"Memphis, Tennessee"	Chuck Berry	Saturday Club	26 October 1963	2:22
9.	"Down the Road a Piece"	Don Raye	Top Gear	6 March 1965	2:01
10.	"The Last Time"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	Top Gear	6 March 1965	3:10
11.	"Cry to Me"	Bert Berns	Saturday Club	18 September 1965	3:07
12.	"Mercy, Mercy"	Don Covay, Ronald Miller	Yeah Yeah	30 August 1965	2:54
13.	"Oh! Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')"	Barbara Lynn	Saturday Club	18 September 1965	1:49
14.	"Around and Around"	Chuck Berry	Top Gear	23 July 1964	2:45
15.	"Hi-Heel Sneakers"	Tommy Tucker	Saturday Club	18 April 1964	1:56
16.	"Fannie Mae"	Buster Brown, Clarence L. Lewis, Bobby Robinson	Saturday Club	18 September 1965	2:11
17.	"You Better Move On"	Arthur Alexander	Blues in Rhythm	9 May 1964	2:46
18.	"Mona"	Bo Diddley	Blues in Rhythm	9 May 1964	2:58

Deluxe bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Radio show	Date	Length
1.	"I Wanna Be Your Man"	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	Saturday Club	8 February 1964	1:52
2.	"Carol"	Chuck Berry	Saturday Club	18 April 1964	2:31
3.	"I'm Moving On"	Hank Snow	The Joe Loss Pop Show	10 April 1964	2:06
4.	"If You Need Me"	Wilson Pickett, Sonny Sanders, Robert Bateman	The Joe Loss Pop Show	17 July 1964	2:01
5.	"Walking the Dog"	Rufus Thomas	Saturday Club	8 February 1964	2:59
6.	"Confessin' the Blues"	Jay McShann, Walter Brown	The Joe Loss Pop Show	17 July 1964	2:26
7.	"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"	Solomon Burke, Bert Berns, Jerry Wexler	Top Gear	6 March 1965	3:34
8.	"Little by Little"	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Phil Spector	The Joe Loss Pop Show	10 April 1964	2:30
9.	"Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby"	Jimmy Reed	Rhythm and Blues	31 October 1964	1:56
10.	"Beautiful Delilah"	Chuck Berry	Saturday Club	18 April 1964	2:10
11.	"Crackin' Up"	Bo Diddley	Top Gear	23 July 1964	2:16
12.	"I Can't Be Satisfied"	Muddy Waters	Top Gear	23 July 1964	2:30
13.	"I Just Want to Make Love to You"	Willie Dixon	Saturday Club	18 April 1964	2:16
14.	"2120 South Michigan Avenue"	Nanker Phelge	Rhythm and Blues	31 October 1964	3:47

Personnel

Musicians

• Mick Jagger – vocals, harmonica
• Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Jones – guitar, harmonica
• Bill Wyman – bass, backing vocals
• Charlie Watts – drums
• Ian Stewart – piano on "Down the Road a Piece", "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"

Production

• Engineering: Chris Bolster, Lewis Jones, John Barrett, Paul Pritchard
• Demixing: James Clarke
• Mastering: Alex Wharton
• Text: Richard Havers
• Design: Studio Fury
• Cover image: Hulton Archive

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	54
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	23
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18]	58
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[19]	4
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20]	40
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	10
Greek Albums (IFPI)[23]	35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24]	36
Italian Albums (FIMI)[25]	22
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26]	16
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[27]	4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28]	24
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[29]	36
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30]	20
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[31]	9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32]	22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33]	22
UK Albums (OCC)[34]	27
US Billboard 200[35]	47
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[36]	4

References

1. "On Air by The Rolling Stones Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "On Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
3. "On Air-Rolling Stones". cduniverse.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
4. Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: The Rolling Stones". tomhull.com. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
5. Christgau, Robert (2 February 2018). "Robert Christgau on a Brilliant Beefheart Trip and Some Early Stones Standouts". Vice. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
6. "Rolling Stones Collect Rare BBC Recordings for 'On Air'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
7. "Pre-Order The Rolling Stones On Air Album | The Rolling Stones". www.rollingstones.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
8. Aswad, Jem (6 October 2017). "Rolling Stones to Release 50-Year-Old BBC Radio Sessions". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
9. "Lost Rolling Stones songs are found on BBC basement tapes" by Nicholas Hellen, The Sunday Times, 4 January 1998
10. "Reviewed! The Rolling Stones - On Air - Uncut". Uncut. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
11. "The Rolling Stones collect rare, early radio sessions for new album, The Rolling Stones - On Air - Uncut". Uncut. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
12. "Keith Richards reflects on the Rolling Stones' BBC recordings, complete with threats of decapitation". Los Angeles Times. 1 December 2017. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
13. On Air by The Rolling Stones, retrieved 1 December 2017
14. "ARIA Chart Watch #450". auspOp. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
15. "Austriancharts.at – The Rolling Stones – On Air" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
16. "Ultratop.be – The Rolling Stones – On Air" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
17. "Ultratop.be – The Rolling Stones – On Air" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
18. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
19. "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
20. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 49.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Rolling Stones – On Air" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Rolling Stones – On Air" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
23. "Greekcharts.com – The Rolling Stones – On Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
24. "Irish Albums Chart: 8 December 2017". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
25. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 49 (dal 2017-12-01 al 2017-12-07)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
26. "CDアルバムランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
27. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
28. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 50, 2017". VG-lista. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
29. "Portuguesecharts.com – The Rolling Stones – On Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
30. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
31. "2017년 48주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
32. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 8 December 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
33. "Swisscharts.com – The Rolling Stones – On Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
35. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
36. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2017.