The Rolling Stones Album: “Hot Rocks, 1964-1971”

If I was looking to point a casual fan toward a Rolling Stones retrospective, I'd completely pass on Forty Licks and tell them to go for Hot Rocks, without question.

Everybody knows that 1964-1971 were the golden years for the Stones, and this compilation, which deftly selected the hits from that era, is damn good stuff. All the landmark material is accounted for--Get Off Of My Cloud, Paint It Black, Let's Spend The Night Together, Gimme Shelter, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, Sympathy For The Devil, a live cut of Midnight Rambler, and of course, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Although this will not satisfy diehard fans and I wish a few other songs were included (Stray Cat Blues, the Ya-Ya version of Carol, Sister Morphine, She's A Rainbow, 2000 Man) everything here is grade-A gritty blues rock. The second disc could very well stand alone, it's that good.

As far as the SACD remasters are concerned, they are a massive improvement over the original remasters in every conceivable way. And don't believe the naysayers who claim the new versions are not compatible with PCs--they are.

If you have this and Exile On Main Street, you're set as a casual fan. Completists will want the individual albums, but Hot Rocks does a damn good job of capturing the Stones at their finest before old age and drug abuse set in. Recommended.

I owned this excellent package in vinyl the very first day it came out (wow!) 30 years ago. The music is, with no question, an exceptional bunch of songs in one place: no dispute there and therefore recommended as essential. I do disagree with ABCKO about their research for the best masters for this proyect: the lack of stereo Masters in Satisfaction, Mother's Little Helper, Off of my cloud is dissapointing. I do have these in my analog Hot Rocks CD I obtained while stationed in Germany in 1989. With less resolution, but in stereo, they do sound great.

Aside from my misgivings for being a definitive project with full utilization of stereo with the SACD format, I would still recommend it.

Hot Rocks 1964-1971 is an awesome two CD Stones compilation set that has so many of their best hits. This also makes a great introduction to the band, too, just as other people have said. The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is really nicely done.

The first CD starts with "Time Is On My Side;" this classic Stones tune really rocks well and they deliver this with lots of positive energy! The percussion is great; and The Stones sing and play this to perfection! "Heart Of Stone" has a great beat; and Mick Jagger sings this passionately--with all his heart and soul. He sings of a woman he knows and it all works very well. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is easily one of their best hits ever--and one of the best rock songs ever written, too. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" explores the frustration a man can feel when he doesn't have a girlfriend; and that's something many guys can relate to. The song rocks well anyway; and I could never tire of hearing The Rolling Stones doing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Excellent!

"Get Off Of My Cloud" is another classic by the Stones; this song has a great beat and they handle complicated tempo and key changes like the pros they were and still remain! Mick sings great and "Get Off Of My Cloud" is a major highlight of this two CD set; the lyrics are very creative, too. "Mother's Little Helper" uses some pretty awesome electric guitar; and listen for The Rolling Stones to do their very best on "Paint It Black." "Paint It Black" has one of the best arrangements The Stones ever wrote and sang; and the music is also very well done. "Under My Thumb" is yet another classic tune by this incredible band; they ace this easily and I always like to hear this song.

The first CD ends strong with The Rolling Stones doing "Let's Spend the Night Together." "Let's Spend the Night Together" celebrates the happiness of attraction between a man and a woman and that's terrific.

The second CD continues the hits. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" has a pretty cool flavor to it; those electric guitars work well and Mick Jagger sings this very well. "Sympathy For The Devil" was always one of my very favorite Stones tunes; "Sympathy For The Devil" keeps the new listener guessing at who the song is about until the song is well along and that draws in the listener really well. There's also the poignant "You Can't Always Get What You Want" with its sublime female chorus; this song about life makes its point well and that's the strength of this song in addition to the music. "Brown Sugar" rocks so hard that I love hearing this--even if it's over and over again! "Brown Sugar" is easily one of their best songs ever and the topic is interesting, to say the least...

The second CD ends with "Wild Horses;" "Wild Horses" is a passionate love song that always tugs at my heartstrings when I hear it. It moves me a lot and it's a total masterpiece. Good for them!

Overall, The Rolling Stones turned out a "greatest hits" set so strong it DID take on a life of its own. Even all these years later, this album sells quite well and newcomers are always buying it. This two CD set proves that The Rolling Stones were-and are--one of the best rock and roll bands of all time. It will be a long, long time before we see another band this good again.

If you're thinking about buying this CD, chances are you are a relatively new fan of the Stones, and are looking for a good CD to get you started. Look no further. This is an excellent compilation of the biggest hits the Stones had when they were the hottest rock band in the world.

Highlights on Disc One include "Satisfaction" (which is quite possibly the best rock song ever recorded), the dark "Paint It Black," and the gorgeous ballad "Ruby Tuesday." On Disc Two the best include the rocking "Jumpin' Jack Flash," the redneck-flavored "Honky Tonk Woman," and the ambitious statement "You Can't Always Get What You Want." But every single song is worth a listen, I generally don't skip any tracks.

If you are already a Stones fan, chances are you already have most of these songs on their respective albums. But if you are just starting to come around, I definitely recommend Hot Rocks as a smart buy.

Disc 2 is everything I could hope for, Jumpin' Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women have never sounded better to these ears. But what happened to the earlier songs? Satisfaction has all of this extra echo that didn't exist before. Listen to the beginning of 19th Nervous Breakdown - the guitar that wangs in at 3 seconds is all but obliterated. That's not remastering - that's fraud! Ruby Tuesday sounds like the volume turned down everytime the chorus comes around. Buy this set for Disc 2 and don't throw out your old vinyl or CD's.