Disco de The Rolling Stones: “Singles 1963-1965 [Box] [Limited]”

If you were living in London when "Come On" was released, if you went to your local record store and played it and its marvellous "B" side - "I Want To Be Loved" - on your mono, low-fi record player over and over again, if you went back to the store and bought each single and EP as they arrived and put every track through the same repeat play process, if you still have them in your attic in a lovingly scratched, wholly unplayable state or if you've lost them over the years then this is all you could ask for. Or is it?

Well, the good news is that they're all here... every "A" side, "B" side and EP track from the period when the Stones really were the most exciting thing around. And, unlike many groups of the time, their "B" sides and EP tracks were good - not just fillers but, as "I Want To Be Loved", "Stoned", "Little By Little", "Good Times, Bad Times", "Off The Hook", "Play With Fire", "Bye Bye Johnnie", "Money", "Empty Heart", "Around & Around" & "2120 South Michigan Avenue" amply evidence, essential parts of what all the fuss was about. Thirty three memories in one boxed set.

And the bad news? Cleverly but annoyingly the whole lot is spread over 12 beautifully packaged individual CD's with each one containing the A & B side of a single or the contents of an EP. Great to look at and, for those around at the time, a real walk down memory lane, but an expensive production and one that's difficult to play without hopping out of your chair every five minutes or so to load yet another disc. At this price it would have been much more sensible and user-friendly to have included a couple of full length 16 track CD's in addition to the individual releases but, as it stands, you'll need to burn them down to your own CDs or playlist them through your iPod for the whole process to become manageable.

The alternative? Well, that depends on what you want and how much you're prepared to pay... all the "A" & "B" sides from this period are included on the first disc in the "The Singles Collection - The London Years" boxed set which also includes both sides of their single releases through to 1970. All the tracks from their first EP are included on the "More Hot Rocks" compilation, all the tracks from the second EP are on their "12x5" album and all the tracks from the third EP are on their "Got Live If You Want It" album. An even more expensive option, with a lot of duplication, but then you do get a great deal more for your money.

So... an indispensable but oddly delivered memory bank for those of us who were there and want to be there again, and an intriguingly expensive "coffee table" purchase for those who weren't.

If you are a big fan you will prabably not read this review and buy this set anyway. If you just want the hits a's and b's, you'd better buy the 3 cd the singles collection set, which was released in 2002.All tracks on that issue are DSD mastered and put on dual layer SACD to give the great sound.Besides that, you will get the strong mono mixes of most songs; and, finally Street fighting man's original 45 mix , which was only released on 7" in 1968. This raw different garage mix is far superior to the often used lp version. This new set is only for the hardcore fans.What do they get? Sleeve replicas from US and UK 45's.But as we all know, all Stones early UK 45's were released in company sleeves, so there is not much to earn there.And why they did not use those early London purple and white labels, as well as the dark blue Decca labels for UK issues ? And the usual ABKCO mastering mistake appears again, the first notes of Good times, bad times are missing.Why don't we get it right?

If you never read the booklets that come with your CDs, skip this and get The London Years. If you think well designed and creative packaging is cool, or want to remember what it was like taking your 45s out of the sleeves and listening to them one at a time, this set is for you.

Completists will enjoy the first-time-on-CD (and first time in the US) of the entire UK Got Live If You Want It EP as it was released. Three of the tracks appear separately on other Stones CDs, but if you really want to hear the energy of the early Stones, you have to hear this EP (NOT the same as the full album of the same title) in its entirety.

The box set also puts this seminal music in its proper context. Two other UK EPs are compiled here, and they originally found their way to the US market in piecemeal fashion. The first EP released in the UK is a tour-de-force as this band of teenage blues and soul fanatics seem barely contained by the confines of a recording studio. 'Bye Bye Johnny' jumps out of the speakers, and the Stones relentlessly hammer the beat during 'Money (That's What I Want).' By the time the 5x5 EP was released in the UK, they were showing studio poise and savvy, nailing Berry's 'Around and Around' that they would later resurrect on 'Love You Live' album.

Their later singles begin to show signs of songwriting prowess as well. 'Off The Hook' is just plain fun and one of the great Stones B-sides. 'Heart Of Stone' and 'Play With Fire' prove that the boys learned well from their blues heros.

If your a collector, buy this. If not... who knows, this might find its way to re-release in more conventional packaging.

...not a great source of easy to listen to music.

Why all the complaints about this box set? There cannot be anyone who bought this and was surprised by the fact the discs themselves are not the main event. All of the positive and negative reviews acknowledge there is another box set which contains most of the material available here for far less money supplied on standard hour long discs. The negative reviewers call this singles box (and the other two in the series) as ripoff packaging because they are all under 10 minutes each. Obviously, not only are critics not the target audience, their complaints indicate just how much they do not get it. These boxes are for those who want to collect the original covers for nostalgic value, artistic value, historical value, etc. The fact that each contains a very short compact disc should be considered as completion of the package. While not practical to play these on a regular basis, they enhance the experience in that they give one the opportunity to hear the music as it was originally intended 40+ years ago... 2 tracks at a time as a single.

There are some rarities which were explained by other reviewers; however, the music is almost incidental. These singles boxes can and should be considered more like coffee table books than for practical music listening. If appreciated in that way, they are an excellent look into original product as was released decades ago. In that regard, the intention of these sets have been successful.

In order to purchase the COMPLETE 1960s Rolling Stones singles, both British and American, A sides and B sides, in chronological order, with pristine sound, you only need to purchase the 3-Disc set, "The Singles: The London Years." Splitting the individual singles into separate discs is merely an annoying gimmick. What you DO get here are three previously unavailable British EPs. These, taken along with "The Singles," plus the original 5 British LPs would clearly define the early sound and subsequent development of the band in a comprehensible manner. So far, ABCKO has only released the UK-format versions of "Out of Our Heads," "Aftermath," and "Between the Buttons." Those are extremely welcome indeed . . . but where are "Rolling Stones" and "Rolling Stones No. 2," the first 2 British LPs? The release of those discs, along with a compilation of the early EPs would complete the picture and allow the Rolling Stones fan to collect all the Rolling Stones material in the original intended configurations and chronology. True fans should avoid this release and demand ABCKO to finish what they started - give the Stones the same fair treatment that the Beatles have had since their initial CD releases in the 1980s. Right now we still have an incomplete bifurcation of US and UK releases with multiple overlaps and no cohesive format. Of course, this may be part of their strategy, to force fans to purchase more releases simply in order to get the full selection of recordings. Let the company know you won't stand for it! Stop buying until they straighten the mess out for all of us. (The 3 stars are for the music, which remains, of course, amazing.