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| ARTIST: |
The Rolling Stones
(Google this artist) |
| ALBUM: |
Remastered Series |
| LABEL: |
ABKCO Records |
| RELEASED: |
2003 |
As the Rolling Stones go on acquiring dollars and liver spots by the
millions, the debate continues: are Mick, Keith and the boys still
musically relevant or merely a Las Vegas simulation of a once-thrilling
rock & roll rebellion?
Beyond reproach, however, is the magnificence of the Stones' sixties body
of work. It's a high-water mark for white-boy blues and popular music in
general. And now, after years of muddy mixes and shoddy packaging, that
music has finally gotten the attention to detail it deserves, courtesy of
ABKCO's Rolling Stones Remastered Series.
The 22 titles in the Rolling Stones Remastered series are almost certainly
the most ambitious overhaul of a major rock artist's catalog to date. Each
CD is a so-called "hybrid" CD with two layers of information, allowing them
to be played as both regular CDs and multichannel Super Audio CDs. It's
perhaps first sonic innovation the Beatles didn't beat them to first.
What's new? Every studio album from their debut England's Newest Hitmakers,
through Let it Bleed; two live albums (Got Live if You Want It from mid-60s
and the classic 1969 tour document Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!); six compilations
and the outtakes primer Metamorphosis (which is making its first ever
appearance on CD). And each record is packaged in a cardboard digipak that
replicates the original album-art experience.
To sweeten the deal, certain titles are available in both their original UK
and US versions. So folks on this side of the pond now have the opportunity
to enjoy albums like Aftermath and the baroque masterpiece Between the
Buttons as the Stones originally intended.
The sound of these new CDs is a true revelation, partly because the quality
of their previous versions was maddeningly lame for such an important act.
Listen to the newly remastered version of a song like "Ruby Tuesday," a
song you've heard hundreds or thousands of times, and you'll hear
instruments, guitar parts and vocal nuances you had no idea existed.
It's also a major revelation vis-a-vis Brian Jones, who shines with his
stunning array of tastefully creative parts on sitar ("Paint It, Black");
dulcimer ("Lady Jane"); recorder ("Ruby Tuesday") and slide guitar ("No
Expectations"). Another big winner sonically is bassist/groupie-monger Bill
Wyman, who has gone from inaudible to indispensable. He has a natural knack
for locking in with the frequency of the Keith Richards' rhythm guitar and
Charlie Watts' kick-drum to create a tension and intensity that has no
equal.
And the performances on these records, which document the Stones' rise from
a blues cover band to the ultimate dandies of decadence, represent a unique
take on the blues that has never really been approached in terms of
quality.
Everyone knows the classics from the period: "(I Can't Get No)
Satisfaction," "Get Off My Cloud," "Mother's Little Helper," "Under My
Thumb," "She's a Rainbow," "Street Fighting Man," "Gimme Shelter," right up
to "Brown Sugar." But as with any truly great artist, it's the quality of
lesser-known Jagger/Richards compositions that's truly staggering. If
you're only familiar with the Stones through classic rock radio, this is an
ideal time to explore their mind-blowing catalog in depth.
In fact, a theoretical compilation of obscure Stones gems could easily
stand with even the legendary but overplayed Hot Rocks 1964-1971. Songs
like "She Smiled Sweetly" from Between the Buttons; "Jigsaw Puzzle" from
Beggar's Banquet; "Child of the Moon," the Lennonesque B-side of "Jumpin'
Jack Flash;" Let It Bleed's "Monkey Man;" "Down the Road Apiece" from Now!;
and "Out of Time" from Metamorphosis are all shamefully under-appreciated
by the mainstream. And it's positively criminal that Mick Taylor's soaring
slide guitar on "Love in Vain" from Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out isn't as celebrated
as one of Eric Clapton's by-the-numbers blues runs.
Instead of spending a week's pay on nosebleed seats to the gall-Stones'
next stadium-sized oldies revue, parlay a few quid into any or all of the
22 gems in the Rolling Stones Remastered series.
review by Steve Walsh
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©
Figgle 2001-2007