Track Listing

1. Satisfaction
2. Get Off My Cloud
3. Paint It Black
4. Under My Thumb
5. Ruby Tuesday
6. Let's Spend The Night Together
7. Jumpin' Jack Flash
8. Sympathy For The Devil
9. Honky Tonk Women
10. Gimme Shelter
11. You Can't Always Get What You Want
12. Brown Sugar
13. Time Is On My Side
14. Heart Of Stone
15. Play With Fire
16. As Tears Go By
17. Mother's Little Helper
18. 19th Nervous Breakdown
19. Street Fighting Man
20. Midnight Rambler
21. Wild Horses

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33613 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-31
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Hybrid SACD, SACD, Original recording remastered

CD Description
If faced with the absurd dilemma of picking one album to represent the meaning of rock music, the Rolling Stones compilation HOT ROCKS--which collects most of their commercially and artistically successful songs from 1964 to 1971--would certainly be in the running. A two-CD set (originally releasedas a double LP), HOT ROCKS' 22 tracks each have the ring ofhistorical inevitability about them; more importantly, of course, they are great tunes. From the soulful wailing of "Time Is On My Side" (the only non-Jagger/Richards original here) to the nervous pop shuffle of "Mother's Little Helper" through the Indian-influenced psychedelia of "Paint It Black" and the gospel-inflected strains of "You Can't Always Get What You Want", it is hard to argue with the power of this music.
Many of these songs have been tattooed on the cultural psyche--the amped-up rock nirvana of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Satisfaction" (with their indelible guitar riffs), for example--but everything here sparkles and thrills: the mod clatter of "19th Nervous Breakdown", the in-your-face sass of"Brown Sugar". At their very best, as on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Gimme Shelter", the Stones prove capable not only of creating compressed rock masterpieces, but of making music emblematic of their entire generation (and future generations). The Rolling Stones are often referred to as "the World's Greatest Rock Band". HOT ROCKS makes that claim hard todispute.

Customer Reviews

Uncompromising rock n roll genius
The Rolling Stones spent much of the sixties in the shadow of the Beatles and, with regards to their respective albums, perhaps deservedly so. However, as this 2-disc retrospective proves, they were every bit as important as their clean-cut contemporaries.

To its credit, Hot Rocks is weighted very much in favour of their late sixties output, which was undoubtedly their best work. Of the early sixties singles, the inclusion of the likes of Time Is On My Side and Heart Of Stone seems a little strange, at the expense of more historically important cuts such as Not Fade Away or It's All Over Now. However, these tracks do lend to the overall mood of the album, so it's a small gripe.

From the opening riff of Satisfaction, we are taken on a breathtaking ride through the sixties according to the World's Greatest Rock N Roll Band. Paint It Black, Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar. Every track is pure gold. Sympathy For The Devil, Gimme Shelter, the huge, orchestral You Can't Always Get What You Want, and finally, the lovely country ballad, Wild Horses.

Quite simply put, this CD is brilliant, and I cannot praise it highly enough. It is easily the finest collection of popular rock songs ever gathered together onto one volume, and that includes the Beatles equivalent Red and Blue albums. The real question you are now facing, is whether you should buy it now or five minutes ago. So go on, what are you waiting for?

THE APEX OF ROCK
This two-CD set provides seven years worth of vintage Stones. Compare these delectable tracks to the rock music of today and one wonders where things went wrong in the mainstream. Melodic, meaningful, powerful and innovative, these Stones songs represent everything that is special about rock music. Although there's not one mediocre track here, my favorites include the bluesy Time Is On My Side, Heart Of Stone, Wild Horses and Ruby Tuesday (covered by Melanie Safka among others), the raucous rock of Satisfaction, Get Off My Cloud, Street Fighting Man and Brown Sugar, with songs of social comment (Mother's Little Helper, 19th Nervous Breakdown), and beautiful ballads: As Tears Go By (covered by inter alia Marianne Faithfull), Play With Fire and Paint It Black. The Stones must be the ultimate rock band, more influential than the Beatles in their 4 decades plus consistency and their exploration of the wilder side of life. This is an absolute masterpiece. If an alien came down and asked me to recommend some quality rock music, this album will top my list. It deserves 7 stars!

Hot Rocks SACD could be better
I certainly can't quibble with the quality of the Stone's music but this reissue is not a step up from previous pressings. While the SACD is certainly more frequency extended both CD and SACD are much harsher to listen to on a good system then the earlier pressings. A good SACD mix or even a good remaster should sound closer to live music. Some of the SACD stuff I've heard lately is jaw droppingly good. I wish this Stones CD was too.