Customer Reviews

Made In The Shade

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just bought this album today, not aware until now that it had only been released on the 5th of April ("remastered," or so they say); I guess it's the first time it's been released on CD.

First of all, let's get something out of the way - it is not remastered. The Forty Licks album has much better remasters of Wild Horses, Brown Sugar, Happy, Angie, and It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It). I wondered why they didn't just put the Forty Licks remasters on this album. In fact with Made in the Shade, you're paying $11.99 for five out of ten tracks that are included on the Forty Licks album, which you can buy for twice the price - which includes four times the amount of tracks as Made in the Shade. (Are you still with me, here?)

The GOOD thing is that this includes five other solid tracks that AREN'T included on Forty Licks: Tumbling Dice, Dance Little Sister, Bitch, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), and Rip This Joint.

Also, the Forty Licks album was not only remastered, but the original tracks were edited, something Rolling Stones purists might find appalling. The tracks here are left untouched - there is often static in the right speaker, I instantly noticed, preserving the original scratchy quality of the sound. (Before surround sound and stereo was perfected.) Good evidence that it was poorly remastered, and therefore not tampered with by over-zealous technicians. Whether you find this a good or a bad thing may depend entirely on how you favor the Rolling Stones.

One thing I was rather disappointed with was the packaging. Not the artwork, but the actual interior packaging. There is no pamphlet, no additional photos. In fact, the album doesn't really offer anything exclusive (as some tend to do - e.g. The Beatles Anthology). But they did manage to sneak in a special warning on the inside cover that tells you not to share the CD with friends or post any tracks on the Internet. It kinda shows where the producers' hearts lie.

In summary, Stones enthusiasts should definitely buy this, and it's worth the money, as it includes some of their best songs ever. It also preserves the tracks in their original nature, with only minor digital touchups ("remastering") that is so poor that, at first, I thought they had taken it straight from the vinyl without remastering it at all. But if you're just a casual listener, the Forty Licks album is more comprehensive - it features better audio quality and a much larger selection of Greatest Hits, whereas if you aren't a Stones freak you might be turned off by some of the tracks here.

Call me a sucker. Call me a fool. Hey you can even call me a marketing analyst's wet dream! For some reason I keep buying the endless remastered, CD compilations, that the Stones keep putting out of their old hits. The funny thing is, that I pretty rarely put these babies in the CD player. I'd much rather listen to classic titles like "Let it Bleed" or "Exile On Main Street". In fact, ironically, the most use I get out of these releases is to use them to burn my own compilations on CD-R. There are two exceptions to this scenario. One is the excellent double CD "Hot Rocks", which is primarily the Stone's chart topping, sixties greatest hits. I had it on vinyl as a kid and it's an excellent overview for any neophyte just getting their toes wet on Rolling Stones music. The other compilation, that I truely love is the 1975 release, "Made in the Shade". This compilation is mainly made up of both hits (and a few non-hits) from the early to mid '70s. For some reason this mix of songs, just seems to work so well together. They are equal parts, good old Stones Sassiness ("Dance Little Sister", "Heart Breaker", "B**ch") and sentimentality ("Wild Horses", "Angie", "Happy"). I have endless memories of past summers, where I would roll the windows of my car down, slip "Made in the Shade" into the old cassette player and let it blast at top volume. It might sound totally corny, but this compilation album just totally reeks with rock n' roll spirit. It's why I ever liked the stones in the first place! A couple of years ago the record companies finally started re-releasing the Stone's classic albums to CD in remastered form. Let's just say I was more than mildly disapointed, when "Made in the Shade" was not included among these re-releases. I even used many of the compilations to create my own remastered version of the album. Well finally to my delight, Virgin Records has put it out in remastered form. The other day I put it in the car CD player, rolled down the windows and it just sounded great! Every Mick vocal, every Keith guitar lick, every Charlie cymbals crash, just sounded so clear. I could even make out some of the more obscure lyrics! If your a fan of the Stones '70s work or just a plain old fan of good rock n' roll, than give this CD a try. I just can't stop playing it. Highly recommended!

This is the first Rolling Stones purchase I ever made, and it's the one that I always want to play more than the few others that I have. I have the mid 80's version that's not remastered, but I just ordered one of these new Made in the Shade remasters, so I think I'll be quite happy with it. I've heard that maybe about half or a little bit more of this release is hits, but like one of the reviewers of this cd said, this has just the right combination of songs, and I have to heartily agree with that assessment. I'm not a huge fan of the group, so all I really need is the FORTY LICKS Set, plus, MADE IN THE SHADE, and I'm good to go. Enjoy!!!

Made in the Shade is The Rolling Stones' initial Atlantic compilation, covering their first four albums on the label. Prominently featuring guitarist Mick Taylor, these albums are universally considered to be among their very best work, and Made thus has some of their best and most famous songs. Most ("Brown Sugar," "Angie," "Wild Horses," "Tumbling Dice," "Bitch," "It's Only Rock `N' Roll") are still heavily played at Stones shows and/or on radio. It is easy to quibble - I would replace "Happy," "Dance Little Sister," and "Rip This Joint" -, but the ten cuts are definitely pristine, nicely mixing rockers and ballads. Completists will of course want it, though there is really little to attract them since there are no songs unavailable elsewhere and packaging is minimal. Most casuals will be better off with a more comprehensive set like Forty Licks, especially as it has better sound; however, in contrast to Forty, these tracks are unedited - a great boon for purists. At any rate, this is unbeatable as a sample of The Stones at their absolute peak.

You Chumps that complain about what is or isn't on a compilation are pathetic. If you really like the Stones then you already have everything good. If you rely on someone else to tell you what's worth having or important, then you're just a sucker that's ripe for the taking. Buy, borrow or steal the original whole albums(remastered) 'cause there's ALWAYS great stuff on 'em that doesn't make the "greatest" hits or box sets. I give this 4 stars for the songs but leave one off for thinking we fans even need this contrived concoction. And I own this disc! Seriously, it's like talking to children...

"Made In The Shade" was the third volume of 'big hits' authorized and prepared by the Rolling Stones. ("Hot Rocks" and "More Hot Rocks" were issued by Allen Klein throough their old record label). The first two volumes sold, partly, on the strength of recent hit singles making their album debut - "High Tide & Green Grass" (1966) offered the psycho-rockabilly classic '19th Nervous Breakdown', and - sporting a terrific octangular cover - "Through The Past, Darkly" (1969), dedicated to the recently deceased Brian Jones, was the first album to include the classics 'Honky Tonk Women', 'Jumping Jack Flash', and 'Dandelion'.
"Made In The Shade" (1975) offered no new songs, and was released to coincide with the Stones' 1975 'Tour Of The Americas'. (Klein, ever vigilant, released "Metamorphosis" simultaneously). Like its predecessor, "Through The Past, Darkly", "Shade" neatly marked the end of another era. Mick Taylor had left the group a few months earlier, in December 1974, and this set compiles most of the hit singles and a couple of album tracks issued during 1971 - 74 and included on the four studio albums Taylor made with the band, "Sticky Fingers" (1971), "Exile On Main Street" (1972), "Goats Head Soup" (1973), and "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" (1974). 'Brown Sugar', 'Tumbling Dice', 'Angie', 'Happy', 'Wild Horses', 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll', 'Bitch', and 'Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)' were all hits, and remain classics of their era; skipping the underwhelming Temptations cover 'Ain't Too Proud Too Beg' (which reached # 16) we get its superior b-side, 'Dance Little Sister' and 'Rip This Joint' to complete the lineup. The Stones could have included the single only tracks 'Let It Rock' or 'Through The Lonely Nights', or the alternate single versions (never, to this day, reissued on LP or CD) of 'All Down The Line' and 'Sway', but alas, the tracks here are all familiar versions of classics. What is new is the remastering, as usual by Bob Ludvig, which happens to be spectacular and superior to the 1994 remasters of the Stones' Atlantic era albums. 'Dance Little Sister' and 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll' which sound lumpy and drab on both the original 1974 vinyl and previous CD editions of IORR, jump out of the speakers here. If you have a good system, this may make the purchase of familiar material worthwhile. And since most of those original studio albums are essential, it may be time for the 1971 - 84 era Stones albums to be remastered once again.
And assuming there will be, as usual, no bonus cuts, I'm hoping, at the very least, for another two minutes added onto 'Slave', from "Tattoo You."

One of the best Stones albums produced. If you like the Stones, this is a must.

I remember seeing this album all over the place growing up. I know I was only 7 when this was released, but bought it when I was 13 almost 14. I looked at the album cover just recently, and saw the adroginous cover, and I gasped. I'm like this is promoting homosexuality. I choose to remember it for the songs though, and they were good picks here, but I felt they could've added a few others here.