Metamorphosis [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Hybrid SACD - DSD]

The Rolling Stones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Abkco
• ASIN: B00006AW2F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,840 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Culled from the Rolling Stones' massive archive, 1975's METAMORPHOSIS is the band's sole rarities compilation featuring material from the Stones' fertile '60s and '70s era. Cherry picked by former manager Allen Klein as a result of a bitter lawsuit that found a similar anthology contrived by Bill Wyman going unreleased, this treasure trove of cuts is a boon to both die-hard and casual Stones fans. It kicks off with a lush, orchestrated version of "Out Of Time," one of a handful of outtakes (along with "Heart Of Stone") featuring a studio full of session musicians including John McLaughlin, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones.

Overseen by Mick Jagger and then manager Andrew Oldham, these tracks provide interesting insight to a time when the Stones' success allowed them to dish off songs to other UK artists, using versions like these as demos. Other highlights include a killer cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why" (originally recorded for LET IT BLEED) and "Memo From Turner," a Jagger/Richards number cut with Al Kooper and penned for the soundtrack to the Jagger vehicle Performance. Making its CD debut in 2002, METAMORPHOSIS remains a jewel that still glimmers almost three decades after its release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Finally on CD! Historical Value - Clearing Up The Confusion, September 6, 2002

By 

Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Metamorphosis (Audio CD)

There is some confusion here about which version of Metamorphosis has been released. Although the Amazon.com listing I have seen online shows 14 tracks, the version I received and all the versions I have seen in the stores have all 16 tracks. Here are the details on both versions, although I am quite sure the 16 track European version is what has been released, not the American 14 track version that was first released on vinyl.

With the release of the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material), it helps to clarify the confusion about the U.S. and U.K./European releases of the original vinyl Metamorphosis.

There are 2 Metamorphosis versions, both released on June 6, 1975:
U.S. ABKCO vinyl with 14 tracks
U.K. /European Decca vinyl with 16 tracks

This new remastered SACD is the 16 track U.K./European ABKCO vinyl release. It includes the two extra tracks that were included on the U.K./European vinyl release (Somethings Just Stick In Your Mind and We're Wastin' Time). There are several things worth noting about these tracks, for example several tracks are actually Mick backed by the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra, not the Stones themselves (I've marked these below with a #). Of special interest is this version of Memo From Turner is the only version ever released with the Stones backing Mick (The Performance soundtrack version has Mick backed by studio musicians, which included Jimmy Page). I have noted the specifics below.

Note: ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog when Allen Klein was released as their manager in 1972. The resulting legal battles produced releases that the Stones opposed (they took out full page adds asking fans not to buy them), including both of these very controversial Metamorphosis releases (which are now available on CD for the 1st time ever). But the sad fact is that the Stones lost control of their great early material. With these remastered SACD releases, we at last have some idea of what they really sounded like in the studio. I guess if we had these 40 years ago they would have ended up Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the Universe instead of just the Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the World.

The tracks were recorded from 1964-70 as follows:
Jun 10-11, 1964 at Chess Studios in Chicago
.....Don't Lie To Me (a Chuck Berry song, STILL wrongly credited to Jagger & Richards)
Jun 29 - Jul 7, 1964 at Regent Sound and Decca Studios in London
.....#Try A Little Harder (with Jimmy Page)
.....#Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (with Jimmy Page)
Jul, 1964 at Regent Sound in London
.....#Heart Of Stone (Metamorphosis has the only release of this version)
Aug 31 - Sep 1, 3, 4, 1964 at Pye and Decca Studios in London
.....#We're Wasting Time
.....#(Walking Thru the) Sleepy City
.....#Each And Every Day Of The Year
Feb late, 1965 at Decca Studios in London
.....#I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys (written for Bob Crewe commemorating his hit)
May 6, 1966 at Pye Studios in London
.....#Out Of Time (Mick backed by studio musicians)
Nov 9-26, 1966 at Olympic and Pye Studios in London
.....If You Let Me
May 13-21, 1968 at Olympic Studios in London
.....Downtown Suzie
Jun 28, 1968 at Olympic Studios in London
.....Family
Nov 17, 1968 at Olympic Studios in London
.....Memo From Turner
Jun 10 - Jul 2, 1969 at Olympic Studios in London
.....Jiving Sister Fanny
.....I Don't Know Why
Ju1 14-15, 1970 at Olympic Studios in London
.....I'm Going Down (with Stephen Stills)

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own
collection.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what could have been, but fun anyway, September 1, 2002

By 

David Goodwin (Westchester, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metamorphosis (Audio CD)

It's amazing what history can do to certain albums. Released by Allen Klein's ABKCO in the mid-seventies, Metamorphosis was savaged by...well, just about everyone at the time. Bill Wyman had apparently approached Klein with his own concept of a Stones out-takes collection (caled "The Black Box"), Klein turned him down, and Metamorphosis was the result; indeed, the album is somewhat infamous for its status as THE cut-out bin record. With its ugly cover and its bizarre focus on Mick and Keith's demos for outside artists, Metamorphosis was discarded almost as soon as it was purchased.

Something strange happened, though, which I suppose was inevitable. When ABKCO and London Records issued the Stones discs on CD in the late eighties, Metamorphosis--ABKCO's baby!--was pointedly not amoung them. Its unavailibility on CD suddenly lent it a near-mythical status, with the reams of "critical evalutations" that tend to follow something suddenly becoming unavailible (never mind that vinyl copies have always been easy to find!).

Now we find ourselves in 2002, with ABKCO finally releasing the long-out-of-print compilation on CD, putting an end to the era of endless CD pirates and variations. Is this the final word? Is this indeed a lost classic?

Heavens no. Hopefully, this recent re-release will finally allow people to take a rational look at the album, without the endless "what it could've been" sentiments AND the "but-it-isn't-availible" protestations. Metamorphosis is what it always has been; a decent collection of outtakes and demos, but not the best of what could have been put-out.

For one thing, many of the tracks are "The Rolling Stones" in name only. Mick and Keith wanted to play the Lennon/McCartney game of farming out some of their "less-Stones-like" songs to outside groups, so Andrew Oldham assembled a crack-team of musicians to record the songs, with Mick and Keith often being the only Stones present. The results aren't BAD, but it doesn't take a Stones historian to see why songs like "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" and "I'd Rather Be with the Boys" didn't show up on proper Stones discs.

The non-demo stuff is tasty indeed, though. "Family" (it of endless bootleg variations), "I Don't Know Why" and "Jiving Sister Fanny" are absolutely great. Even Bill Wyman--Mr. Stifled-by-Mick-and-Keith himself--gets a song entry, the curious ly-entitled "Downtown Suzie" (I'd love for someone to explain that particular title to me someday), and it's great fun.

A few criticisms. Firstly, it goes without saying that some of this (ESPECIALLY the demo material) isn't the kind of thing people return to after the novelty value has worn off; there IS better stuff in the vaults that could've been used. Also, while ABKCO sensibly reissued the longer, 16-track UK version of the album, it sounds like they just used the old 70s album master; there's some tremendously odd stereo processing going on in some of the songs, and bootlegs of this material often use cleaner (and wider!) sources.

Verdict: Finally availible on CD, wonderful. But if you never liked it, you probably still won't. Heck, it might repeat history, and be the first ever SACD hybrid cut-out!

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Remaster of a Mediocre Album, August 28, 2002

By 

T. Schmidt "strangebird" (Mansfield TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Metamorphosis (Audio CD)

Until now, this has been one of the rarest and most sought-after of the original Stones albums. Most fans of the group are probably only familiar with the four tracks which appeared on the Singles Collection ("Out of Time", "Try a Little Harder", "I Don't Know Why", "Jiving Sister Fanny"). These are also the most worthwhile tracks on this CD, which serves to reinforce the fact that many of the Rolling Stones' finest studio moments were in fact already released.

Several of early the tracks feature only Mick Jagger backed by some quality session men cutting Jagger/Richards demos for other artists (The heavily orchestrad "Out of Time" is the most famous example of this). In fact, there is really nothing notable on this disc until Track 10, a stunning cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why", reputedly recorded the night Brian Jones died. Other highlights include "Jiving Sister Fanny", a hilarious bit of southern boogie and "Downtown Suzie", a good natured acoustic romp courtesy of Bill Wyman (it really should have made the final cut for Beggar's Banquet).

On the down side, we have "Sleepy City" which sounds like a third-rate Beach Boys knockoff and a rushed, almost robotic-sounding take of "Memo from Turner". The closer, "I'm Going Down", is a fantastic piece of rock and roll (originally recorded for Let it Bleed in 1969) ruined by a horrible mix which renders the vocals all but inaudible.

As for sound quality: INCREDIBLE!!!

In the end, this will be a highly welcome addition to any hard-core Stones fan's collection (like me).