Customer Reviews

Metamorphosis

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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).

Curiosity value wins this unapproved collection its third star by the skin of its teeth.
The Stones' contract with Decca Records ended on 31 July 1970 and they formed their own label, Rolling Stones Records, for new product beginning with Brown Sugar and the Sticky Fingers album. Their former label unsurprisingly continued to release what they had in the vaults, both previously released and otherwise, beginning with the compilation Stone Age, timed to coincide with the release of Sticky Fingers, and then with others such as Gimme Shelter, Hot Rocks 1964-1971, Milestones, Rock'n'Rolling Stones, More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies), and, aptly, No Stone Unturned.
Metamorphosis followed in 1975 with poetical sleeve notes by Andrew Oldham promising "songs and stars to take you back/Some old some new, some gone, some due..." and offering thanks to "Jimmy Page, John McLaughlin, Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, Gene Pitney, John Paul Jones, Joe Morrett, Art Greenslade, Messrs Leander and Whittaker, Tony Hicks, Graham Nash, Dave Hassinger, Glyn Johns, Jimmy Miller, and all those we remember had it on the rocks, but forgot the rock they got off on."
There was little clue as to the provenance of what was on offer except that they all dated from their Decca period (London label in America). To tie in with the release, one track had been released as a single, I Don't Know Why, a stirring cover of a relatively obscure Stevie Wonder single from 1969 which had been flipped in favour of the more popular My Cherie Amour. It may be apocryphal that the Stones' rendition was being recorded on exactly 3 July 1969 when a phone call interrupted the session with the news of Brian Jones' death by drowning. He had quit the band less than a month earlier, and Mick Taylor had taken his place in the band. 
The B-side was an unknown Jagger/Richards song called Try A Little Harder, which they had recorded as a publisher's demo on 13 February 1964 at Regent Sound, with session musicians replacing the rest of the Stones. Mick and Keith did a lot of these in the sixties, in a bid to establish themselves as songwriters in their own right, much as Lennon/McCartney had, by offering unrecorded new songs to other acts.
Of the first 9 songs on Metamorphosis, 7 seem to be more publisher's demos created by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, probably recorded with Arthur Greenslade, Mike Leander and David Whittaker, between 1964 and 1966, with a couple of the Hollies adding back-up vocals.
The first of these is Out Of Time, with the arrangement as used by Chris Farlowe on the released version, which of course was a huge hit for him in 1966. The version here, recorded from 27 April 1966, was also extracted as a single in September 1975. It flopped in the UK and reached no. 45 in the States. Sleepy City (September 1964) was recorded by the Mighty Avengers; We're Wasting Time (September 1964) by Jimmy Tarbuck; Each And Every Day Of The Year (September 1964) for The Thee; Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (February 1964) for Dick and Deedee and later recorded by Vashti; I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys (February 1965) for the Toggery Five. 
The two exceptions are a Rolling Stones cover of Chuck Berry's Don't Lie To Me (the composer credits are wrong, and those reviewers who think it was on their first British EP are mistaken; that was Bye Bye Johnny), recorded 12 May 1964 with Ian Stewart on piano, the same day they recorded Congratulations; and a version of Heart Of Stone that is quite a lot sweeter and more poppy than the original American single included on Out Of Our Heads, and has pedal steel guitar and chorus. The basic track for this was recorded 21-23 July 1964 with Mick Jagger being the only Stone involved, suggesting that this Jagger/Richards song was originally intended for someone else.
The final six selections all sound like Rolling Stones outtakes, probably from sessions for the later Decca albums Between The Buttons, Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed. Collector's of hen's teeth should note that Downtown Suzie is an almost unique Stones-period Bill Wyman composition.
Memo From Turner was released as a single in a different version from the film Performance credited to Mick Jagger, that featured Ry Cooder's bottleneck guitar, so it is fascinating to hear this slightly later version by the Stones, recorded 17 November 1968, although it is inferior. Finally, the last track, I'm Going Down, has what sounds like Bobby Keyes on saxophone, and may date from early Sticky Fingers sessions in 1970 as it would not sound out of place on that album. A curate's egg of an album

This June 1975 release, which appeared just as The Stones kicked off that year's North American summer tour, was an oddball collection of previously unissued tracks covering 1963-1969. Similar in concept but not quite as good as The Who's "Odds & Sods" (released a year earlier), this album received almost no commercial radio attention and soon found its way to the cutout bins-and out of print not long after that. I bought my vinyl copy back in August 1978 for about $3, with the lower left corner of the jacket neatly shaved, and it's still around here. Hence I was pleased to learn it was finally being released on domestic cd for the first time, and further pleased to find on purchase that it had been restored to its original UK 16-track form (the U.S. album contained just 14 tracks.) OK, this ain't The Rolling Stones best album by any stretch of the conscience, but it has its moments. Two of the big problems cover eight of the first nine tracks: First, they are not actually performed by the band, but rather by Mick, Keith and a bevy of studio musicians hired by producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Second: Many of these recordings are hurt by some exorbitant electronic reproduction for the purpose of similating stereo. Nonetheless, most of this material is composed by Jagger-Richards--and there are a few gold coins among the copper, such as the poppy but catchy "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys" (with an affectionate nod to Phil Spector), the very early Jagger-Richards ballad "Each And Every Day Of The Year," and a surprisingly good alternate version of "Heart Of Stone" which, session sheets indicate, features a lead guitar break by then 20-year-old Jimmy Page, already an in-demand session player around London by that time. As you move on to tracks 10-16 (side 2 of the album), however, you'll find more familiar sounds, if not songs, hitting your ears-as each of these tracks are performed by The Stones all together. "If You Let Me" is a nice holdover from the "Between The Buttons" sessions, while "Family" and the Bill Wyman-penned "Downtown Suzie" come from the "Beggars Banquet" period. Then there are four tracks which landed on the chopping block when the initially-conceived two-record set "Let It Bleed" was pared down to the single album you all know. The killer here is a blistering cover of "I Don't Know Why," an emotionally-charged yet sadly obscure jewel from Stevie Wonder's early catalog. There's also the funky "Jiving Sister Fanny," "I'm Going Down," and the actual Rolling Stones recording of "Memo From Turner," as opposed to the somewhat better-known "Performance" film soundtrack version credited to Jagger. While Mick delivers a bit more of an impassioned lead vocal and Ry Cooder adds some nice guitar licks to the soundtrack version, The Stones version has considerably more musical punch, paced by Keith's apparently Hendrix-inspired slashing rhythm guitar and charlie Watts' fiery, fill-drenched drumming style heard frequently during the "Beggars Banquet"/Let It Bleed"/"Sticky Fingers" period. This is clearly the superior version, and I hope more people notice it now. In a nutshell, then: If you are the casual Rolling Stones fan, content with the hits, I couldn't recommend "Metamorphosis" to you with a straight face. If, on the other hand, You're a true fan and connosieur of The Stones' golden years (as opposed to the golden-tooth Rolling Stones Grampaw & Multiple-Source-Offspring Corporation years in which the band currently resides): This album has its ups and downs, but plenty enough ups to justify a place in your collection.

You don't want to buy this album if you're not familiar with the Stones. This is a collection of pre-Sticky Fingers outtakes that didn't make the cut on the original early London albums. Don't get me wrong - this is a great bunch of songs, but they are probably only appreciated by people already very familiar with the early Stones. Buy Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, and maybe Aftermath before venturing here.

There are two crucial flaws with this album that every Stones fan should know about. First and foremost, many of the songs feature LAME "country guitar" overdubs which were done in 1975 by an unnamed session guitarist. Fans would be much better served if ABKCO would just released the original, un-doctored versions of these songs (which are available on certain less-than-official CDs).

Second, why bother releasing SOME of the 1963-65 demos, but not the rest of them? If fans liked the early version of "Heart Of Stone", then surely they'd enjoy the unreleased early take of "Blue Turns To Grey". And what about "So Much In Love," "You Must Be The One" or "Sure I Do" (a rare Brian Jones composition)?

Instead of this hodge-podge of leftovers from various sessions and eras, ABKCO should have released ALL the available 1963-65 demos (30+ tracks) on a single CD.

I cannot say how thrilled I was to finally be able to get this album on CD...You have the Stones doing some songs with more of a 50's doo-wop feel to them (totally unlike the Stones we know). First time listeners to this record may think that this album is awful but I urge you to listen...It is actually rather pleasant to listen to. There are also the rockers done in the true Stones form. Although there are a few clunkers (like with all albums) on a whole the album is rather good. Additionally the sound quality is phenomenal. I originally had this record on 8-track and then on cassette. I was able to find a mint condition of the vinyl version in a local mom and pop record store in the neighborhood. This was the last of the Stones albums I had yet to obtain on CD to complete my collection (on CD) and now I can honestly say that I have them all. Thanks ABKO!!!

I am glad Abkco finally decided to issue this on disk. It is a sixties era outtake collection from the Abkco years. The collection itself is rather mediocre collection of alternate takes and rare and unissued tracks. In addition they decided to remaster the UK version of the 1975 lp which has 2 additional tracks not found on the US version. Among the cuts are alternate takes of "Out Of Time", "Heart Of Stone" (supposedly with a guitar break by Jimmy Page) and "Memo From Turner". The first half of the disk is the weaker half and many of the songs do not have the full participation of the full Stones band. Other than "Heart Of Stone" the best cut on the first half of the disk is the unissued take on Chuck Berry's "Don't Lie To Me". The second half of the disk is better with many of the outtakes coming from the "Beggar's Banquet" and "Let It Bleed" sessions. The two best cuts are the great "Jiving Sister Fanny" with a good guitar break by Mick Taylor and "I'm Going Down". Both of these cuts are hard rocking numbers. Another interesting cut is a cover of "I Don't Know Why" by Stevie Wonder. It has some great slide guitar by Mick Taylor. It also contains a rare Bill Wyman penned cut called "Downtown Suzie" On the downside "Family" may be one of the worst songs penned by Jagger/Richards. The sound is great but some liner notes listing session and personnel would have been helpful. Interesting for Stones fanatics like myself but casual fans should start some where else.

Maybe there is no certain answer to that, but if you consider Metamorphosis, you can see that some efforts have been done.

The essential idea of the album is to release some outtakes and alternate versions of songs, from "Out of Time" to "Memo from Turner": albums like Aftermath to Beggar's Banquet and Let it Bleed. There is great surprise to hear variations in some classics, like "Heart of Stone"; but there's always the sense of wanting more, and maybe there's the appealing idea of this album: to see that the real gems in the stone's songs are not in the vaults, but in every new album.