Customer Reviews

More Hot Rocks

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is very much a Stones collectors album. Although it has few big hits, it completes the bulk of their well known early catalog for collectors. None of the songs on More Hot Rocks appear on the first Hot Rocks 1964-1971 album. In Addition, there are no songs on the first set of compilation albums [Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass) and Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)] that are not included on the second set of compilation albums (Hot Rocks and More Hot Rocks).

This is the version of More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies) that was originally released in the U.S. on Dec 1, 1972 but was withheld from the UK until 1990 due to a lawsuit. The early Stones London Records catalog (which was their old American record company) issued both Hot Rocks and More Hot Rocks during 1972 while at the same time the British company (Decca) released a series of compilation albums in the UK (Gimme Shelter, Milestones, Rock `n' Rolling Stones, and No Stone Unturned). None of the UK albums were released on CD. The Stones former manager Allen Klein's company ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog after Klein became their manager in 1965. The resulting legal battles produced releases that the Stones opposed (they took out full page adds asking fans not to buy them), including the 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.

The album includes 6 songs that had not appeared on an American album before (Come On, Bye Bye Johnny, I Can't Be Satisfied, Long Long While, Money, What To Do, and Poision Ivy. In addition a remix of Child Of The Moon (the B side of Jumpin' Jack Flash) was released for the first time on any album.

This US version collects the well known songs from their singles, albums, and the songs not previously released in the US or only as single B sides from 1964-1967. The songs are not on the album in the order they were released in the U.S. Those that were only released as album cuts are noted. Those that had not previously been released are marked with #.
#6-7-63 Come On (UK single - their 1st release)
#1-10-64 Money (from the UK EP The Rolling Stones)
#1-10-64 Poison Ivy (from the UK EP The Rolling Stones)
#1-10-64 Bye Bye Johnny (from the UK EP The Rolling Stones)
3-6-64 Not Fade Away (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)))
6-12-64 Tell Me (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
7-24-64 It's All Over Now (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
7-24-64 Good Times, Bad Times (B side of It's All Over Now) (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
#1-15-65 I Can't Be Satisfied (from the UK album Rolling Stones No. 2)
3-12-65 The Last Time (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)
7-14-65 Sittin' On A Fence (from the album Flowers)
7-24-65 I'm Free (B side of Get Off Of My Cloud)
#5-13-66 Long Long While (from the UK B side of Paint It, Black)
7-1-66 Lady Jane (from the album Aftermath)
7-1-66 What To Do (from the album Aftermath)
9-23-66 Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-9-66 Fortune Teller (from the album Got Live If You Want It! - with live overdub removed)
7-14-67 Out Of Time (from the album Flowers)
8-18-67 Dandelion (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
8-18-67 We Love You (single released as A side, B side was Dandelion)
12-22-67 She's A Rainbow (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-22-67 2000 Light Years From Home (B side of She's A Rainbow) (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
5-24-68 Child Of The Moon (B side of Jumpin' Jack Flash)
8-30-68 No Expectations (B side of Street Fighting Man)
12-5-69 Let It Bleed (from the album Let It Bleed)

I see that More Hot Rocks is getting knocked for not having enough radio hits on it. Well, I could go the rest of my life without hearing "Brown Sugar," "Satisfaction," or "Honky Tonk Women" ever again. If for some reason you are not sick of those songs yet, they are played on the radio every five minutes somewhere on your dial - you don't need to own them! You do, however, need More Hot Rocks. Whoever compiled this should get a knighthood. It is a wonderful mishmash of blues ("Good Times Bad Times"), psychedelia ("Dandelion," "2000 Light Years From Home"), tasty covers ("Not Fade Away," "Poison Ivy," "Fortune Teller") and what is, in my humble opinion, the all-time greatest Stones song, "The Last Time." AND it has "Sittin' On A Fence" - I mean, what's not to like here? This is the REAL real folk blues, a must for any Stones fan and a perfect introduction to their early period, which they never topped. Buy it now.

Here's the collection of hits recorded on the London label they couldn't fit on the first Hot Rocks album. Rolling Stones fans too young to remember when they were part of the British Invasion of the sixties will find it very convenient to get only the best of the Stones music on this CD and its predecessor, "Hot Rocks". However, as far as content of the Stones' greatest hits, there is a great imbalance toward the first "Hot Rocks" album. As the title implies, this is a collection of "big hits and fazed cookies"; it has big selling singles like "The Last Time", "It's All Over Now", and "2000 Light Years From Home", plus little heard or remembered music from the pre-invasion days of the early sixties. If you already have "Hot Rocks", you don't have all the best of the Stones' hits from the London label until you get this CD.

The first "Hot Rocks" collection was an impeccable barrage of big hits. "More Hot Rocks" is a collection of slightly more obscure but equally valid gems. Some of them aren't at all obscure to begin with. All the numbers on Disc One are a thrill, including the long underrated psychedelic singles "Dandelion" and "We Love You," which can be found nowhere else that I'm currently aware of. Disc Two includes an important "Beggar's Banquet" era B-side, "Child of the Moon." Disc Two closes with some spotty and very early material, but this whole shebang is worth it for the wonders it contains throughout.

While it may be pricey, this collection much more brilliantly displays the diversity and songwriting skills of Jagger/Richards than HOT ROCKS I, which was always intended as more of a pop hits parade. From the early days as scraggly blues scavengers--who had a cheeky sense of cover-material--to the mid-period experimental late 60's, this CD shows a maturing band second only to the Beatles in melody and songcraft. If you're a Stones fan who thinks EXILE on MAIN STREET was their finest hour, these songs on HR II provide what we call in La-La land as the backstory: How they got to that Nashville Studio in 1971. Sadly, the intervening years have not been kind to Mick and the crew. Thank god for acetate tape and recording studios, and thank London records for this indispensible double-disc. [TRIVIA: What's the only song recorded by both the Stone and Beatles?! Hint: It's on this CD.]

The Rolling Stones' "Hot Rocks" is one of the all time great pop music/rock n' roll greatest hits collections. "More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies)" does not have the same musical firepower, but it "fills in the blanks" of "Hot Rocks." It provides a richer view of the music of the Rolling Stones from the beginning to 1971.

First off, the music from the Stones' psychedelic plunge is present here and not on "Hot Rocks." The CD includes the bon bon "We Love You," put out by the group after the famous arrests and jailings. Beginning with slammed jail doors, the music captures this era nicely. So, too, cuts off of "Their Satanic Majesties Request," "She's a Rainbow," "2000 Light Years from Home," and "Child of the Moon." This is not one of their best albums, but this does represent an interesting experiment, and the music is not bad for all that.

Second, we hear gems from the early years of the group. Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" is covered nicely; two grand oldies that might have been good enough for "Hot Rocks" are "The Last Time" and "I'm Free" and "Out of Time." It is also nice to see some bluesy songs included, such as "Good Times Bad Times." Some old-fashioned rockers: "Poison Ivy" and "Bye Bye Johnnie" and "Come On."

All in all, a great complement to "Hot Rocks." It provides a much more complete picture of the Rolling Stones' musical corpus from this time period.

If you prefer the early Stones to more recent material or simply like myself remember the bulk of these tracks then I highly recommend the purchase of this two cd set along with the first release "Hot Rocks". Although the sound is not the best in some spots, one has to remember digital remastering can only do so much with these old masters, I feel the set is a welcome addition to ones 60's collection.

This album is in no way inferior to "Hot Rocks." Even though it contains rarities and album tracks, it's full of early Stones magic and plenty of classics like Tell Me, Not Fade Away, The Last Time, Out Of Time and Lady Jane. It's particularly strong on the psychedelic side of the Stones with brilliant songs like Dandelion, We Love You, She's A Rainbow and 2000 Light Years From Home. On top of that, it contains their very first single Come On and some excellent covers of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry compositions. This album has stood the test of time very well and is a masterpiece compared to most of today's mainstream rock music. Like Hot Rocks, it also deserves 7 stars.

This is a good collection of rarities, hits, and B-sides by the Stones. This is an album to buy only if you have the first Hot Rocks collection and "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street."

More Hot Rocks suffers from the little brother syndrome. The first Hot Rocks release contained all the Stones classics, while this one has the band's lesser hits and album tracks. Obviously it is not as strong the first Hot Rocks compilation, but it does have some great material and makes for a nice compliment to the first set. The inclusion of several songs that were previously only released in England and two unreleased tracks make this set mandatory for any Stones completist.