Customer Reviews

Rarities 1971-2003

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The Good News: This is pretty fun to listen to and gives us crystal-clear, remastered quality, versions of a couple of nifty vinyl B-Sides from the '70's.

The Bad News: The songs collected here are not particularly "Rare" (a few songs would be better described as "Common") and this set could have easily been a thousand times better. There is nothing here from "The Vault"; all songs collected on Rarities have been previously released as B-Sides, Album Tracks, Singles or on a DVD. Even operating within that constraint, they bypassed many quality B-Sides (not to mention widely bootlegged outtakes) that would have been a better fit than some of the selections.

The Really Bad News: The liner notes in the booklet are embarrassingly bad, riddled with errors. The clown who wrote them just does not know his Stones and nobody connected with the band evidently cared enough to proofread.

The Songs:

1. Fancy Man Blues- A great latter day blues issued as a CD Single B-Side from the 1989 Steel Wheels record. It was amusing to see so many reviewers get themselves worked up over the inclusion of Back of My Hand on the Bigger Bang record. That song is the type of thing they have been relegating to B-Side status for years and in my opinion, inferior to Fancy Man Blues.

2. Tumbling Dice- A B-Side from the Wild Horses (unplugged) CD-Single from '96 (which the liner notes author fails to note) is a pretty nifty version but butchered in the liner notes. This is a Stripped album outtake and begins with a lo-fi rehearsal version of the song featuring only piano, handclaps and Mick's vocal for the first verse. This bit was then spliced onto a hi-fi live version from the Voodoo Lounge tour and thus seems to bloom or burst into Technicolor sound. Nice trick but the dude in the liner notes insinuates that it is a single take which makes you wonder if he listened to the song all the way through.

3. Wild Horses- This is the exact unplugged version available on Stripped and therefore is not rare. The liner notes guy says that it was recorded before a live audience in a studio in Tokyo. If it was, they are a pretty darn quiet (silent) audience.

4. Beast of Burden- This terrific live version was recorded in Chicago (not LA) on the 1981 tour and released as the flip to the Going to a Go-Go single in '82. It was re-released on a limited edition CD called Rolling Stones Collectibles in conjunction with the 1990 Flashpoint live album. This live version was not included on Sucking in the 70's (which was released before this was recorded) as the liner notes state. The Some Girls studio version of Beast of Burden was used on Sucking in the 70's.

5. Any Way You Look At It- This gentle Mick and Keith ballad duet was issued as a Bridges to Babylon B-Side and is a pleasurable tune of its era. The only person who would mistake it for a mid-60's psychedelic pop tune is the liner notes author.

6. If I Was A Dancer (Dance Pt.2)- This disco groover was first released on Sucking in the 70's which makes it common, not rare. It would have been more appropriate to replace this with a Licks tour live version of Dance Pt. 1, which they played at several club shows and can be found on the Four Flicks DVD. The liner notes incorrectly state that this was Ron Wood's first songwriting credit with the band. Not so, he got partial credit for Everything Is Turning to Gold, the great, disco B-Side to the Shattered single, later collected on Sucking In The '70's. Don't even get me started on It's Only Rock and Roll.

7. Miss You (Dance Version) - This is the extended dance version released as a vinyl 12" single in 1978. Sort of interesting but it won't change your life.

8. Wish I'd Never Met You- Another great blues put out as a Steel Wheels B-Side. The joker in the liner notes reports that it is "Rarely Played Live..." Uh, how about never.

9. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live)*Misspelled as Wanna on Rarities. Great bluesy, slowed-down version that the band was playing in 1990 on the Steel Wheels tour. Originally released in '91 as a B-Side on the Highwire CD single not on the 1998 No Security live album as stated in the liner notes.

10. Mixed Emotions (12" Version) - A CD-Single B-Side remix of the pretty lame Steel Wheels tune (it doesn't get any better as a dance mix). Our favorite liner notes author reports that Mixed Emotions "...wasn't a massive hit upon release." In fact, it was their last Top Ten hit, reaching #5 on the US singles chart and featured a video that received heavy rotation on MTV.

11. Through The Lonely Nights- A It's Only Rock and Roll B-Side, this pleasant track is nice to hear in pristine form but is not a lost classic.

12. Live with Me (Live) - Good rocking' live version originally put out as a Voodoo Lounge B-Side. The liner notes incorrectly state that it was pulled from the No Security live album. Out of all the nuggets they have resurrected on the last few tours, why include this one?

13. Let It Rock- Great live Chuck Berry cover from 1971 originally issued as the B-Side to Brown Sugar, this is the best track on Rarities. Bozo writing the liner notes says it was played "Occasionally" on the Some Girls tour. Uh, let me guess, you missed that tour, right (it was the opener at every USA show)?

14. Harlem Shuffle (NY Mix) - This is the 12" vinyl dance single remix released in '86 in order to promote the terrible Dirty Work album. Not only is this the weakest hit single the band ever put out, but I have news for you boys: There is not a single Stones fan on earth that ever gave two shakes for a dance mix of any Stones song. Finally, Mr. Goofus from the liner notes reports that Harlem Shuffle was the first cover song the band had released as a single since 1964. Not so, Going to a Go-Go is a Smokey Robinson cover that the band released as a single in 1982 from the Still Life live album. Time is on My Side b/w Twenty Flight Rock was a double cover single also released to promote Still Life but received less attention than Go-Go.

15. Mannish Boy (Live) - Boy, is this one not rare, having previously appeared on both the Love You Live album and the Sucking in the 70's collection. Not even a very good version to boot.

16. Thu and Thru (Live)- This oddly compelling Keith song starts very slow and picks up some steam midway through. This version was previously released on the Four Flicks DVD.

So there you have it, many of these songs are worth listening to but do not be fooled by the title. For whatever reason, Mr. Jagger is not interested in opening the vaults at this time so continue to keep your fingers crossed (don't worry, we will see a true previously-unreleased-material box set someday, Bob Dylan and the Beatles have made too much money for Jagger to not take the bait eventually). Moreover, even though I am a self-professed Monster Stones Fan, all of the information offered here is easily available with a few Google searches and there really is no excuse for the inaccuracies printed in the booklet. One last jab: They chose a performance picture for the cover dating to circa '78 with Bill Wyman airbrushed out? How petty is that?

The Stones, like many artists, are not the ones who should be in charge of excavating the archives (delegating to a passionate and obsessive individual or team, like the Dead have done, is the way to go). Problems begin with "Miss You" - the LP take is 4:50, the unedited version (originally on 12-inch) is 8:36. Either the casette or 8-track version of "Some Girls" had a completely different (5:45) version, which has never been reissued. So what do we have here? an edit (7:33) of the 8:36 version. (The Stones, or likely Mick Jagger, has an annoying habit of editing tracks for live albums and compilations). And so it goes. I'm glad to have many of these songs and versions in album form (1991's similar "Collectables" was not nearly as well mastered), but there are inexplicable re-runs from "Sucking In the Seventies" and too many good tracks from the Ron Wood era are simply MIA:
1 the complete 'Miss You' or the alternate cassette version.
2 'Think I'm Going Mad' (4:20) a soulful 1984 b-side
3 'Undercover' (6:22) killer long version, from the 1983 12-inch
4 'Feel On Baby Dub' (6:27) Wyman's bass rattles the windows on this hallucinatory, deep dub mix, the b-side of the "Undercover" 12-inch (1983)
5 'The Storm' (2:49) 1994 b-side and a marvelous blues
6 'So Young' (3:24) 1994 b-side, one of Jagger's raunchiest, and most hilarious lyrics - think of Andre Williams' "Jail Bait"
7 'I'm Going To Drive (3:45) another fine 1994 b-side
8 'Jump On Top Of Me' (4:29) from the 1995 "Ready To Wear" soundtrack
9 'I Go Wild (Scott Litt Mix)' (4:37) a very strong alternate mix (not a dance remix) of the 'Voodoo Lounge' track, longer and with more upfront guitars
10 'All Down The Line' (4:25) great Ron Wood slide on this terrific 1995 single (and Stripped outtake)
11 'Gimmie Shelter' (6:50) a beautiful, unhurried version, from a 1996 single, (and another Stripped O.T.)
12 'Black Limousine' (3:35) 1995 single, Stripped OT
13 'Honest I Do' from the 1998 "Hope Floats" soundtrack
Well, there's a baker's dozen, each excellent in any context, and I'm not even getting into seperating the wheat from the chaff as far as the countless 'remixes', the pretty-good-but-inessential live "Flashpoint" b-sides, etc. I'm glad this exists, collecting the 1971 'Let It Rock' (worthy of "Ya-Ya's"), energetic "Stripped"-era takes of 'Live With Me' and 'Tumbling Dice', not to mention the lovely 1998 single (and "Bridges To Babylon" outtake) 'Any Way You Look At It' (with both Mick and Keith on lead vocals)- the collection feels random, quickly thrown together, but flows remarkably well. A 2-cd Rarities would have been far more enticing, and the Stones STILL would not have had to touch anything truly unreleased (and very few major artists have as much high quality unreleased material as the Stones). So, while I like it, it is also a missed opportunity.

Rarities 1971-2003 is yet another repacking of previously available Rolling Stones songs. What makes this collection slightly more interesting is that is not a greatest hits package. There are a few real gems included that are truly hard-to-find tracks and make the set worthwhile. "Anyway You Look At It" is a sparse and baroque folk song that is in the style of Aftermath-Between The Buttons era. "Fancy Man Blues" and "Wish I'd Never Met You" are meaty blues songs the type of which the band cut their teeth on. "Through The Lonely Nights" from the It's Only Rock N Roll sessions and "Let It Rock" the b-side of "Brown Sugar" and the oldest song on the album remind you as to why the Stones were the biggest and best band in the world in the early 70's. The dance mix of "Miss You" extends the great original disco riff over seven minutes and the version of "Tumbling Dice" from the Stripped sessions is an interesting live take on the classic. All in all, Rarities 1971-2003 will be of interest to Stones fanatics, but will only wet your appetite for a better and expanded rarities collection.

Why oh why does this band treat its true fans with contempt?

As a true fan I would have paid a lot more for a genuine collection of rarities. How in God's name is "Mannish Boy" (from "Love You Live") a rarity? Or "Wild Horses" (from "Stripped")?

For those fans who have sought out CD singles and supposedly rare CDS like the Collectors Only CD (released with the Box Set of CDs) this release is nothing short of a disgrace.

As this release follows so soon after the CD version of "Sucking In The Seventies" I am staggered to find "If I Was A Dancer" on this new CD.

To be a genuine attempt at supplying rarities the Stones need to release a box set as per the recent box sets of 1960's singles.

To be sure there has not been a previous release of "Let It Rock" or "Through The Lonely Nights" on CD but how is a live recording of "Live With Me" so special when it was on the CD single of "Wild Horses" and a live version appeared on "No Security".

Where is "Think I'm Going Mad"? Mind you it is a pretty weak song and as Jagger says in the CD notes the Stones archives includes "a lot of mediocre things."

I for one cannot imagine the average music buyer picking this up and thinking "Wow". If on the other hand this was a 4 CD boxed collection of B-sides, live tracks and studio out takes and covers, any true RS fan would shell out the asking price and salivate like a Pavlov dog.

For anyone coming to the Stones anew avoid this.

First they release Bigger Bang in a "Deluxe Edition"...a greedy insult to fans if ever there was one...now this.

Complete thieves...


Ridiculous ticket prices...

A ridiculous number of Greatest Hits and Live albums...

Now this insulting, sloppily scraped together "rarities" collection"


No conscience...shameful, absolutely shameful

I wish this CD had been titled "Rarities Vol. 1" - Whoever is in control of picking, and suggesting packages to put out for the Stones, needs a reality check. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Stones Fanatic, and I had to get this CD, but I already have all but the live songs, caught on side B 45's or Cd singles. For the fanatic we've got to have it. I am very disappointed better stuff was not issued..... Their Vaults runnith-over with unreleased, live, and alt. takes....... Enough to make a 50 CD box set. While this is better than nothing, it also makes you wonder why they don't go the Dylan route, with his Bootleg series of Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, (he is up to 7), or even like The Who, release your studio album, with an extra two to four tracks that are alt. live and so on. The Stones and PR people blew it on this one. Instead of people getting excited, waiting for the next Vaulted Vol.. It will be a let down. This will sell to the fanatics like me, but to the ones that have their hits and studio album or two, and like them ok, this disc will leave a bad taste in their mouth. It's about making money and music, and while this CD will do that, I'd fire whoever came up with this. If they had gone the Dylan or The Who route, a LOT more money would be made, and more music put out, and more Happy Stones. Five stars because it is the Stones. However, Two stars because they blew the chance. Also the CD cover could have, and should have had a picture of Bill Wyman....... He's not Judas, he just wanted to retire (1962-1993). I would have even pictured Mick Taylor (1969-1974) since it goes back to 71. Get Pi_sed at me for my review, but I stick by my guns on this one. Could have, and should have been bigger and better, or at least the first in a series. Read some of the other reviews.

Gotta agree with JP Ryan from Mass. The Stones had a great chance to affirm thier status as music pioneers after their excellent 'Bigger Bang' release and then following up with a "rarities" album. This had the chance to be a great one-two punch but the Stones fell short. Why do the Stones put 'live' versions on this album when they can be found on one of their million live releases already? If there must be another live release save the Stripped outtakes and release Stripped 2. As a Stones fan, I would have been much happier if this had been a B-sides/soundtrack releases only CD. Who's advising the Stones on song choices anyway,the London School of Economics? Hey Kieth, get off your ass and get involved in these projects it would probably help.

This was no where near the quality of selection ardent Stones fans were hoping for.

The term 'rarities' should not be thrown around as easily as it often is. Though indeed most of these tracks are not terribly easy to find, collectors will find that there is nothing to celebrate in having to shell out $14-18 for a collection of tunes of which most Stones fans are strongly familiar with. In fact, this only has a sprinkle of selections that had not previously been released on CD, and most are available on currently-pressed titles.

Though as happy as I am that the single-version of 'SFM' was finally released [Singles 1968-1971], it begs the question: will we ever get the likes of *Sway* or *All Down The Line* as they were heard in their original 45rpm form? ... the never officially-released *Claudine*? ... the true rarity *Exile On Main Street Blues*? -- all of which were recorded within this 1971+ period.

I'm sorry, extended mixes of well-known tracks which were once buried in CD or 12" single pressings (and which few played more than once anyhow) do not constitute true 'rarities' -- or at least ones that people care enough about to purchase over and again in different packaging.

I was ready to write a comprehensive review but I don't know that I could add anything to the "A Bigger Bust" review already posted. Suffice it to say that hardly any thought was put into this compilation and most of the tracks are not "rare" as they have already been on other CD's, some more than once. For example, there are songs here that are already on recent releases such as 'Stripped' and 'No Security' and others that are on 'Sucking In The Seventies' which was just re-released in the past year. The song "Mannish Boy" is not only on 'Sucking In The Seventies' but also 'Love You Live.' "Dance Pt. 2" is also on 'Sucking In The Seventies' which is bascially an old compilation LP with two unreleased songs and a non-LP B-side. It would have been better to hold off on re-releasing 'Sucking In The Seventies' on CD and release the three rare songs (the live version of "When The Whip Comes Down"; "Everything Is Turning To Gold"; and "Dance Pt. 2" on 'Rarites.' Well one of these songs did end up on 'Rarities' so someone got it 33% right. The other problems are only two songs from the Mick Taylor era. One "Let It Rock" was recorded live in March 1971 and initially a B-side on the UK single of "Brown Sugar", and is the one true highlight on 'Rarities.' The other Mick Taylor song is "Through The Lonely Nights" was was a B-side to "Its Only Rock And Roll." Its nice to have this one on CD but in reality if this song were on the 1974 'Rock 'n Roll' LP it would be hardly worth a mention. Also noted earlier the liner notes totally blow on this. For instance, Wood is asked to comment on one of the songs with Taylor (i.e. before Wood was in the band) and he says something like "I wasn't there - not my song." Real insightful. There are also idiotic errors that anyone casually familiar with the Stones could see - but those have been mentioned elsewhere. I will end with one positive note and say that the mastering is very well done and is an upgrade over the songs in the Stones' 1970's and 1980's catalog that was remastered in the mid-1990's. This CD is basically tailored to impulse buyers who are waiting in line for coffee at Starbucks rather than serious collectors. Hopefully there will be a follow up that includes truly rare songs. Suggestions: 1) More early 1970's outtakes and live songs; 2) Unreleased songs from the Stones' mid-1970's gig at the El Mocambo in Toronto. Four of these songs are on 'Love You Live' and are the highlight of that CD; 3) Outtakes from the numerous sessions that resulted in 'Some Girls', 'Emotional Rescue', and 'Tattoo You.' There's gotta be some great stuff there.

As a long-term, heavily-addicted Stones fan, I admit that I consider EVERY Stones release a net addition to the Good, the True and the Just -- well, at least to the world of pop music. Even "Their Satanic Majesties Request", which the Stones themselves hated so much they nearly broke up over it, stands toe to toe in my book with anything put out by, say, Tom Petty. (Petty fans vote "no" now.) Now you know your current reviewer.
"Rarities" has in my view two problems: first, as a compilation of tunes recorded over 30+ years, you can't really expect the music to cohere into a whole that is something larger than the individual songs. The album has no consistent flow. The disco version of "Mixed Emotions" jars you pretty hard and commercial after the excellent live version of "I Just Wanna Make Love to You", for eg. Second, as others have noted, the Stones put a few already-accessible tracks on the album. (In explanation, Mick says in the liner notes that he could get entertained with a lot of unpublished stuff that might really be mediocre. So a lot of what's in the vault just isn't going to get released.)
On the plus side, however, we have a whole new Stones album -- an intrinsically good thing for the universe, yes? And there are a few particular gems:
-"Through the Lonely Nights" sounds like it was recorded during a "Goat's Head Soup" session, right between "Coming Down Again" and "Can You Hear the Music". It's got some sweet harmony vocals sung by Mick and Keith, a signature Stones ingredient of that period. Hearing it again is a kick.
-"Tumbling Dice" begins on piano, with everybody singing along in what sounds like somebody's basement. Midway through it switches to a full-blown live performance with the crowd roaring. It highlights the gospelly core of the anthemic tune, and the overall effect is terrific.
"Thru and Thru" captures Keith in recent concert, where his edge is so far out there you can't see it. This track lets you focus on the music rather than the spectacle of the living legend in motion.