Singles Collection: The London Years [Box set, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

The Rolling Stones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 3, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Abkco
• ASIN: B00006EXED
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,393 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #72 in Music > Classic Rock > Supergroups
  • #73 in Music > Box Sets
  • #97 in Music > Classic Rock > British Invasion

Editorial Reviews

This box set is a compilation of all the Rolling Stones' singles from 1963 to 1971, including A-sides, B-sides and alternate B-sides from the U.S. and the U.K. releases. These 58 songs on 3 discs have been digitally remastered with most tracks in mono to reflect the sound of the original 45s.

THE SINGLES COLLECTION: THE LONDON YEARS comes as advertised--the box includes every American and British A-side and B-side the Rolling Stones released between 1963 and 1971 (after which the band began releasing discs under the Rolling Stones Records imprint). The fantastic speed and scope of the Stones' early artistic development have few parallels in popular music, and this collection not only details that incredible process, but serves as a microcosm of '60s pop culture as well.

From the down-and-dirty Chicago-style blues and R&B of the group's early covers (Chuck Berry's "Come On," Willie Dixon's "I Just Wanna Make Love to You") to the dreamy chamber pop of "Lady Jane" and the proto-hard rock of "Street Fightin' Man," the band was always on the cutting edge, both reacting to and anticipating cultural and musical trends. One listen to this box, however, reveals that, unlike the Beatles, the Stones seldom veered far from their roots, always injecting a vital dose of raw sexuality and pure rock & roll spirit into even the boldest of experiments.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All The Singles 1963-1969 + others to 1975, October 6, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Singles Collection: The London Years (Audio CD)

The Rolling Stones Singles Collection - The London Years was originally released August 15, 1989 in the U.S. only. There are no other compilations that include all the single hits. This is very much a Stones collectors album that encompasses the era of the 45 RPM single from their start in 1963 through 1969, with some things from as late as 1975. The set includes all the London singles and B sides plus all the Decca UK single releases that were not released in the US. Plus Brown Sugar and Wild Horses (which were recorded for Rolling Stones Records while the Decca/London contract was still in effect), Jagger's soundtrack song Memo From Turner, and the 4 single tracks (I Don't Know Why, Try A Little Harder, Out Of Time, and Jiving Sister Fanny) that were pulled from the Decca/London vaults and released against the Band's wishes in 1975 (from the controversial Metamorphosis album). The booklet that comes with the 3 CD set has notes on each song, so I will just outline which singles, B-sides, etc. came from which year for you here. I have also indicated which other US compilation albums the song appears on.

Code:
B = Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)
T = Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
H = Hot Rocks 1964-1971
M = More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies)

1963
.....Come On (M)
.....I Want To Be Loved (Bside Come On)
.....I Wanna Be Your Man
.....Stoned (UK release only Bside I Wanna Be Your Man)
1964
.....Not Fade Away (BM)
.....Little By Little (UK release only Bside Not Fade Away)
.....It's All Over Now (BM)
.....Good Times, Bad Times (Bside It's All Over Now) (BM)
.....Tell Me (US release only) (BM)
.....I Just Want To Make Love To You (Bside Tell Me)
.....Time Is On My Side (BH)
.....Congratulations (Bside Time Is On My Side)
.....Little Red Rooster (UK release only, never released as a single on London in US)
.....Off The Hook (Bside Little Red Rooster)
.....Heart Of Stone (US release only) (BH)
.....What A Shame (Bside Heart Of Stone)
1965
.....The Last Time (BM)
.....Play With Fire (Bside The Last Time) (BH)
.....Satisfaction (BH)
.....The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (US release only as Bside Satisfaction)
.....The Spider And The Fly (UK release only as Bside Satisfaction)
.....Get Off Of My Cloud (BH)
.....I'm Free (US release only as Bside Get Off Of My Cloud) (M)
.....The Singer Not The Song (UK release only as Bside Get Off Of My Cloud)
.....As Tears Go By (US release Aside, UK release Bside 19th Nervous Breakdown) (BH)
.....Gotta Get Away (US release only as Bside As Tears Go By)
1966
.....19th Nervous Breakdown (BH
.....Sad Day (US release only as Bside 19th Nervous Breakdown)
.....Paint It, Black (TH)
.....Stupid Girl (US release only as Bside Paint It, Black)
.....Long, Long While (Bside UK Paint It, Black) (M)
.....Mother's Little Helper (US release only) (TH)
.....Lady Jane (US release only as Bside Mother's Little Helper) (M)
.....Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (BM)
.....Who's Driving Your Plane (Bside Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby?)
1967
.....Let's Spend The Night Together (UK Aside) (TH)
.....Ruby Tuesday (US Aside) (TH)
.....We Love You (UK Aside) (M)
.....Dandelion (US Aside) (TM)
.....She's A Rainbow (US release only) (TM)
.....2000 Light Years From Home (US release only as Bside She's A Rainbow) (TM)
.....In Another Land (US release only)
.....The Lantern (US release only as Bside In Another Land)
1968
.....Jumpin' Jack Flash (TH)
.....Child Of The Moon (Bside Jumpin' Jack Flash) (M)
.....Street Fighting Man (TH)
.....No Expectations (US release only as Bside Street Fighting Man) (M)
1969
.....Honky Tonk Women (TH)
.....You Can't Always Get What You Want (Bside Honky Tonk Women) (H)
1970
.....Memo From Turner (UK release only)
1971
.....Surprise, Surprise (UK release only as Bside Street Fighting Man)
.....Brown Sugar (Aside recorded during London years, released on Rolling Stones Records)(H)
.....Wild Horses (Aside recorded during London years, released on Rolling Stones Records)(H)
1975
.....I Don't Know Why
.....Try A Little Harder (Bside I Don't Know Why)
.....Out Of Time (M)
.....Jiving Sister Fanny (Bside Out Of Time)
1976
.....Sympathy For The Devil (UK release only Bside re-release of Honky Tonk Women) (H)

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson (which is available from amazon.com) and from my own collection.

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Singles were in mono, September 7, 2002

By 

Jason Chervokas (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Singles Collection: The London Years (Audio CD)

The previous reviewer apparently is unaware of the fact that up until the late 1960s or even early 1970s many rock singles continued to be release in mono, not stereo, despite the fact that the albums containing the hit singles were often in stereo and contained stereo mixes of the songs.

The Singles collection is in fact all the singles mixes in chronological order. The new reissue features dramatic improvement in sound over the previous release--just play "Time is on My Side" back to back with the earlier release and you'll hear detail that's masked on the earlier release cut apparently from poor source material and indifferently mastered.

But you won't hear too much stereo. That's good and bad. The mono single mix of "Let's Spend the Night Together" has a driving quality that the stereo mix dissipates as the rhythm section is spread out over the stereo field. And the earliest singles on this collection were never recorded in stereo anyway, so no loss there. In other cases there's not all that much difference between the stereo and mono mixes--as on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" cut, as it was as a non-LP single that all involved knew would be mono anyway. But even the later singles--like You Can't Always Get What You Want--are here in mono, and with its choral section "You Can't...." does not sound good in mono. (Oddly, Honk Tonk Woman is in glorious stereo here).

If you're only interested in the stereo mixes of the mid 1960s hits, Through The Past Darkly is a great collection of the stereo versions of thos singles from "Paint It Black" through to "Honky Tonk Woman."

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You Can't Always Get What You Want, September 23, 2003

By 

"btomarra" (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singles Collection: The London Years (Audio CD)

The original three Cd set issued back in 1989 had problems. Many songs were spliced together from different sources (Heart of Stone and Honky Tonk Woman had stereo intros attached to mono mixes. Time Is On My Side was not the single version.

The new digipack corrects these mistakes. Oh and kudos on Street Fighting Man with Mick Jagger's tripple track vocal. It is the single mix. It sees the light of day on this set.

But, more mistakes appear. Tell Me is the album take not the single edit. Honky Tonk Woman is in stereo (it never appeared that way as a single). And Ruby Tuesday is a fold down of the alternate stereo version that appeared on Between the Buttons and Hot Rocks. It is missing Mick's extra vocal overdub on the chorus. The remastering gurus are silent on this major flub! It is correct, I believe on Forty Licks!

The Under-Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" on the original set was a 3:14 "uncensored" edit of the track. The new ABKCO set loses this variant, and instead uses the album version from Out Of Our Heads.

So, better sounding than its predecessor. But where problems were corrected from the old set, new ones are made!