Customer Reviews

Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Through The Past Darkly is an important release that belongs in every Rolling Stones fan's collection. The reason is that many of these songs are essential non-album singles such as Jumpin' Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women. These two songs do not appear on any LP. For casual fans, or those interested, here's how the tracks break down:

Paint It, Black - Featured only on the US version of "Aftermath". Not on UK version.

Ruby Tuesday - Featured on US version of "Between The Buttons". Not on UK version. Also featured on "Flowers".

She's A Rainbow - Appears on "Their Satanic Majesties Request".

Jumpin' Jack Flash - Non-LP single.

Mother's Little Helper - Appears on U.S. and UK versions of "Aftermath". Also appears on "Flowers".

Let's Spend The Night Together - Appears only on US version of "Between The Buttons". Not on UK version. Also appears on "Flowers".

Honky Tonk Women - Non-LP single.

Dandelion - Non-LP single.

2000 Light Years From Home - Appears on "Their Satanic Majesties Request".

Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby Standing in the Shadow? - Appears on "Flowers".

Street Fighting Man - Appears on "Beggar's Banquet".

So, if you pick up Through The Past, Darkly and the UK versions of Aftermath and Between The Buttons (and avoid Flowers), then you'll have all of these tracks with as little redundancy as possible.

This is the remastered September 12, 1969 - U.S. London release that was dedicated to Brian Jones. This US version covered their American hits from 1966-1969. Here are the songs on this album, in the order they were released as singles in the U.S.:
5-6-66 Paint It, Black
7-1-66 Mother's Little Helper
9-23-66 Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
1-13-67 Ruby Tuesday
1-13-67 Let's Spend The Night Together (B side of Ruby Tuesday)
8-18-67 Dandelion
12-22-67 She's A Rainbow
12-22-67 2000 Light Years From Home (B side of She's A Rainbow)
5-31-68 Jumpin' Jack Flash
8-30-68 Street Fighting Man
7-3-69 Honky Tonk Woman

For some reason the album did not include the US single release of In Another Land or We Love You (the B side of Dandelion).

All the songs on this album are different from those that appear on the 1st compilation album Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass).

This album is different from the album released by U.K. Decca the same day. There were 2 tracks that were not included on each release. Here are the differences:
U.S. London release included:
.....Paint It, Black
.....Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
U.K. Decca release included:
.....We Love You
.....You Better Move On

At the time of the release, it was the only album that included the following tracks:
In the U.S.:
.....Jumpin' Jack Flash
.....Mother's Little Helper
.....Dandelion
.....Honky Tonk Women
.....Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
In the U.K.:
.....Jumpin' Jack Flash
.....Let's Spend The Night Together
.....We Love You
.....Ruby Tuesday
.....Dandelion
.....Sittin' On A Fence
.....Honky Tonk Women

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.

I've always had kind of a soft spot for this album; it was the third Stones album I ever bought (after the first "Big Hits" and "Let It Bleed"), mostly because it had "Paint It Black" and "Jumping Jack Flash" on the same record, and I've always liked the way the songs were sequenced--it just seems to have a nice flow, at least for me. There are more complete Stones comps, but if you like the late '60s Stones, you'll probably like this album.

As with the rest of the ABKCO remasters, the sound has been improved a great deal over the old '86 CDs--there's a lot more detail audible in the mix on this CD, at least on most of the tracks. "Honky Tonk Women" in particular sounds a lot better, at least to these ears--the guitars are nice and scuzzy, the drums boom, and the bass thuds along in the middle of the mix... and it's in stereo, for once. (The cowbell still sounds tinny, so to hear it in all its proper glory, you'll just have to find the old vinyl single.) And it sounds like they also used the speed-corrected "Street Fighting Man," which has never sounded this good on CD before (except maybe on the new "Beggars Banquet" CD). And the packaging has also been restored to its proper glory--the photos are now all in color, and the tribute to and epitaph for Brian Jones has also been put back.

Unfortunately, I still have a few minor issues to pick with the nice people at ABKCO. I don't care that "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby" is in mono, as no stereo mix of the track apparently exists, and at least it sounds a little less messy and chaotic than on previous vinyl and CD issues. On the other hand, it seems odd that "Aftermath UK" is the only new Stones CD to carry a stereo mix (however wonky) of "Mother's Little Helper," and even more odd that while on other CDs it has been speed-corrected, on this one it seems to play at the old slower speed, with a lower pitch. And would it really have hurt ABKCO to note that "tracks 5 and 10 are in mono and the rest are stereo," rather than just slap a "stereo" label on the CD? Regardless, this CD is a great listen. It's not an indispensable part of the catalog, and it just missed out on being a definitive collection of their late '60s singles by being released just a couple of months before "Let It Bleed" (making the B-side of "Honky Tonk Women," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," unavailable), but it's still a pretty fine record. Any record with both "Paint It Black" and "Jumping Jack Flash" would have to be.

Through The Past, Darkly is the second greatest hits collection from the Stones and as the title suggests, many of the songs take on a harder, darker edge. "Paint It Black", "Jumping Jack Flash", "Mother's Little Helper", "Street Fighting Man" and "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadows?" all have that deep, dark, ominous sound that makes the band seem so dangerous. The album contains songs from their brief foray into psychedelic music in the shape of "Dandelion", "She's A Rainbow" and one their most underrated songs "2000 Light Years From Home". They are at their best, though, when the explore the dark, underbelly of life and you get ample amounts of that vibe on this disc.

Many listeners will have lost their virginity to the Stones with Hot Rocks and now with the more recent 40 Licks compilations. For my money, Big Hits 2, or "Darkly!" as my college friend fanatically referred to it, is the optimal place to start. To understand the essence of the Stones, it is not fair to ask an initiate to dive into the dark excess of Exile or the hospital bed of Sticky Fingers first, while those may be more rewarding experiences later. Here is the power and glory of Brian Jones and his Rolling Stones. Paint It, Black (you devil)! Jumping Jack Flash! Honky Tonk Women! and even 2000 Light Years From Home and Dandelion! That the frail shadow of what was once Brian Jones was murdered in his swimming pool by construction workers just prior to the release of this set only underlies its magnificence. Ain't Life Unkind?

The results of the remastering on this, the Stones' second Big Hits compilation, are more rewarding than those of the first one (subtitled High Tide And Green Grass) that also came out just recently. "Honky Tonk Women" sounds great, especially when compared with the version that's on the ABKCO CD of the mid-1980s. The first few seconds of THAT version sounded as though a tone arm had alighted on a worn 45. Other noticeable improvements on this newly remastered anthology are "Paint It Black," "Street Fighting Man" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

Still, I can't give this remastered classic a 5-star rating because it, like High Tide And Green Grass, just doesn't live up to months of media hype surrounding the so-called "revelatory" sound quality the entire reissued Stones catalogue supposedly would have. Sorry. The remastered Stones CDs I have listened to thus far are a little cleaner, and a few of the songs do indeed enjoy a substantial sonic boost (the ones I mentioned here and "Satisfaction" on High Tide) over their previous incarnations. But if you're expecting the kind of "(2000) light years better" sound that other bands enjoyed when their catalogues in whole or in part were remastered (Beach Boys, Byrds, Doors, Santana, CCR), you're going to be disappointed.

So embrace the band and embrace their songs. I do. So MUCH of the band's creative output from the 1960s was and is essential to my well-being. But these ABKCO remasterings are -- on average -- only so-so improvements over the mid-1980s ABKCO releases, which I'm keeping for now.

This is the DSD/SACD hybrid remaster released 8/27/02. Never have the Stones sounded so good. The ABKCO, Bob Ludwig team did an outstanding job on the remastering. All I can say is "WOW". This could be the one Rolling Stones disc to have if you could only have one. For some reason this disc sounds better than Let It Bleed or More Hot Rocks from the same 22 disc remaster/release. The sound is clean and clear with tight articulate bass being the most noticable improvement in sound over the 1986 original CD releases. Get all 22 but you could start with this one as a sampler or just splurge and get the Singles Collection. SACD is not the future, it is the present. One negative that I am sure will be corrected in later editions(the 22 discs supposed to be released on 8/27/02 are DIGIPAK or cardboard/card stock boxes with the plastic jewel case disc holder sandwiched in between, not all 22 discs are available as yet but due out soon, limited production run in the DIGIPAKs w/ paper token of authenticity included, later editions will be standard plastic jewel case)is that no where on the outside of the packaging does it say that the disc inside is an SACD/CD dual layer hybrid. The disc itself is marked with the DSD and SACD logos. Don't make the mistake of buying the discs that say 1986 issue remaster. All quite confusing.

What a collection when it first came out...new age octagon shaped cover, heightened sensuality, this release truly captured the Stones at their height despite the uncertainty after Brian Jones passing, the singles of Honky Tonk Women,Jumping Jack Flash found the light of the day on this collection combined with the remaining classics on this CD makes this one to play on your IPOD back to back with High Tide And Green Grass...what great sound.

Having read several articles and some of the Amazon user's reviews at this point in regards to the Stones re-issues, I don't think I can add much to what's already been said, other than to say that MOST of the remastered tracks (on this album as well) have sustained a substantial improvement - while others haven't. I found that the opening track, "Paint it, Black" has been re-done to an astonishing level. There are literally layers and layers of sound now on this track. I would even go so far as to move it up to the top ten on my list of all time favorite Stones tunes with this new sound quality. I'd say the same for "Ruby Tuesday"(outstanding strings and a deep chello) and "Honky Tonk Woman" (which now has the bass drum it seems to have always wanted - no fault to Charlie whatsoever). On the contrary, "Mother's Little Helper" and "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby..." are still a mess.

I'm not going to comment much on the necessity of buying this record - I think the track listing speaks for itself. It's the remastering that the real fans are going to be talking about for a while. I do think it's important to say this though since it will come up. The inevitable comparison to "Beatles 1" has already started and it's going to be talked about again in the media. I think it is necessary to make the point that the Beatles collection was always "sonically" better than the Stones 60's period, even before it's remaster, because the original production was better to begin with. Andrew Loog Oldham was no George Martin. I think that it's better to treat the Stones material as a completely different entity - and well it should be, since they were very different bands. But what do I know ;)

This 1967 album was the Stones' second hits collection and reflects the styles and times of the middle sixties. It is heavy with their brand of psychedelia in shimmering masterpieces like Dandelion, She's A Rainbow and Paint It Black. Also the poetic Ruby Tuesday of which the most memorable cover version is probably that of Melanie Safka. Talking of covers, David Bowie's interpretation of Let's Spend The Night is a noble effort but doesn't come close to the original. The most raucous moments of the album occur in the classic rock numbers Jumpin' Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women, while 2000 Light Years From Home has a spacey, atmospheric feel. Street Fighting Man with its menacing air reflects the times as it was inspired by the student riots of the 60's, while Have You Seen Your Mother Baby is a soulful powerballad with a devastating hook. Mother's Little Helper is a topical song about the abuse of prescription drugs and contains the classic lines: "Doctor please, some more of these/Outside the door, she takes four more ..." Most of these tracks were subsequently included on the two Hot Rocks collections but this album remains a worthwhile purchase since every song here is a masterpiece and the sequence is just perfect. The music of the Stones gets better and better as the decades pass.