Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) [Original recording remastered, Original recording reissued]

This is the version of Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass) that was released on Apr 1, 1966 in the US. The American record company execs had tampered with the original UK design of most of the Stones albums up to this time, often releasing inferior American versions. On this one they reversed the trend and the UK design, which was released Nov 4, 1966, did not include Paint It, Black. The UK version substituted Mother's Little Helper and added 3 additional tracks (Take It Or Leave It, Out Of Time, and What To do).

This US version covered their American hits from 1964-1966. Here are the songs on this album, in the order they were released as singles in the U.S.:
3-6-64 Not Fade Away
6-12-64 Tell Me (version 2)
7-24-64 It's All Over Now
7-24-64 Good Times, Bad Times (B side of It's All Over Now)
9-25-64 Time Is On My Side (version 2)
12-18-64 Heart Of Stone
3-12-65 The Last Time
3-12-65 Play With Fire (B side of The Last Time)
6-4-65 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
9-24-65 Get Off Of My Cloud
12-17-65 As Tears Go By
2-11-66 19th Nervous Breakdown

There is an interesting story about the cover art and 8 page photo book that was part of the original album. The photos were originally done for an album to be called Could You Walk On The Water?, but the concept was so controversial at that time that the photo of the Band walking on the water of a California reservoir was dropped and the photo of them standing on the bank was used. The album was renamed After-Math (although the American version dropped the hyphen) and the artwork was used for this greatest hits album.

This is the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material. ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog after Allen 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. 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 Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the World.

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.

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Being one of the new hybrid CDs, not only has the sound been largely improved (I say "largely" because there are a couple of exceptions--more in a moment), but so has the packaging--the booklet of color photos that was inside the original gatefold LP jacket has been restored. And "Satisfaction" does indeed live up to the hype--it sounds like it's coming out of the control room speakers, even on a regular CD player. "The Last Time," however, still sounds like it's coming out of a transistor radio (remember those? I don't) someone chucked into a garbage can three or four alleys away--I've got a first pressing copy of the vinyl and it still sounds bad there, so I guess it's never going to sound much better. And while four tracks are in stereo ("Satisfaction," "Time Is On My Side," "It's All Over Now," and "Heart Of Stone"), the rest are mono--and you've got to be listening to tell which is which, because, at least on the copy I listened to, there's no indication on the packaging of what mixes were used where. The CD isn't any help, as it proclaims the entire album to be in stereo. Obviously ABKCO still has a lot to learn about being honest with its customers.

Quibbles aside, most of the album has been hugely sonically improved, and for the better. And you can't go wrong with that track listing, aside from "Tell Me," which sounds like a bad Merseyside imitation (Herman's Hermits, anyone?). Nearly every track is a winner--and the Stones were really still in the early days, yet (even if it didn't seem like it at the time). If you don't have any other Stones records, you can't go wrong starting with this one. And if you do have some other Stones records, give it a spin and listen to the soundtrack of a band beginning to form a legend as yet unsullied by age, scandal, and bad rock videos.

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