Although have been superseded by more comprehensive collections, I do feel that both Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) and Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol.2) are unfairly overlooked. Nostalgia and the fact that they were both my personal introduction to the Stones’ music aside, I feel that they’re both rather special. Big Hits sits nicely on the shelf alongside Aftermath and Between The Buttons, whilst the latter fits in perfectly between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. They’re the original ‘Greatest Hits’ packages and, in my opinion, hold more personality than the somewhat more faceless compilations like 40 Licks and Grrr.

Yep! They are excellent

I never owned the first one, but Through The Past Darkly was a big one for me, the US version that is. I got it when I was 16, and as a teenage stoner it was the perfect mix of songs. I didn't own TSMR at the time, so it was a vital part of my collection since it had "She's A Rainbow" and "2000 Light Years From Home", the latter being a big song for me at the time. I did already have Hot Rocks and the US Aftermath, so a few songs were redundant, like JJF, PIB, etc. But the tracklisting was great, and I didn't have to change discs or skip past any songs that didn't interest me at the time. I think the only song on Through The Past Darkly I didn't care for was Have You Seen Your Mother...

And I loved the artwork, especially this picture...



I'd turn the booklet backwards in my CD case so that picture was facing outward.

My first Stones albums were "Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol 2)" and "Sticky Fingers" and I don't think anyone really needs much more than them to hear the Stones at their peak.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-26 18:04 by howled.

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Big Al
Although have been superseded by more comprehensive collections, I do feel that both Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) and Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol.2) are unfairly overlooked. Nostalgia and the fact that they were both my personal introduction to the Stones’ music aside, I feel that they’re both rather special. Big Hits sits nicely on the shelf alongside Aftermath and Between The Buttons, whilst the latter fits in perfectly between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. They’re the original ‘Greatest Hits’ packages and, in my opinion, hold more personality than the somewhat more faceless compilations like 40 Licks and Grrr.

Nicely summed up Al. Through The Past Darkly was my first Stones album too and it had a great visceral energy to it. Plus it was psychedelic and I love psychedelic music.

The U.S. and U.K. releases differ so greatly. The inclusion of You Better Move On on the U.K. Through The Past Darkly is a bit of a head-scratcher, though the release did allow Brits to hear Sittin' On A Fence for the first time.

Don't you just love the cover. Does anybody know of any ouittakes from this photo session?

This cover is quite nice.

There's a number of outtakes from that photo session.

I would post them, but I am done with the whole collecting and posting of other peoples photographs.

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His Majesty
There's a number of outtakes from that photo session.

I would post them, but I am done with the whole collecting and posting of other peoples photographs.

Are they on your site Phil?

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Silver Dagger


Are they on your site Phil?

I don't have a site anymore.

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Silver Dagger

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Big Al
Although have been superseded by more comprehensive collections, I do feel that both Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) and Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol.2) are unfairly overlooked. Nostalgia and the fact that they were both my personal introduction to the Stones’ music aside, I feel that they’re both rather special. Big Hits sits nicely on the shelf alongside Aftermath and Between The Buttons, whilst the latter fits in perfectly between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. They’re the original ‘Greatest Hits’ packages and, in my opinion, hold more personality than the somewhat more faceless compilations like 40 Licks and Grrr.

Nicely summed up Al. Through The Past Darkly was my first Stones album too and it had a great visceral energy to it. Plus it was psychedelic and I love psychedelic music.

My first one too and the beginning of a life long love for the Jones- and Taylor-Stones.

Decca could easily have made a third hits compilation, but instead they gave us Stone Age, Milestones etc...

A vol. 3 could have been like this:

Side 1:
I Wanna Be Your Man
Good Times, Bad Times
Under My Thumb
Play With Fire
Midnight Rambler
Child Of The Moon

Side 2:
Sympathy For The Devil
Out Of Time (US edit)
No Expectations
Ride On, Baby
You Can't Always Get What You Want (single version)
Gimme Shelter

That way, we could have got Good Times, Bad Times; Ride On, Baby; Child Of The Moon and Play With Fire on a regular UK release, something they missed even on the seventies compilations, plus some more hits... Dream On... ;-)

For me, who has always thought the 60's output in terms of UK albums, both BIG HITS and THROUGH THE PAST, DARKLY are essential albums, and naturally belonging to the 'official' catalog as any of the studio albums. There you could find the hit singles that you couldn't find from the albums, and thereby adding the story. The collections had a 'point'. As I had those albums, and all the studio albums, there was no need for any other 'best of' kind of collections from DECCA years. That at least what a young collector Doxa thought at the 80's...

- Doxa

Good points Doxa - and I definitely agree with your view of them being 'official' and that they are 'essential' albums. That's always been my viewpoint as well. Yes, there have been more comprehensive releases, but these two LP's really served a strong purpose - especially in those markets like the U.K., where singles were rightly kept off the studio albums. All subsequent Best of's and 'Greatest Hits' releases lack the charm and significance of those original two. 40 Licks, Grrr! etc are, in my opinion, all one of the same thing and slightly meaningless, too.

Also, Bit Hits, Vol. 2

Both great but I never understood why they added Sitting On A fence and You Better Move On on TTPD

__________________________

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NICOS
Both great but I never understood why they added Sitting On A fence and You Better Move On on TTPD

Well, Siting' On A Fence had yet to see a U.K. release until it's appearance on Through The Past Darkly, so it's inclusion makes sense, in my opinion. You Better Move On, I am not so sure about. It had already featured on their debut EP and is totally out of place alongside the likes of Jumpin Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Woman.

Still the coolest album cover ever. The
Lp with the octagon cover was the best!

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Big Al
Good points Doxa - and I definitely agree with your view of them being 'official' and that they are 'essential' albums. That's always been my viewpoint as well. Yes, there have been more comprehensive releases, but these two LP's really served a strong purpose - especially in those markets like the U.K., where singles were rightly kept off the studio albums. All subsequent Best of's and 'Greatest Hits' releases lack the charm and significance of those original two. 40 Licks, Grrr! etc are, in my opinion, all one of the same thing and slightly meaningless, too.

I know! GRRR!!!

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hot stuff
Still the coolest album cover ever. The
Lp with the octagon cover was the best!

They had an amazing run of album covers really when you think about it...High Tide, Between The Buttons, Beggar's, Through The Past, Let It Bleed, GYYYO, Sticky, Exile, GHS, IORR, Made In The Shade, Black And Blue, Love You Live, Some Girls...Emotional Rescue I think they dropped the ball on and where it all started going wrong. Sucking in the 70's was so cheep, it's kind of even stylish if you think about it.

They got they're groove back with Tattoo You but Still Life was weak Undercover was trying to hard.

Dirty Work was a neon, self-loathing disaster.

Steel Wheels they completely gave up. Voodoo Lounge was creative-gone-wrong.

Stripped...a latter day band shot...wow, something that worked!

Bridges To Babylon was a neutered Lion. Did they even have lion's in Babylon, I though lion's were from Africa?

No Security...we can't think of anything, just put a couple of ugly fans on the cover.

40 Licks...let's play it safe, just use the tongue.

A Bigger Bang? A Bigger Disaster.

GRRR! oh my lord, they've completely lost their mojo.

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Big Al

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NICOS
Both great but I never understood why they added Sitting On A fence and You Better Move On on TTPD

Well, Siting' On A Fence had yet to see a U.K. release until it's appearance on Through The Past Darkly, so it's inclusion makes sense, in my opinion. You Better Move On, I am not so sure about. It had already featured on their debut EP and is totally out of place alongside the likes of Jumpin Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Woman.

Yeah, a bit odd choices. I guess the point of "Sittin' on A Fence" is the one Big Al mentioned - an early indication of offering something extra for those who had all the tracks already (a'la "Don't Stop", "Doom & Gloom"...). Probably they sold a few copies with just that one song.

"You Better Move On" is a really odd choice, a track from their first EP. Probably that EP by then started have some rarity value, and "You Better Move On" was the song in it, which seemed to have most radio-play at its time, so one can consider as it as a minor "hit" (for some reason, this little fact has had rather little notice generally in Stones biographies). The EP, if I recall right, reached #6 in the singles charts, which was damn good. But its natural place would have been in BIG HITS Vol. 1. But we have to notice that for HIGH TIDE they had rather enermous amount of material - hit singles - to choose from (they even left, for example, "I Wanna Be Your Man" out). But this was not any longer the case with THROUGH THE PAST, the UK version covering the singles from 1967 on - there simply wasn't so many of them any longer ("Paint it Black" and "Have You Seen Your Mother" being, for example, released already in BIG HITS Vol 1., unlike in USA). So they were 'forced', for example, to use some recent outstanding album tracks ("Street Fighting Man", "She's A Rainbow".)

I also have the picture that THROUGH THE PAST, DARKLY was more directed to US market altogether (to use the popularity of the summer hit "Honky Tonk Women", and to warm up and go with their tour, etc.) and its UK version was just build up from its base, with some minor variance to suit the market there.

- Doxa



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-27 09:20 by Doxa.

Is there a CD version of TTPD?

Hmm... there has been so long time I have listened my old UK vinyl version of THROUGH tHE PAST, DARKLY, and I haven't even owned the US one ever, so I checked the track list from a net:

US version

Side one

1."Paint It, Black" – 3:20
2."Ruby Tuesday" – 3:12
3."She's a Rainbow" – 4:35
4."Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 3:40
5."Mother's Little Helper" – 2:40
6."Let's Spend the Night Together" – 3:29

Side two

1."Honky Tonk Women" – 3:03
2."Dandelion" – 3:56
3."2000 Light Years from Home" – 4:45
4."Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" – 2:33
5."Street Fighting Man" – 3:10

UK version

Side one

1."Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 3:40
2."Mother's Little Helper" – 2:45
3."2000 Light Years from Home" – 4:45
4."Let's Spend the Night Together"
5."You Better Move On" – 2:39
6."We Love You" – 4:22 Edited version

Side two

1."Street Fighting Man" – 3:15
2."She's a Rainbow" – 4:11
3."Ruby Tuesday" – 3:16
4."Dandelion" – 3:32 Edited version
5."Sittin' on a Fence" – 3:02
6."Honky Tonk Women" – 3:00


Some notes:
- The US version really is a "BiG HITS VOL 2" - a natural follower of HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS: it includes all the A-sides of singles from "Paint It Black" to "Honky Tonk Women" (plus two strong B-sides), with no any 'anomalies'
- The UK version is something else... (it contains basically just four single A-sides, and only 6 single tracks altogether of 12 song...)
- to the 'odd tracks' list of UK version one could also add "Mother's Little Helper" - an album track from BIG HITS VOL 1 era...

- Doxa

Well researched.

You have to say that the US Version is stronger as far as Hits are concerned.

I still prefer the British version. Largely because of where I'm from but I think it's more quirky and interesting and gave fans there a chance to hear some oddities/rarities.


Which version was released in other countries please?
The British version throughout Europe presumably.

Australia?

The UK versions works more like an 'album' and has a better flow. Clearly there has been thought about the albums perception, whereas the US versions is 'just' straight but nevertheless effective collections of hits.

All versions are great and I can't choose what's best.

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Doxa
For me, who has always thought the 60's output in terms of UK albums, both BIG HITS and THROUGH THE PAST, DARKLY are essential albums, and naturally belonging to the 'official' catalog as any of the studio albums. There you could find the hit singles that you couldn't find from the albums, and thereby adding the story. The collections had a 'point'. As I had those albums, and all the studio albums, there was no need for any other 'best of' kind of collections from DECCA years. That at least what a young collector Doxa thought at the 80's...

- Doxa

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-27 11:17 by Redhotcarpet.

Also the only way to hear songs like Paint it, black (Big hits) and HTW or JJF if you didnt have the singles which was the case in the 80s.

Doxa, growing up in Finland, did you ever buy singles or just the collection albums? I never bought the singles and instead of buying these great collection albums (hard to find in record stores in Sweden in the 80s) I had to buy a real suck fest of an album for JJF ("Gimme Shelter") and try to get dad's Paint it, black single to run at 45 rpm but ended up with a low Hendrix sounding version. And finally I could afford to buy Rolled Gold.

High Tide Green Grass CLASSIC but gotta be the UK release even though
it came out some 9months after US ... better running order... more tracks



ROCKMAN

I had a lot of respect for these two Greatest Hits albums that many friends had purchased .... great looking covers and the well-known peak music also ... an Enigma was of course not a track like ' Tell Me ' was featured on any of them, but we cannot expect everything ... I bought the albums in the original far later in life ...

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