In another thread Doxa a had mentioned something about his early frame of reference re. their Live Sound. That for some time he only knew "Got Live".
What happened with me was that for a long time my only knowledge of Live Stones was Side 2 of the 'Gimme Shelter' album, which is an edit of some of the 'Got Live" tracks. I came upon the Stones in a very ass backwards manner anyway. I was a hardcore die-hard fan from Day 1! There was never a shred of doubt. But I really knew all the deep, obscure material before the classics.
Side 2 starts out with 'Under my Thumb' and that great line about "Billy Wyman!" I still think it rivals Sam Cutler from '69 in excitement "ladies and Gentlemen, it's all about to happen!" I was very disappointed when I heard the studio version of UMT. At 10 years of age, it is hard to appreciate a Marimba.
Then there is an other-wordly edit right into "Time is on my Side". They are coming from that speed beat, "I pray that it's alright", and it's like the colors appear in 'Wizard of Oz', when it opens up to "Tiiiime is on my Side".
Next they do "Lady Jane", where I believed Brian was playing a flute. "Fortune Teller", and "I've Been Loving You Too Long" are next. The last song on both albums can only be "Satisfaction", which begins in a glorious mess of noise and distortion. Here too I knew Live versions from this album, and then from the 'Gimme Shelter" movie 69 first, before ever hearing the studio version.

Yes, the Stones obviously disliked these Decca money-grabbers, but early on, I have to say: those records had a job to do, and they did it well. I was in Rome, and in those years you could not find the albums. Eventually I found an import store.
So, Thank you to
"Stone Age" - one of my first albums
"Rock'n Rolling Stones" - 'Down the Road Apiece' was bitch to find back then.
"No Stone Unturned" - a superb compilation
"Gimme Shelter"
"Around & Around" - this one I actually got later in the game
"Milestones" - this one was kind of redundant, but it had a great cover.
"Metamorphosis" - IMO a proper release

There were more after that, but by them they had become only Big Hits Collections.

More here: [iorr.org]

That was my first Stones LP (1971?). Not knowing very much about the band and their output I thought it was the film soundtrack. I was thirteen at that time.

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DandelionPowderman
More here: [iorr.org]

Yeah its a great index. But 'Gimme Shelter' is not represented. And it shows me once again, that - Apart from a new album, what is there really left to talk about? I am speaking only for myself; not cynical. The Ratbag, Rene's threads - those are gold.

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Palace Revolution 2000

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DandelionPowderman
More here: [iorr.org]

Yeah its a great index. But 'Gimme Shelter' is not represented. And it shows me once again, that - Apart from a new album, what is there really left to talk about? I am speaking only for myself; not cynical. The Ratbag, Rene's threads - those are gold.

It's a compilation that should be discussed indeed.

However, people weren't as keen on discussing these compilations as they were with studio albums, tracks and live albums, so the topic sort of died peacefully..

Those Decca albums were amongst my first purchases too.

As I'm sure they will have been for many folks of a certain age who first found the stones at the beginning of the 70s.

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DandelionPowderman

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Palace Revolution 2000

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DandelionPowderman
More here: [iorr.org]

Yeah its a great index. But 'Gimme Shelter' is not represented. And it shows me once again, that - Apart from a new album, what is there really left to talk about? I am speaking only for myself; not cynical. The Ratbag, Rene's threads - those are gold.

It's a compilation that should be discussed indeed.

However, people weren't as keen on discussing these compilations as they were with studio albums, tracks and live albums, so the topic sort of died peacefully..

I'm a little surprised no one wanted to discuss Hot Rocks. I suppose it's different in recent decades but I would be willing to bet that up through sometime in the 1990s it was the only Rolling Stones album a lot of people owned.

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blivet

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DandelionPowderman

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Palace Revolution 2000

Quote
DandelionPowderman
More here: [iorr.org]

Yeah its a great index. But 'Gimme Shelter' is not represented. And it shows me once again, that - Apart from a new album, what is there really left to talk about? I am speaking only for myself; not cynical. The Ratbag, Rene's threads - those are gold.

It's a compilation that should be discussed indeed.

However, people weren't as keen on discussing these compilations as they were with studio albums, tracks and live albums, so the topic sort of died peacefully..

I'm a little surprised no one wanted to discuss Hot Rocks. I suppose it's different in recent decades but I would be willing to bet that up through sometime in the 1990s it was the only Rolling Stones album a lot of people owned.

Well, there was some interest for the European version, Rolled Gold. The talk is here: [iorr.org]

Oh god, it was a mess to make sense of all that material in the early 80's when I started to collect their albums. I just had TATTOO YOU (a self-chosen Xmas gift in 1981), hooked by it, I didn't know anything, so I just bought randomly the ones that looked cool....

One of the earliest one that I picked up was AROUND AND AROUND - for some reason there were lots of copies of that circulating at the time. It took me a while to figure out the nature of it and how it related to their 'official' catalogue (that of being a collection of their early British singles and EPs.). Like in Germany, it was the album also released here in Finland straight from the beginning, so people treated as 'official' release as their first album or NO 2. That was my introduction to their R&B cover days, and I still today think it is more essential than just a 'collection'. A great album altogether. Later, for an amateur 'completist' like me, it still had the value of having the longer version of "2120 Sth Michican Avenue"....

Also some of the first ones was a double album GOT LIVE IF YOU WANT IT!/STONE AGE - I bought it because it looked like a cool package - a live and a studio together! The energy in GOT LIVE made a huge impact on me, and I thought STONE AGE was full of gems. I especially welcomed "Paint It Black" - that was about the only Stones tune I knew beforehand - I know how its capturing melody go, but couldn't even know its title. But there it was: wow! Yeah, the album had a function for me at the time, but I guess not much anymore. After I get to know its 'bad reputation', I most likely would have gotten rid of it, if it wasn't stick together to Got LIVE...

Okay, as I started reading more books/articles on them, and get to know their catalogue more properly, I was able to trace the 'right' ones (though the US/UK difference in the 60's albums was a confusing one - I decided to follow the British catalogue, since those albums were also easier to catch). After I had collected all of them (I think IORR and LOVE YOU LIVE were the last ones - those were rather difficult to get), what was left was trace the odd tracks - single B-sides, and things like that (like having FLOWERS just for "Ride On, Baby", or DECEMBER'S CHILDREN for "The Singer Not The Song", etc.) Especially NO STONE UNTURNED was a true gem (things like "Sad Day", "Surprise Surprise", "Child of The Moon"...), as was FOR COLLECTORS ONLY, a German DECCA relaese of late 70's (included also "Memo From Turner"). Within a year I had every officially released Stones song, except some released-only-in-singles rarities, such as "Through The Lonely Nights" and "Let It Rock", and it took a year or two to find those singles. Then there were the bootlegs...

Fascinating times! Every two weeks or so a new Rolling Stones album to listen and experience... I still recall how excited I was when I picked up the package from the post office including both BEGGARS BANQUET and EXILE ON MAIN STREET - whose reputation I was already awere of...

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-02-27 11:47 by Doxa.