12 OF THE STONES' VERY BEST

Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) is an adequate assimilation of some of the Stones' greatest tunes before their music entered a very dark, antisocial phase during the peak of the Vietnam War.

At the start, you have their trademark song (I Can't Get No)Satisfaction, which many rank right up there with the Beatles' Hey Jude and Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven as being the greatest rock-and-roll song of all time. In between are the pensive As Tears Go By and the reflective blues number Good Times Bad Times. Also present are the favorites 19th Nervous Breakdown and what many consider to be the Stones' proclamation of supreme status as the greatest rock band ever in Get Off of My Cloud.

At the very end is the soft yet ominous Play with Fire, which, with its unique arrangement of harpsichord, acoustic guitar and tambourine, commanded that the Stones, whether in hard rock or soft rock mode, could show attitude and get a message across.

It is a very strong compilation. The only objection one might have is the organ intro version of Time Is On My Side, which seems to gel with the other tunes quite well, as opposed to the guitar one that is played on the oldies stations.

Five stars to this Rolling Stones piece of history.

1st Greatest Hits Album

With the release of the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material), there is now some confusion as they have released some of the early albums in both US and UK versions.

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 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, with some of the notes from Davis' "Old Gods Almost Dead." Both books are available from amazon.com.

Far From The Last Time, High Tide Is The First Time

I'd have wanted to give this CD five stars, but a couple of tracks somewhat wear it down. Also, I'd have preferred stereo versions of some songs, notably I Can't Get No Satisfaction; on the stereo version one side is all acoustic guitar that when played seperately, gives the song a facscinatingly different feel.

Nevertheless, High Tide and Green Grass is a very good place to start with the Stones. The Last Time's opening guitar riff and thick textures keep it fresh and engaging. I love the fast version of Time Is On My Side on this CD a lot better than the one found on most pressings of Hot Rocks. The fast version of TIOMS has three mores - more echo, more organ, and more spontaneity. And being able to hear the other Stones over Mick Jagger is a nice touch.

19th Nervous Brakdown, the Stones' snarling cover of Not Fade Away (featuring some clever use of fading during the vocals), and Get Off Of My Cloud (again, the stereo version should have been used here) round out the CD's strongest tracks.