****1/2

"Jump Back" is a well assembled and reasonably well annotated overview of the Stones' 70s and 80s output. The sound is excellent, and almost everything that the casual fan could want is here. 74 minutes of tough, raunchy rock n' roll, from the gritty "Bitch" and the swaggering "Brown Sugar" to the soulful "Waiting On A Friend" and the ballad "Angie".



This very reasonably priced compilation really shows the depth of the Stones' collective talents and the variety of their music, blending rock n' roll, blues, R&B, and a little bit of country into a distinctive "Stones" sound, anchored by the greatest rhythm guitarist in the business, Keith Richards.

And this is a CD, right? So you can just program out the hideous disco-experimentalism of "Emotional Rescue" and the forgettable "Undercover Of The Night".



Compare this compilation with disc two of "Forty Licks" and you'll find that "Jump Back" blows "Licks" out of the water.

Coupled with "Hot Rocks: 1964-1971" (or the magnificent box set "The London Years"), this album provides the best career overview currently available.

If you don't want to spring for the Stones' original albums, this is the way to go.

Best of the 70's and 80's

"Jump Back" is a very enjoyable trip down memory lane, including the best singles from the Rolling Stones from the 70s and 80s. The disc includes the triple singles "Brown Sugar, "Bitch" and "Wild Horses" from "Sticky Fingers" all the way through the singles from "Steel Wheels". The song selection from the period covered by "Jump Back" is superior to the songs on disc 2 of "Forty Licks", as many other reviewers have noted. In addition to many of the selections from "Forty Licks", you also get: "Respectable", a UK hit from "Some Girls", "Bitch" from "Sticky Fingers", the excellent hit song "Waiting on a Friend" from "Tattoo You", "Hot Stuff" from "Black and Blue", and late eighties hits "Harlem Shuffle" and "Rock and a Hard Place". Although there is a lot of overlap with the "Forty Licks" collection, if you want a great single disc collection covering the 70s and 80s, "Jump Back" fits the bill.

Pretty Good Collection, but not the best reproduction

A Christmas gift that was gratefully received, gave way to mild disappointment at the reproduction and sound quality on this CD. I have still rated it at 4 stars for the material, and great stuff it is too. If you are new to the Stones, or just rediscovering them, herein is a nice slice of the varied range of Mick & the Boys, from the sultry Brown Sugar, right up to the streetwise boot tapping of Undercover of Night. Oh dear though at the tinny and at times sibilant recordings - these may be remastered originals, but they should have been better with the amount of technology available today. Setting my system to a top heavy bass, dropped mid range and subtle treble was the only way that I could enjoy this without feeling it was being slaughtered, and most preset surround settings on my all in one system didn't help either. I actually still have some original vinyls that sound better, and that's a shame. Overall though, a nice package at a good price, just don't expect too much if using a small or inexpensive music system.