Rolling Stones - Forty Licks
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Music Reviews of Forty Licks
Music Review: So - so collection fails to provide satisfaction
Rating: 3 Stars
The Rolling Stones are arguably the best Rock & Roll band that ever was, and several of their individual albums are definitive rock classics. Forty Licks as a comprehensive anthology, however, fails to deliver. Part of the fault lies in the fact that the Rolling Stones's career cannot be adequately showcased in two CD's. The limitations of space make the job an impossible one. The other fault, however, lies in the poor execution of the compilation. The songs are not chronological, which is not in itself fatal, but they are jumbled seemingly at random. There is no theme or flow to the material. Song selection is not bad on disc one, although I would have substituted Time Is On My Side for She's a Rainbow myself, but disk two is quite poorly selected. The four new songs should have been on one of those bonus discs that are so popular these days to make room for four more classics, or maybe the full length versions of Emotional Rescue and It's Only Rock & Roll. There are too many mid 80's to 90's cuts on disk 2 as well. There are numerous songs like Bitch, She's So Cold, Waiting on a Friend, Star Star etc. that are better than Undercover of the Night or Has Anybody Seen My Baby. On the plus side, however,is the fact that Forty Licks features excellent remastering of the original songs. Disc one was sourced from the new ABKCO remasters of the 60's material, and disc two benefits from new remastering of the Virgin Records material from the 70's to the present. Songs like Brown Sugar and Miss You sound quite a bit better than the 1994 vintage CD's. If you are completely new to the Rolling Stones, this is the only compilation that has songs from both the 60's and the post 60's eras and offers a reasonably good offering of their best material.Music Review: Great, But Could've Been better
Rating: 5 Stars
Boy, this is a great album. I enjoy every one of the 40 tracks included here. But still, I feel, that there could've been a lot more to this collection than what's here.Disc 1 is as good as you want it. Just about every classic is here, from "Satisfaction" to "Street Fighting Man" to "Honky Tonk Women", this collection features all the hits. Well, almost. I would've liked to have seen "Time Is On My Side", their first major hit in America (# 6 in 1964). And I also think it would've been a better representation of their career if rarely heard songs like "Good Times, Bad Times", "Lady Jane", "Out Of Time", "Come On", "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "Dandelion" had been included.
Disc 2 is also well - executed. "Brown Sugar", "Start Me Up", "Tumbling Dice", "Shattered" and others are all here. The four new tracks also work well, the best being "Don't Stop". But once again, there are a few things that drag it down. First, a few songs are edited. "Emotional Rescue" is cut from 6 minutes to a little over three minutes, and "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll" cuts out the last minute. And there are few tracks missing. "Waiting On A Friend", "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)", "She Was Hot", "She's So Cold", the list goes on. All of these songs could've have made the sweet fuller and more complete.
What the Stones need is a boxed set spanning five discs and covers his entire career, including singles, live performances, alternate takes, unrleased tracks and a massive booklet. And "40 Licks" is anything but that.
Music Review: Forty Licks, Baby!
Rating: 5 Stars
I definitely disagree with an earlier reviewer who said the Stones were boring. Even on a scale, I don't see how you could see their music as boring. Gimme Shelter rocks, Start Me Up dominates most other sports anthems, and Tumbling Dice is one of the greatest songs of anyone's time.
At a maximum of 5 stars.......
Disc One:
Street Fighting Man - 5/5
Gimme Shelter - 5/5
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - 5/5
The Last Time - 4/5
Jumpin' Jack Flash - 5/5
You Can't Always Get What You Want - 4/5
19th Nervous Breakdown - 4/5
Under My Thumb - 4/5
Not Fade Away - 4/5
Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadow - 2/5
Sympathy For The Devil - 4/5
Mother's Little Helper - 2/5
She's A Rainbow - 4/5
Get Off of My Cloud - 5/5
Wild Horses - 4/5
Ruby Tuesday - 5/5
Paint It, Black - 3/5
Honky Tonk Women - 5/5
It's All Over Now - 3/5
Let's Spend The Night Together - 4/5
Disc Two:
Start Me Up - 5/5
Brown Sugar - 5/5
Miss You - 4/5
Beast of Burden - 5/5
Don't Stop - 4/5
Happy - 4/5
Angie - 4/5
You Got Me Rocking - 4/5
Shattered - 3/5
Fool to Cry - 3/5
Love Is Strong - 4/5
Mixed Emotions - 4/5
Keys To Your Love - 4/5
Anybody Seen My Baby? - 4/5
Stealing My Heart - 3/5
Tumbling Dice - 5/5
Undercover of the Night - 4/5
Emotional Rescue - 3/5
It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It) - 5/5
Losing My Touch - 3/5
Disc one is more of their british invasion sound, and disc two is their more laid back, better recorded sound.
Music Review: The Greatest Rock & Roll Band
Rating: 5 Stars
"Forty Licks" is a compilation of many Rolling Stones's greatest hits throughout their long career starting in 1964. This album presents more than their musical evolution through the years. It shows how they've changed musical history song by song. Their title as the greatest rock & roll band of all time is well deserved by the quality writing and performing their songs. Their efforts have won them several awards, including two Grammys. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood (joined 1975), Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman (quit 1993), and other past members have shared their own personal traits to benefit the musical impact. Their true passion for rock music truly shows in every song that they've recorded, stretching past their bad boy images.
Several of their songs past and present remain frequently played in radio stations and parties. Regardless of music tastes, few have denied The Rolling Stones. Many music publishing sources have placed numerous songs of theirs in the Top 100 Greatest Songs of All Time. Since co-headlining The British Invasion, their run of great songs hasn't stopped. Listeners cannot deny humming or singing their catchy melodies and unforgettable lyrics occasionally. Their dancy rock songs keep listeners dancing ("I Can't Get No Satisfaction"), their somewhat eerie songs keep listeners feeling their theme ("Paint It Black"), their ballads remain romantic ("Angel").
"Forty Licks" presents the whole musical variety that they've written in their careers. This long list of hits represents their career wonderfully. Therefore, this is a great album for any Rolling Stones and/ or rock fan. This is sure to please many audiences for a long time.
Music Review: Easily recommended 40-year retrospective but . . .
Rating: 4 Stars
I enjoy this mix and it makes for a great way to get remastered sound on career highlights spanning the decades without me having to re-purchase all the CDs.
For those complaining about the inclusion of latter-day songs or the exclusion of deeper tracks, please spare me with your self-righteous declarations of purity. Clearly, the intention here is to provide a 40-year-career retrospective that caters to the common denominator among devoted and casual fans of all generations. In this sense, this compact album of songs makes a strong statement of the band's accomplishments and sounds over four decades. Devoted followers of the band can choose (and probably already have chosen) from numerous other albums/compilations that serve other purposes.
For me, however, I have reservations about the ethical and aesthetic compromises made in compiling this album. First, listeners should be warned of the tracks that are newly edited versions of the originally-released versions. "Miss You" is over one minute shorter than the original studio release. "Mixed Emotions" is over 1/2 minute shorter! To not offer a brief disclaimer somewhere on the exterior of the package is an ethical assault on the consumer. Altering the originals for convenience of packaging is an aesthetic compromise I have trouble endorsing but, given how well this collection plays, I also have trouble damning.
Bottom line: Despite the reservations expressed above, this is a well-paced compilation that smoothly and enjoyably offers a 40-year retrospective on one of rock's greatest bands. The package offers sheer listening pleasure to anyone, particularly (but not only) the less-initiated.