The Singles Collection 1971 - 2006
UMV****
No one was more surprised than The Rolling Stones themselves when last year's remastered Exile on Main Streetwent to No 1 in the charts.
The 38-year-delay between the album’s two releases had, if anything, only enhanced its appeal, and the stunning sales the second time around proved that the reissue market was not just for anoraks and completists.
Still, does the world really need a very expensive (at about 160), 173-track box set of every Stones single (along with B-sides, rarities, remixes and so on) from 1971 to 2006 – especially when The Stones were very much an albums band?
In terms of bang for your buck, The Singles Collectiondoes represent – price tag duly noted – good value for money.It's really a considerable investment in one's musical education. The quality is stunning: a singles collection that opens with the double whammy of Brown Sugarand Wild Horses.
Despite all that you think you know about The Stones – specifically, that they peaked between 1968 and 1972 with the Beggars Banquet/Let It Bleed/Sticky Fingers/Exile on Main Streetrun – this collection shows that even during their lean years they were capable of plenty of here-and-there excellence.
Played back to back, there's no gainsaying the quality of Fool to Cry, Angie, Happyand It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It). But what shines out most is the material drawn from Some Girls– and not just the obvious ( Miss You), but Faraway Eyes, Beast of Burdenand Shattered.
Granted, from Tattoo Youonwards the quality dips somewhat, and the band run up one too many creative cul-de-sacs, but we knew that anyway, so don't expect much from that era.
Extras include some superb design work (it would want to be, at that price), and 80 or so of the tracks have apparently never been officially released before.
It’s in these rarities that the collection really does the heavy lifting. There are essays, original artwork and all that jazz galore, but you’re forking out for the main event – and this is some show. See rollingstones.com
Download tracks: Far Away Eyes, Beast of Burden, Play With Fire (live), Miss You (12in version)
