The Rolling Stones - "Singles Collection: The London Years" album review
![]() |
Check out the below reviews of the The Rolling Stones album "Singles Collection: The London Years" with songs like I Want to Be Loved and Stoned. This version of the CD was released 03. of September 2002.
Tracklist Singles Collection: The London Years
Come On - I Want to Be Loved - I Wanna Be Your Man - Stoned - Not Fade Away - Little by Little - It's All Over Now - Good Times, Bad Times - Tell Me - I Just Want to Make Love to You - Time Is on My Side - Congratulations - Little Red Rooster - Off the Hook - Heart of Stone - What a Shame - The Last Time - Play with Fire - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man - The Spider and the Fly - Get off of My Cloud - I'm Free - The Singer Not the Song - As Tears Go By - Gotta Get Away - 19th Nervous Breakdown - Sad Day - Paint It Black - Stupid Girl - Long Long While - Mother's Little Helper - Lady Jane - Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? - Who's Driving Your Plane? - Let's Spend the Night Together - Ruby Tuesday - We Love You - Dandelion - She's a Rainbow - 2000 Light Years from Home - In Another Land - The Lantern - Jumpin' Jack Flash - Child of the Moon [rmk] - Street Fighting Man - No Expectations - Surprise, Surprise - Honky Tonk Women - You Can't Always Get What You Want - Memo from Turner - Brown Sugar - Wild Horses - I Don't Know Why - Try a Little Harder - Out of Time - Jiving Sister Fanny - Sympathy for the Devil
Singles Collection: The London Years reviews
All The Singles 1963-1969 + others to 1975 
The Rolling Stones Singles Collection - The London Years was originally released August 15, 1989 in the U.S. only. There are no other compilations that include all the single hits. This is very much a Stones collectors album that encompasses the era of the 45 RPM single from their start in 1963 through 1969, with some things from as late as 1975. The set includes all the London singles and B sides plus all the Decca UK single releases that were not released in the US. Plus Brown Sugar and Wild Horses (which were recorded for Rolling Stones Records while the Decca/London contract was still in effect), Jagger's soundtrack song Memo From Turner, and the 4 single tracks (I Don't Know Why, Try A Little Harder, Out Of Time, and Jiving Sister Fanny) that were pulled from the Decca/London vaults and released against the Band's wishes in 1975 (from the controversial Metamorphosis album). The booklet that comes with the 3 CD set has notes on each song, so I will just outline which singles, B-sides, etc. came from which year for you here. I have also indicated which other US compilation albums the song appears on.
Code:
B = Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)
T = Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
H = Hot Rocks 1964-1971
M = More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies)
1963
.....Come On (M)
.....I Want To Be Loved (Bside Come On)
.....I Wanna Be Your Man
.....Stoned (UK release only Bside I Wanna Be Your Man)
1964
.....Not Fade Away (BM)
.....Little By Little (UK release only Bside Not Fade Away)
.....It's All Over Now (BM)
.....Good Times, Bad Times (Bside It's All Over Now) (BM)
.....Tell Me (US release only) (BM)
.....I Just Want To Make Love To You (Bside Tell Me)
.....Time Is On My Side (BH)
.....Congratulations (Bside Time Is On My Side)
.....Little Red Rooster (UK release only, never released as a single on London in US)
.....Off The Hook (Bside Little Red Rooster)
.....Heart Of Stone (US release only) (BH)
.....What A Shame (Bside Heart Of Stone)
1965
.....The Last Time (BM)
.....Play With Fire (Bside The Last Time) (BH)
.....Satisfaction (BH)
.....The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (US release only as Bside Satisfaction)
.....The Spider And The Fly (UK release only as Bside Satisfaction)
.....Get Off Of My Cloud (BH)
.....I'm Free (US release only as Bside Get Off Of My Cloud) (M)
.....The Singer Not The Song (UK release only as Bside Get Off Of My Cloud)
.....As Tears Go By (US release Aside, UK release Bside 19th Nervous Breakdown) (BH)
.....Gotta Get Away (US release only as Bside As Tears Go By)
1966
.....19th Nervous Breakdown (BH
.....Sad Day (US release only as Bside 19th Nervous Breakdown)
.....Paint It, Black (TH)
.....Stupid Girl (US release only as Bside Paint It, Black)
.....Long, Long While (Bside UK Paint It, Black) (M)
.....Mother's Little Helper (US release only) (TH)
.....Lady Jane (US release only as Bside Mother's Little Helper) (M)
.....Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (BM)
.....Who's Driving Your Plane (Bside Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby?)
1967
.....Let's Spend The Night Together (UK Aside) (TH)
.....Ruby Tuesday (US Aside) (TH)
.....We Love You (UK Aside) (M)
.....Dandelion (US Aside) (TM)
.....She's A Rainbow (US release only) (TM)
.....2000 Light Years From Home (US release only as Bside She's A Rainbow) (TM)
.....In Another Land (US release only)
.....The Lantern (US release only as Bside In Another Land)
1968
.....Jumpin' Jack Flash (TH)
.....Child Of The Moon (Bside Jumpin' Jack Flash) (M)
.....Street Fighting Man (TH)
.....No Expectations (US release only as Bside Street Fighting Man) (M)
1969
.....Honky Tonk Women (TH)
.....You Can't Always Get What You Want (Bside Honky Tonk Women) (H)
1970
.....Memo From Turner (UK release only)
1971
.....Surprise, Surprise (UK release only as Bside Street Fighting Man)
.....Brown Sugar (Aside recorded during London years, released on Rolling Stones Records)(H)
.....Wild Horses (Aside recorded during London years, released on Rolling Stones Records)(H)
1975
.....I Don't Know Why
.....Try A Little Harder (Bside I Don't Know Why)
.....Out Of Time (M)
.....Jiving Sister Fanny (Bside Out Of Time)
1976
.....Sympathy For The Devil (UK release only Bside re-release of Honky Tonk Women) (H)
This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson (which is available from amazon.com) and from my own collection.
Singles were in mono 
The previous reviewer apparently is unaware of the fact that up until the late 1960s or even early 1970s many rock singles continued to be release in mono, not stereo, despite the fact that the albums containing the hit singles were often in stereo and contained stereo mixes of the songs.
The Singles collection is in fact all the singles mixes in chronological order. The new reissue features dramatic improvement in sound over the previous release--just play "Time is on My Side" back to back with the earlier release and you'll hear detail that's masked on the earlier release cut apparently from poor source material and indifferently mastered.
But you won't hear too much stereo. That's good and bad. The mono single mix of "Let's Spend the Night Together" has a driving quality that the stereo mix dissipates as the rhythm section is spread out over the stereo field. And the earliest singles on this collection were never recorded in stereo anyway, so no loss there. In other cases there's not all that much difference between the stereo and mono mixes--as on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" cut, as it was as a non-LP single that all involved knew would be mono anyway. But even the later singles--like You Can't Always Get What You Want--are here in mono, and with its choral section "You Can't...." does not sound good in mono. (Oddly, Honk Tonk Woman is in glorious stereo here).
If you're only interested in the stereo mixes of the mid 1960s hits, Through The Past Darkly is a great collection of the stereo versions of thos singles from "Paint It Black" through to "Honky Tonk Woman."
You Can't Always Get What You Want 
The original three Cd set issued back in 1989 had problems. Many songs were spliced together from different sources (Heart of Stone and Honky Tonk Woman had stereo intros attached to mono mixes. Time Is On My Side was not the single version.
The new digipack corrects these mistakes. Oh and kudos on Street Fighting Man with Mick Jagger's tripple track vocal. It is the single mix. It sees the light of day on this set.
But, more mistakes appear. Tell Me is the album take not the single edit. Honky Tonk Woman is in stereo (it never appeared that way as a single). And Ruby Tuesday is a fold down of the alternate stereo version that appeared on Between the Buttons and Hot Rocks. It is missing Mick's extra vocal overdub on the chorus. The remastering gurus are silent on this major flub! It is correct, I believe on Forty Licks!
The Under-Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" on the original set was a 3:14 "uncensored" edit of the track. The new ABKCO set loses this variant, and instead uses the album version from Out Of Our Heads.
So, better sounding than its predecessor. But where problems were corrected from the old set, new ones are made!


