After the lively conversation about Goats Head Soup, I thought I’d better redeem myself with a truly timeless collection of early Rolling Stones hits.
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There have been too many Stones compilations to count, but Hot Rocks 1964—1971, one of the early ones, is amongst the best and has rarely been out of print.
Originally released in December 1971, a few months after Sticky Fingers—the LP that proved the band really could put together a consistently brilliant album (as distinct from brilliantly consistent singles)—Hot Rocks picks up the Stones story as they transitioned from covers to original songs. Previously, their singles had drawn on numbers by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Lennon-McCartney (yes, those Beatle chaps offered Jagger and Richards “I Wanna Be Your Man”, a gift they gladly accepted and took to #12 in the UK in late 1963).
One early Mick and Keith original was overlooked for this collection (“Tell Me”), mainly because it did not trouble the British singles chart. Paradoxically, the opening cut of this 2LP set is “Time Is On My Side”, not a Jagger-Richards composition. It was, however, Top 10 in the US, explaining its inclusion here.
The hits keep coming. The querulous stomp of “(I can’t get no) Satisfaction” leads into “As Tears Go By”, one of the finest Jagger-Richard ballads and also a US Top 10 hit for Marianne Faithfull in 1964. Side 2 opens with the lesser known “Mother’s Little Helper”, a swipe at suburban drug use from a songwriting team peeved at their harassment by British law enforcement agencies eager to right royally bust them. A favourite of the writer is “Paint it, Black” (May, 1966) whose Eastern touches and dark lyrics were a counterpoint to the whole Summer of Love thing. What’s extraordinary about the song is that, despite its sombre themes, it reached #1 on singles charts in at least half-a-dozen countries, including Australia. It’s important to mention that the Stones were also capable of objectionable misogyny, exemplified by the jaunty tune but abusive lyrics of “Under My Thumb”. It is a relief to move on to the baroque pop glory of “Ruby Tuesday” and the honest raunch of “Let’s Spend the Night Together”.
On side 3 the songs are both hot and rocking: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Street Fighting Man”, “Honky Tonk Women”, “Gimme Shelter”. These were the glory days of the Rolling Stones. The one live track included is a concert version of “Midnight Rambler”, opening the final side. It’s followed by “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (Really, Mick?) then the swagger of “Brown Sugar”. Unexpectedly, yet satisfyingly, we head for the runout groove with another top class ballad, the magnificent “Wild Horses”.
All in all, this is a rock solid compilation of hits from the period and a fabulous reminder of those brilliant singles (if you are of “My Generation”) or an introduction (for a new generation). It’s still hot, fifty years after release.
First published at Discrepancy Records. Reposted with kind permission.
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vinylconnection.com.au 
At the CD store this was a perennial best seller. Not cheap either. $40 new, $24 used!
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That is amazing retention of value, isn’t it?
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It is. Still “too expensive” for most of my cheapskate customers.
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My big sister had this back in the proverbial day. It was my primary introduction to the Stones.
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Great entry point, Rick!
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Have the vinyl copy of this too. Timeless. Cost me £3 second-hand in the late eighties, which seems bizarre now!
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That was a good time to vacuum up vinyl. Idiots like me were discarding it in favour of CDs. 😩
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We had this on vinyl growing up. Kind of staple record alongside those Beatles comps (one red, the other blue) and then layered in with a healthy dose of oh Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, America and Billy Joel. Cat Stevens too. That about sums it up for my dad’s record collection (and somewhat self-consciously omitting the Bob Seger LPs). Understand, we were runnin’ against the wind…
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There’s a reason it’s called classic rock, eh?
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That record collection sounds very familiar and very typical, and also very good I think. But you shouldn’t feel self-conscious about Bob Seger because he could be wonderful too. I was never crazy about all those rockers he had in the seventies but he was wonderful on slower things like Night Moves or Fire Lake or Still the Same or Main Street and things like that. Those are all terrific.
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Hey that’s so kind! I had a would-be friend in college who was too cool for school and slagged me on the Bob Seger. Damn him! Because I know you’re right especially on those ballads you named. He really struck a chord, as you might say. That Supertramp record cover for Breakfast in America seems to be emblematic of my childhood and growing up in the 70s. Singing along with the Logical Song, kind of apt.
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Night Moves is one of the greatest songs and records ever. It does what Bruce Springsteen spent a whole career trying to do, at least for me anyway.
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That’s lovely to hear you say. He does capture and own the quiet moments in that song that really “hits,” as my kids say. Started humming a song from 1962, you know…
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Yeah this has always been one of my favorite albums ever since I was a little kid and discovered it in my older brother’s record collection. It’s like an almost perfect selection of their songs from that period. Except I wish it had The Last Time instead of Heart of Stone from that year, and it probably should have had She’s a Rainbow just so that album was represented a little bit. And they should have had Bitch instead of the crappy Midnight Rambler.
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They should have consulted you, kingclover!
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When I did the “Best of the Blockbusters” album contest back in 2005, this one was one of the Final Four. It’s about as good of a Greatest Hits type collection as I can think of . . .
I scribbled about it length in that contest: https://jericsmith.com/2010/10/02/best-of-the-blockbusters-the-greatest-popular-record-ever/
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And you know what too? It kind of needs It’s All Over Now and Lady Jane, which they would have had room for if they didn’t include the live Midnight Rambler. Who the hell needs 10 minutes of Midnight Rambler live?? And it was in the vinyl days when you couldn’t afford to waste any space, unlike the CD age where you could fit a whole double album on one CD.
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And putting those songs on More Hot Rocks just doesn’t cut it, because other than those ones it is not a very good compilation. There’s not even enough good ones on it for a single disc let alone two. I don’t know who put that album together but it is a totally bizarre selection of songs.
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Excellent compilation and coincidentally one of the few Rolling Stones records I physically own on CD. I literally love every song on it!
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One of the best greatest hits packages out there. I also like Volume 2 but not as much. Many people got into the Stones because of Hot Rocks.
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I believe that to be true, Max. The fact that it has virtually never been out of print says it all.
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Great post! These songs played at every high school dance. I owned the vinyl and wore them out. Later I bought the CDs and still enoy them … timeless.
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make that, enjoy them
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👍
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Thanks Jadi. You are spot on. Timeless and part of popular culture in perpetuity!
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I grew up hearing this on “cleaning days” when the oldsters would crank up the stereo, loud enough to drown out the vacuum cleaner and assorted crashing noises as they knocked things over trying to dust. Has to be the raunchiest disc in the house, great fun leaping around to it.
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That is such a marvellous image. Makes we wanna break out the feather duster.
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I love this compilation. I remember buying it on cassette back in high school and recently shelled out some good coin to purchase a RSD pressing of it for my vinyl shelves. Worth every penny.
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Nice one. Yes, it’s a timeless comp.
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I have a bunch of 1960s Stones albums but there are some big hits that I probably haven’t even heard. I should find a compilation that mops up their non-album singles, which I don’t think this quite is?
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You’re correct. This is a broard-based comp up to Sticky Fingers. If you can find it, Graham, I thoroughly recommend the 3CD set “The Rolling Stones Singles Collection* The London Years”.
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Its the best one by far, not even spoiled by the inclusion of ‘I’m Free’. Although I’m also very fond of ‘Through The Past Darkly’ as a comp too.
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The one with the octagonal cover!
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That’s the beast. Mind you ‘Big Hits (High Tide etc)’ is also a cool LP too.
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There’s so many compilations that cover their 60s stuff really well, but hardly anything that covers the 70s. Which I think is very strange. Made in the Shade goes from 70 to 75 and it’s actually pretty good but it’s kind of skimpy. But it has the best songs from Sticky Fingers and Exile and Goats Head and then a couple from It’s Only Rock and Roll. But for the rest of the 70s i don’t think there are any compilations at all.
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Yeah, I used to play ‘Made in the Shade’ in the shop. Fine comp, just a little light on, as you say.
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This was another gem in my older siblings’ collections. I always loved that shot of them (with the exception of Charlie Watts) perched on that manse/ruin in what I assume is the English countryside…
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