SACD / DSD

The Rolling Stones – Between The Buttons (1967) [UK & US Versions – ABKCO Remasters 2002]
UK/US version | PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Scans included | 1,56/1,66 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 38:35/38:34 minutes | Scans | 811/916 MB

The Rolling Stones’ 1967 recordings are a matter of some controversy; many critics felt that they were compromising their raw, rootsy power with trendy emulations of the Beatles, Kinks, Dylan, and psychedelic music. Approach this album with an open mind, though, and you’ll find it to be one of their strongest, most eclectic LPs, with many fine songs that remain unknown to all but Stones devotees. The lyrics are getting better (if more savage), and the arrangements more creative, on brooding near-classics like “All Sold Out,” “My Obsession,” and “Yesterday’s Papers.” “She Smiled Sweetly” shows their hidden romantic side at its best, while “Connection” is one of the record’s few slabs of conventionally driving rock. But the best tracks were the two songs that gave the group a double-sided number one in early 1967: the lustful “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and the beautiful, melancholy “Ruby Tuesday,” which is as melodic as anything Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would ever write. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St. (1972) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9081]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 67:15 minutes | Scans included | 2,73 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,39 GB

Uses the 2011 DSD master based on UK original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

Greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its original release, Exile on Main St. has become generally regarded as the Rolling Stones’ finest album. Part of the reason why the record was initially greeted with hesitant reviews is that it takes a while to assimilate. A sprawling, weary double album encompassing rock & roll, blues, soul, and country, Exile doesn’t try anything new on the surface, but the substance is new. Taking the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme, Exile is a weary record, and not just lyrically. Jagger’s vocals are buried in the mix, and the music is a series of dark, dense jams, with Keith Richards and Mick Taylor spinning off incredible riffs and solos. And the songs continue the breakthroughs of their three previous albums. No longer does their country sound forced or kitschy — it’s lived-in and complex, just like the group’s forays into soul and gospel. While the songs, including the masterpieces “Rocks Off,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Torn and Frayed,” “Happy,” “Let It Loose,” and “Shine a Light,” are all terrific, they blend together, with only certain lyrics and guitar lines emerging from the murk. It’s the kind of record that’s gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones’ best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Goats Head Soup (1973) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9076]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 46:59 minutes | Scans included | 1,89 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 946 MB

Features the 2011 DSD mastering based on the UK master. Originally released in 1973. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

Sliding out of perhaps the greatest winning streak in rock history, the Stones slipped into decadence and rock star excess with Goats Head Soup, their sequel to Exile on Main St. This is where the Stones’ image began to eclipse their accomplishments, as Mick ascended to jet-setting celebrity and Keith slowly sunk deeper into addiction, and it’s possible hearing them moving in both directions on Goats Head Soup, at times in the same song. As Jagger plays the devil (or, dances with Mr. D, as he likes to say), the sex and sleaze quotient is increased, all of it underpinned by some genuinely affecting heartbreak, highlighted by “Angie.” This may not be as downright funky, freaky, and fantastic as Exile, yet the extra layer of gloss brings out the enunciated lyrics, added strings, wah-wah guitars, explicit sex, and violence, making it all seem trippily decadent. If it doesn’t seem like there’s a surplus of classics here, all the songs work well, illustrating just how far they’ve traveled in their songcraft, as well as their exceptional talent as a band — they make this all sound really easy and darkly alluring, even when the sex’n’satanism seems a little silly. To top it all of, they cap off this utterly excessive album with “Star Star,” a nasty Chuck Berry rip that grooves on its own mean vulgarity — its real title is “Starf*cker,” if you need any clarification, and even though they got nastier (the entirety of Undercover, for instance), they never again made something this dirty or nasty. And, it never feels more at home than it does at the end of this excessive record. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Black And Blue (1976) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9079]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 41:30 minutes | Scans included | 1,67 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 817 MB

Uses the 2011 DSD master based on UK original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

The Rolling Stones recorded Black and Blue while auditioning Mick Taylor’s replacement, so it’s unfair to criticize it, really, for being longer on grooves and jams than songs, especially since that’s what’s good about it. Yes, the two songs that are undeniable highlights are “Memory Motel” and “Fool to Cry,” the album’s two ballads and, therefore, the two that had to be written and arranged, not knocked out in the studio; they’re also the ones that don’t quite make as much sense, though they still work in the context of the record. No, this is all about groove and sound, as the Stones work Ron Wood into their fabric. And the remarkable thing is, apart from “Hand of Fate” and “Crazy Mama,” there’s little straight-ahead rock & roll here. They play with reggae extensively, funk and disco less so, making both sound like integral parts of the Stones’ lifeblood. Apart from the ballads, there might not be many memorable tunes, but there are times that you listen to the Stones just to hear them play, and this is one of them. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Some Girls (1978) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2012 # UIGY-9083]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 41:01 minutes | Scans included | 1,65 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 889 MB

Uses the 2011 DSD master based on UK original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

During the mid-’70s, the Rolling Stones remained massively popular, but their records suffered from Jagger’s fascination with celebrity and Keith’s worsening drug habit. By 1978, both punk and disco had swept the group off the front pages, and Some Girls was their fiery response to the younger generation. Opening with the disco-blues thump of “Miss You,” Some Girls is a tough, focused, and exciting record, full of more hooks and energy than any Stones record since Exile on Main St. Even though the Stones make disco their own, they never quite take punk on their own ground. Instead, their rockers sound harder and nastier than they have in years. Using “Star Star” as a template, the Stones run through the seedy homosexual imagery of “When the Whip Comes Down,” the bizarre, borderline-misogynistic vitriol of the title track, Keith’s ultimate outlaw anthem, “Before They Make Me Run,” and the decadent closer, “Shattered.” In between, they deconstruct the Temptations’ “(Just My) Imagination,” unleash the devastatingly snide country parody “Far Away Eyes,” and contribute “Beast of Burden,” one of their very best ballads. Some Girls may not have the back-street aggression of their ’60s records, or the majestic, drugged-out murk of their early-’70s work, but its brand of glitzy, decadent hard rock still makes it a definitive Stones album. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Tattoo You (1981) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9073]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 42:49 minutes | Scans included | 1,73 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 894 MB

Features the 2011 DSD mastering based on the UK master. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

Like Emotional Rescue before it, Tattoo You was comprised primarily of leftovers, but unlike its predecessor, it never sounds that way. Instead, Tattoo You captures the Stones at their best as a professional stadium-rock band. Divided into a rock & roll side and a ballad side, the album delivers its share of thrills on the tight, dynamic first side. “Start Me Up” became the record’s definitive Stonesy rocker, but the frenzied doo wop of “Hang Fire,” the reggae jam of “Slave,” the sleazy Chuck Berry rockers “Little T&A” and “Neighbours,” and the hard blues of “Black Limousine” are all terrific. The ballad side suffers in comparison, especially since “Heaven” and “No Use in Crying” are faceless. But “Worried About You” and “Tops” are effortless, excellent ballads, and “Waiting on a Friend,” with its Sonny Rollins sax solo, is an absolute masterpiece, with a moving lyric that captures Jagger in a shockingly reflective and affecting state of mind. “Waiting on a Friend” and the vigorous rock & roll of the first side make Tattoo You an essential latter-day Stones album, ranking just a few notches below Some Girls. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Love You Live (1977) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9070]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 83:16 minutes | Scans included | 3,34 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans NOT included | 1,69 GB

Recorded on the supporting tour for 1976’s Black and Blue, the double-album set Love You Live is an adequate live album, capturing the Stones’ transition from a lean, lethal rock & roll band to accomplished showmen. As showmen, they aren’t as compelling as they are when they’re rockers, but the show-biz glitz of Mick Jagger’s arena rock shtick remains thoroughly entertaining, even when it robs the music of its power. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – 12X5 (1964) [ABKCO Remaster 2002]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 32:12 minutes | Scans included | 1,04 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 700 MB

The evolution from blues to rock accelerated with the Rolling Stones’ second American LP. They turned soul into guitar rock for the hits “It’s All Over Now” and “Time Is on My Side” (the latter of which was their first American Top Ten single). “2120 South Michigan Avenue” is a great instrumental blues-rock jam; “Around and Around” is one of their best Chuck Berry covers; and “If You Need Me” reflects an increasing contemporary soul influence. On the other hand, the group originals (except for the propulsive “Empty Heart”) are weak and derivative, indicating that the band still had a way to go before it could truly challenge the Beatles’ throne. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! (1970) [ABKCO Remaster 2002]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 47:42 minutes | Scans included | 1,94GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 987 MB

Recorded during their American tour in late 1969, and centered around live versions of material from the Beggars Banquet-Let It Bleed era. Often acclaimed as one of the top live rock albums of all time, its appeal has dimmed a little today. The live versions are reasonably different from the studio ones, but ultimately not as good, a notable exception being the long workout of “Midnight Rambler,” with extended harmonica solos and the unforgettable section where the pace slows to a bump-and-grind crawl. Some Stones aficionados, in fact, prefer a bootleg from the same tour (Liver Than You’ll Ever Be, to which this album was unleashed in response), or their amazing the-show-must-go-on performance in the jaws of hell at Altamont (preserved in the Gimme Shelter film). Fans that are unconcerned with picky comparisons such as these will still find Ya-Ya’s an outstanding album, and it’s certainly the Stones’ best official live recording. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers (1971) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9066]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 40:15 minutes | Scans included | 1,87 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 960 MB

Pieced together from outtakes and much-labored-over songs, Sticky Fingers manages to have a loose, ramshackle ambience that belies both its origins and the dark undercurrents of the songs. It’s a weary, drug-laden album — well over half the songs explicitly mention drug use, while the others merely allude to it — that never fades away, but it barely keeps afloat. Apart from the classic opener, “Brown Sugar” (a gleeful tune about slavery, interracial sex, and lost virginity, not necessarily in that order), the long workout “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and the mean-spirited “Bitch,” Sticky Fingers is a slow, bluesy affair, with a few country touches thrown in for good measure. The laid-back tone of the album gives ample room for new lead guitarist Mick Taylor to stretch out, particularly on the extended coda of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” But the key to the album isn’t the instrumental interplay — although that is terrific — it’s the utter weariness of the songs. “Wild Horses” is their first non-ironic stab at a country song, and it is a beautiful, heart-tugging masterpiece. Similarly, “I Got the Blues” is a ravished, late-night classic that ranks among their very best blues. “Sister Morphine” is a horrifying overdose tale, and “Moonlight Mile,” with Paul Buckmaster’s grandiose strings, is a perfect closure: sad, yearning, drug-addled, and beautiful. With its offhand mixture of decadence, roots music, and outright malevolence, Sticky Fingers set the tone for the rest of the decade for the Stones. (more…)

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil: Remix (2003) [2.0 & 5.1]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 38:11 minutes | Scans included | 2,54 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 38:07 mins | Scans included | 828 MB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound

As a means of promoting a DVD reissue of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1970 film Sympathy for the Devil (which depicts the 1968 recording session that produced the Rolling Stones’ song), ABCKO Records has released this seven-track CD single, running over 38 minutes, which contains remixes of “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Neptunes, Fatboy Slim, and Full Phatt (each presented in a “Radio Remix” and a “Full Length Remix”), plus the original Stones track. Since the song has a distinctive percussion part played by Stones drummer Charlie Watts and conga player Rocky Dijon, it’s interesting that all the remixers begin by eliminating that part. But then, that’s in the nature of the “remix” business, which tends to involve newly recorded rhythm tracks. the Neptunes retain Mick Jagger’s vocal and Keith Richards’ guitar solos, their new underlying track at first having an Indian flavor complete with sitar licks. Halfway through, a backing of acoustic guitar and string-like sounds replaces the Indian track. Fatboy Slim likes Nicky Hopkins’ piano part and keeps it along with the vocal, laying in a characteristic stop-and-start electronica percussion part. Full Phatt is also fond of the original piano, and his percussion track has a more bass-heavy feel. Of course, when the original recording comes on at the end, it wipes the floor with the remixers.

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The Rolling Stones – Emotional Rescue (1980) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9077]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 41:14 minutes | Scans included | 1,66 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 872 MB

Features the 2011 DSD mastering based on the UK master. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Mick McKenna & Richard Whittaker.

Coasting on the success of Some Girls, the Stones offered more of the same on Emotional Rescue. Comprised of leftovers from the previous album’s sessions and hastily written new numbers, Emotional Rescue may consist mainly of filler, but it’s expertly written and performed filler. the Stones toss off throwaways like the reggae-fueled, mail-order bride anthem “Send It to Me” or rockers like “Summer Romance” and “Where the Boys Go” with an authority that makes the record a guilty pleasure, even if it’s clear that only two songs — the icy but sexy disco-rock of “Emotional Rescue” and the revamped Chuck Berry rocker “She’s So Cold” — come close to being classic Stones.

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The Rolling Stones – The Stones Remastered 21 X 5 Sampler (2002)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 78:24 minutes | Scans included | 3,15 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,73 GB

Before release of the Rolling Stones remastered series, ABKCO Records presented this promotional release. This disc contains some “edited” & three differently mastered songs than were pressed on later officially remastered albums.

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