The Rolling Stones - Black Box (2000) [4CD Box Set]

Tracklist CD1:

01 Heart Of Stone [take V] (LA, RCA Studios, 02.11.1964)
02 Not Fade Away [take I] (London, Regent Sound Studios, 10.01.1964)
03 Aftermath (a.k.a. Spector And Pitney Came Too) (London, Regent Sound Studios, 04.02.1964)
04 Andrew's Blues (London, Regent Sound Studios, 04.02.1964)
05 Don't Lie To Me (London, Regent Sound Studios, 12.05.1964)
06 Hi Heel Sneakers (Chicago, Chess Studios, 11.06.1964)
07 Stewed And Keefed (Chicago, Chess Studios, 10.06.1964)
08 Look What You've Done (Chicago, Chess Studios, 11.06.1964)
09 Tell Me Baby (Chicago, Chess Studios, 11.06.1964)
10 Down In The Bottom (Chicago, Chess Studios, 11.06.1964)
11 We're Wastin' Time (London, Regent Sound Studios, 31.08-04.09.1964)
12 Hear It [take I] (London, Regent Sound Studios, 31.08-04.09.1964)
13 Sleepy City (London, Regent Sound Studios, 31.08-04.09.1964)
14 Try A Little Harder (London, Regent Sound Studios, 13.02.1964)
15 Something Just Stick In Your Mind (London, Regent Sound Studios, 13.02.1964)
16 As Time Goes By (London, De Lane Lea Studios, 11.03.1964)
17 Blue Turns To Grey [take II] (London, Regent Sound Studios, 31.08-04.09.1964)
18 Satisfaction [take II] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 11.-12.05.1965)
19 Looking Tired (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 06.09.1965)
20 Paint It Black [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 06.-09.03.1966
21 Lady Jane [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 06.-09.03.1966
22 Can't Believe (a.k.a. Get Yourself Together) [take III] (London, Olympic Sound Studios,08.-26.11.1966)
23 Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadow? [take II] (London, IBC, 31.08-02-09-1966
24 Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadow? [take III] (London, IBC, 31.08-02-09-1966)
25 Let's Spend The Night Together [take Ib] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)

The first CD of the set takes a look at the early years of the band with a retrospective of alternate takes and unreleased titles in excellent sound quality.



Tracklist CD2:

01 Can't Believe (a.k.a. Get Yourself Together) [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
02 Let's Spend The Night Together [take Ia] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
03 All Sold Out [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
04 Yesterday's Papers [take II] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
05 Ruby Tuesday [take II] (London, Olympic SOund Studios, 08.-26.11.1966)
06 Complicated [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
07 Please Go Home [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
08 My Obsession [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
09 Cosmic Christmas (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 10.1967)
10 Family [take I] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 13.-23.05.1968)
11 Downtown Suzie [take II] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 17.04.-02.07.1969)
12 Give Me A Hamburger To Go (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 13.-23.05.1968)
13 And I Was A Country Boy (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 23.03.1969)
14 Memo From Turner [take IV] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 17.11.1968)
15 Memo From Turner [take I] (London, unknown studio, 09.1968)
16 Sister Morphine [take III] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 10.02.-31.03.1969)
17 Still A Fool (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 13.-23.05.1968)
18 You Got The Silver [take II] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 10.02.-31.03.1969)
19 Highway Child (Redlands, KR's home, 02.1968)

The following eight songs through My Obsession are instrumentals in excellent quality that first surfaced on a CD titled "Karaoke" (VTCD YD 033) on the same label, and also included lyric sheets written in English and Japanese.
These are interesting tracks despite being instrumentals, because there is a great deal of production to be heard on these Pop efforts by a Rock 'n Roll band.



Tracklist CD3:

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL 5:57
Compressed sound with "who..who's" way down in the mix. There are also a
few bars edited from Keith's solo. Recorded at Olympic studios in June, 1968.
COUNTRY HONK 3:04
Missing the fiddle track and the familiar car horn. A transitional song that reveals the influences of the time. Gram Parson's turning Keith on to the soul of country music, and open tunings that were prevalent in the Country (Delta) Blues. Even the Rock version of the song reflects the impact of working with Ry Cooder during the "Let It Bleed" sessions, and Keith's enduring preference for Open G tuning that followed. His earlier efforts with open tunings were in open D & E on songs such as Child Of The Moon, Street Fighting Man (studio), and Prodigal Son.
GIMME SHELTER 4:22
A different mix and vocal. Lot's of bass in the opening bars of the song. Minus the Merry Clayton vocal.
Recorded at Olympic Studios in May-June, 1969.
LOVIN' CUP 6:31
This could be the pre-Hyde Park studio version of the song. First surfaced on "Time Trip 1969-1973 Vol. 1"
on Scorpio. Possibly from a May-June session at Olympic in 1969.
JIVING SISTER FANNY 3:14
Muffled sound with a different vocal take. Taylor burns it up.
HONKY TONK WOMAN 3:06
A studio version of the song containing the Paris verse that was only heard on early 70's live versions of the song.
Also missing horn arrangements. Recorded at Olympic Studios in May-June, 1969.
ALL DOWN THE LINE (acoustic) 4:22
One of the great examples of how the band can evolve songs. Slow acoustic guitar version. First surfaced in the late 70's, but this has excellent clarity and corrected speed. Recorded at Elektra studios in LA, Oct., 1969.
ALL DOWN THE LINE (electric) 3:47
This is not the 7" single version of the song that usually shows-up on these recordings. Different mix, and harp solo at 3:05. An Olympic Oct.-Nov., 1970 recording.
I DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY 5:57
Not hard to guess why this hasn't been released. A shorter version of the song.
I'M GOING DOWN 3:04
Last of the "Metamorphosis" songs. It's the familiar guitar restart album version. Hard to say whether this is a production error or a retake by Keith.
YOU GOTTA MOVE 2:35
An alternate take of the Mississippi Fred McDowell classic. There is a lot of vocal reverb at the beginning, and the slide guitar goes into a "wah" effect at the end. A Muscle Shoals, Dec., 1969 recording. Part of the work at this studio is documented in the "Gimme Shelter" movie. Fred's original version of "You Got To Move" is found on "Fred McDowell Vol. 2" on Arhoolie Records. Order no. F 1027.
BROWN SUGAR #1 3:43
The earliest known version. Some of the fundamental tracks are inherited by later takes. Muscle Shoals, Dec., 1969.
BROWN SUGAR #2 4:29
Starts-stops-restarts-stops-restarts. Sloppy production by the manufacturer of atake that is very similar to the album.
BITCH 2:24
This is the album version of the song that starts off with some subtle cymbal tapping just before the start, and completely wipes out at 2:18 when the tape fouls-up.
GOOD TIME WOMAN 3:19
The well known first version of Tumbling Dice. An Olympic, Oct., 1970 recording.
SWAY 3:33
The 7" single version. A different mix and take.
SCHOOLBOY BLUES 3:30
The infamous let's make the last song we owe Decca a real good one! Recorded at Olympic in May, 1970.
The origins and inspiration are explained by Marshall Chess in the opening 10 minutes of the movie with the same title.
Interestingly, the song was rehearsed at the Woodstock rehearsals in preparation of the 1978 US Tour.
Was Jagger reminded of this song by a copy of an unauthorized recording purchased while in New York? He commented on unauthorized recordings at some length in an interview from the early 70's.
Found on the LP "Highway Bound" on Tofu records. There's something on this box set for everyone.
First ever releases of some songs and best quality version of the older ones. Jagger isn't too keen on the concept of retrospective box sets these days, so this is probably as good as it gets. Chris M.



Tracklist CD4:

01 Confessin' The Blues [stereo] (Chicago, Chess Studios, 11.06.1964)
02 I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 11.-12.05.1965)
03 Poison Ivy [take II] (London, Decca Studios, July 1963)
04 Fortune Teller [take II] (London, Decca Studios, 09.07.1963)
05 Time Is On My Side [take II] (London, Regent Sound Studios, 24.-26.06.1964)
06 Con Le Mie La Crime [take II] (London, IBC Studios, 15.03.1966)
07 Da Doo Ron Ron (London, Regent Sound Studios, 31.08.-04.09.1964)
08 We Love You (a.k.a. Old King Cole) [take I] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 17.-21.05.1967)
09 Dandelion (a.k.a. Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Blue) [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
10 19th Nervous Breakdown [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-08.12.1965)
11 Yesterday's Papers [take I] (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 03.-11.08.1966)
12 Gimme Shelter [take II] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 10.02.-31.03.1969)
13 Sister Morphine [take II] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 10.02.-31.03.1969)
14 Brown Sugar [take III] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 12.1969)
15 Wild Horses [take III] (London, Olympic Sound Studios, 12.1969)
16 Sister Morphine (Los Angeles, RCA Studios, 07.1968, Faithful & Stones)
17 <Telephone Call from Japan> (March 1968, interview with Mick Jagger)



All thanks go to the original releaser