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This two-LP set is both a lot more and a bit less than what it seems. It is seven years' worth of mostly very high-charting -- and all influential and important -- songs, leaving out some singles in favor of well-known album tracks, and in the process, giving an overview not just of the Rolling Stones' hits but of their evolving image. One hears them change from loud R&B-inspired rockers covering others' songs ("Time Is on My Side") into originators in their own right ("Satisfaction"); then into tastemakers and style-setters with a particularly decadent air ("Get Off of My Cloud," "19th Nervous Breakdown"), and finally into self-actualized rebel-poets ("Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Midnight Rambler") and Shaman-like symbols of chaos.
On its initial release, Hot Rocks sold well, not only as a unique compilation but also as a panorama of the '60s. The only flaw was that it didn't give a good look at the Stones' full musical history, ignoring their early blues and psychedelic eras. There are also some anomalies in Hot Rocks' history for the collector -- the very first pressings included an outtake of "Brown Sugar" featuring Eric Clapton that was promptly replaced. This is an exciting assembly of material.
Tracklist
A1 Time Is On My Side
A2 Heart Of Stone
A3 Play With Fire
A4 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
A5 As Tears Go By
A6 Get Off Of My Cloud
B1 Mother's Little Helper
B2 19th Nervous Breakdown
B3 Paint It, Black
B4 Under My Thumb
B5 Ruby Tuesday
B6 Let's Spend The Night Together
C1 Jumpin' Jack Flash
C2 Street Fighting Man
C3 Sympathy For The Devil
C4 Honky Tonk Women
C5 Gimme Shelter
D1 Midnight Rambler (Live)
D2 You Can't Always Get What You Want
D3 Brown Sugar
D4 Wild Horses