Search - Rolling Stones :: Vol. 2- Big Hits: Through The Past Darkly

Early Gems

Pieter | Johannesburg | 07/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1967 album was the Stones' second hits collection and reflects the styles and times of the middle sixties. It is heavy with their brand of psychedelia in shimmering masterpieces like Dandelion, She's A Rainbow and Paint It Black. Also the poetic Ruby Tuesday, of which the most memorable cover version is probably that of Melanie Safka.



Talking of covers, David Bowie's interpretation of Let's Spend The Night on his Aladdin Sane album is a noble effort but doesn't come close to the original. The most raucous moments of the album occur in the classic rock numbers Jumpin' Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women, while 2000 Light Years From Home has a spacey, atmospheric feel.



Street Fighting Man with its menacing air reflects the times as it was inspired by the student riots of the 60's, while Have You Seen Your Mother Baby is a soulful power ballad with a devastating hook. Mother's Little Helper is a topical song about the abuse of prescription medicines and contains the classic lines: "Doctor please, some more of these/Outside the door, she takes four more ..."



Most of these tracks were subsequently included on the two Hot Rocks collections but this album remains a worthwhile purchase since every song here is a masterpiece and the sequence is just perfect. The early music of the Stones sounds better and better as the decades pass."