Sunday, June 2, 2019

The Rolling Stones In Mono (BF 2019 Upgrade)

About a year ago, I got FLACs of some mono Exile On Main Street singles and then I know that at some point my original post (from Oct 2015) would have to be revised. I always wondered if this collection inspired ABKCO to finally get off their duffs and finally issue the 'official' version. It's possible. Willard told me it had had 30,000 + DLs. There are also some hints that it might have been the case. I added some songs overlooked by ABKCO in past releases and they were added to their set. Too bad they chose to use their same old UK/US version strategy (Out Of Our Heads, Aftermath, etc). ABKCO's needless duplication meant that about 40 duplicate ABKCO tracks were left over when I was compiling this set. As with my original post, there is no song duplication.

This time I rebuilt it from the ground up and I can confidently say that this is the most complete collection of The Stones' work in mono, packaged nicely and coherently. I took 24/192 FLACS of the ABKCO release and did a fresh conversion to 320. and then I completed the set with the missing tracks (marked ** below). After that, I decided to add the Got Live If You Want It, both EP and LP combined to form a new "LP", volume 8 which turned out pretty well. Now, along with the Exile mono single mixes, it's really complete.

Here are my original notes from 2015:

This has been something that I've wanted to see for a long time! I finally got tired of waiting and made it myself! The complete London/Decca studio recordings presented the way they were meant to be heard! I was one of the many searching for any stereo version of an RS song - I think in part because they were so hard to find and also we all spent many years listening to the earlier records in re-channeled stereo. The truth is that I believe these were made to be played in mono. Do you remember how great it sounded on the radio or in a club?

So here are some notes on why it's compiled the way it is - we all know that London/Decca had little rhyme or reason for why they selected tracks and sequenced the RS early LPs. It does seem that looking back on the 2 greatest hits collections, High Tide and Through The Past Darkly, they are great albums. The obvious thing to do would be to put together a "Past Masters" type collection (which ABKCO did and called it "Stray Cats") or add bonus tracks to each album, but that's not very Rolling Stones-ish to me. I like the idea of having every mono RS LP. In my opinion, these all stand alone as fine LPs, even the collections (like "Around and Around", "Flowers" and here, "Stone Age") are not just simply a collection of songs. I hope you agree. So this is a collection of stand-alone albums, each designed to be enjoyed separately, without song duplication.

Hence, this set has had a few extra albums created. The second LP is a recreation of "Around And Around", that great German collection. My version completes all of their 1963-64 tracks that weren't on albums or greatest hits collections. This sews up those years perfectly. "High Tide and Green Grass" pretty closely follows the UK version, with a few changes.

Maybe the strangest one here is "Stone Age". This collects all of the B-sides, USA and other leftover tracks from 1965-66. I know "Sittin' On A Fence" and the other USA Flowers tracks came out in 1967, but I'm pretty sure they pre-date Aftermath. Anyhow, they fit just fine here! For this compilation, I stayed pretty close to chronological sequence.

"Through The Past, Darkly" uses only the mono single mixes and follows closely to the UK version, only removing duplicates and adding in more 67-70 unique single mixes/edits. "CS Blues" is added to the end of this only because it really didn't fit anywhere else.

Because you can sure that ABKCO would be charging a pretty penny for this set, it's only right that they throw in some bonus 45s, right? The first is their never-released 2nd single finally seeing an official release! Also, that Bill Wyman/Stones single (which is barely different from the mono TSMR version) sits here best, and not on TtP,D. Trust me, I tried it! Finally, the really hard to find (for me, anyway) Original mono mix of the "Brown Sugar" single.

01 - The Rolling Stones (UK) (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Route 66 (Mono) 2:22
2 I Just Want To Make Love To You (Mono) 2:19
3 Honest I Do (Mono) 2:11
4 Mona (I Need You Baby) (Mono) 3:37
5 Now I've Got A Witness (Mono) 2:32
6 Little By Little (Mono) 2:40
7 I'm A King Bee (Mono) 2:37
8 Carol (Mono) 2:35
9 Tell Me (Mono) 3:50
10 Can I Get A Witness (Mono) 2:57
11 You Can Make It If You Try (Mono) 2:02
12 Walking The Dog (Mono) 3:09

02 - Around And Around (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [2019 Deluxe Edition]
1 Around And Around (Mono) 3:04
2 Good Times, Bad Times (Mono) 2:32
3 Empty Heart (Mono) 2:39
4 Confessin' The Blues (Mono) 2:50
5 Not Fade Away (Mono) 1:50
6 Bye Bye Johnny (Mono) 2:12
7 You Better Move On (Mono) 2:41
8 I Wanna Be Your Man (Mono) 1:46
9 2120 South Michigan Avenue (12x5 Long Version) (Mono) 3:40
10 If You Need Me (Mono) 2:05
11 Poison Ivy (Version 2) (Mono) 2:08
12 I Want To Be Loved (Mono) 1:55
13 Stoned (Mono) 2:12
14 Money (Mono) 2:33
15 Surprise, Surprise (Mono) 2:30
16 How Many Times [Mono]** 1:55

03 - No. 2 (UK) (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Mono) 5:04
2 Down Home Girl (Mono) 4:13
3 You Can't Catch Me (Mono) 3:40
4 Time Is On My Side (Mono) 3:00
5 What A Shame (Mono) 3:04
6 Grown Up Wrong (Mono) 2:06
7 Down The Road Apiece (Mono) 2:58
8 Under The Boardwalk (Mono) 2:47
9 I Can't Be Satisfied (Mono) 3:29
10 Pain In My Heart (Mono) 2:13
11 Off The Hook (Mono) 2:36
12 Susie Q (Mono) 1:57

04 - Out Of Our Heads (UK) (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 She Said Yeah (Mono) 1:36
2 Mercy Mercy (Mono) 2:47
3 Hitch Hike (Mono) 2:26
4 That's How Strong My Love Is (Mono) 2:26
5 Good Times (Mono) 2:00
6 Gotta Get Away (Mono) 2:08
7 Talkin' 'Bout You (Mono) 2:32
8 Cry To Me (Mono) 3:10
9 Oh, Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin') (Mono) 2:09
10 Heart Of Stone (Mono) 2:51
11 The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (Mono) 3:08
12 I'm Free (Mono) 2:26

05 - Aftermath (UK) (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Mother's Little Helper (Mono) 2:46
2 Stupid Girl (Mono) 2:57
3 Lady Jane (Mono) 3:10
4 Under My Thumb (Mono) 3:25
5 Doncha Bother Me (Mono) 2:42
6 Going Home (Mono) 11:18
7 Flight 505 (Mono) 3:28
8 High And Dry (Mono) 3:08
9 Out Of Time (Mono) 5:19
10 It's Not Easy (Mono) 2:56
11 I Am Waiting (Mono) 3:12
12 Take It Or Leave It (Mono) 2:47
13 Think (Mono) 3:10
14 What To Do (Mono) 2:29

01-05 HERE

06 - Big Hits [High Tide And Green Grass](The Rolling Stones In Mono)(2019 Deluxe Edition]
  1 Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (Mono) 2:35
2 Paint It, Black (Mono) 3:24
3 It's All Over Now (Mono) 3:28
4 The Last Time (Mono) 3:42
5 Play With Fire (Mono) 2:15
6 Tell Me [Single Version] [Mono]** 2:37
7 Come On (Mono) 1:51
8 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Mono) 3:43
9 Get Off Of My Cloud (Mono) 2:56
10 As Tears Go By (Mono) 2:46
11 19th Nervous Breakdown (Mono) 3:59
12 Out Of Time (US. Version) [Mono] 3:41
13 Time Is On My Side (Organ Version) (Mono) 2:54
14 Little Red Rooster (Mono) 3:06

07 - Stone Age (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [2019 Deluxe Edition]
1 Congratulations (Mono) 2:30
2 I've Been Loving You Too Long (Mono) 2:58
3 2120 South Michigan Avenue (5x5 EP Short Version [Mono]** 2:07
4 Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Mono) 3:00
5 One More Try (Mono) 2:00
6 Gotta Get Away (Mono) 2:07
7 The Spider And The Fly (Mono) 3:40
8 The Under Assistant West Coast Promo Man (Uncensored Single Version) [Mono] 3:17
9 The Singer Not The Song (Mono) 2:24
10 Look What You've Done (Mono) 2:17
11 Sad Day (Mono) 3:03
12 Blue Turns To Grey (Mono) 2:29
13 Con Le Mie Lacrime (As Tears Go By) (Mono) 2:50
14 Long, Long While (Mono) 3:04
15 Who's Driving Your Plane? (Mono) 3:17
16 Sittin' On A Fence (Mono) 3:00
17 My Girl (Mono) 2:38
18 Ride On, Baby (Mono) 3:00

08 - Got Live If You Want It! (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [2019 Deluxe Edition]
1 Under My Thumb [Mono LP]** 2:54
2 Get off of My Cloud [Mono LP]** 2:54
3 Lady Jane [Mono LP]** 3:08
4 Not Fade Away [Mono LP]** 2:04
5 I've Been Loving You Too Long [Mono LP]** 2:55
6 Fortune Teller [Mono LP]** 1:57
7 The Last Time [Mono LP]** 3:08
8 19th Nervous Breakdown [Mono LP]** 3:31
9 We Want The Stones [Mono EP]** 0:13
10 Everybody Needs Somebody To Love [Mono EP]** 0:36
11 Pain In My Heart [Mono EP]** 2:03
12 Route 66 [Mono EP]** 2:36
13 I'm Moving On [Mono EP]** 2:12
14 Time Is on My Side [Mono LP]** 2:49
15 I'm Alright [Mono EP]** 2:22
16 Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows? [Mono LP]** 2:19
17 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction [Mono LP]** 3:05

09 - Between the Buttons (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Yesterday's Papers (Mono) 2:18
2 My Obsession (Mono) 3:20
3 Back Street Girl (Mono) 3:27
4 Connection (Mono) 2:13
5 She Smiled Sweetly (Mono) 2:45
6 Cool, Calm & Collected (Mono) 4:16
7 All Sold Out (Mono) 2:17
8 Please Go Home (Mono) 3:17
9 Who's Been Sleeping Here? (Mono) 3:53
10 Complicated (Mono) 3:17
11 Miss Amanda Jones (Mono) 2:49
12 Something Happened To Me Yesterday (Mono) 4:54

10 - Their Satanic Majesties Request (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Sing This All Together (Mono) 3:46
2 Citadel (Mono) 2:51
3 In Another Land (Mono) 3:14
4 2000 Man (Mono) 3:08
5 Sing This All Together (See What Happens) (Mono) 8:39
6 She's A Rainbow (Mono) 4:36
7 The Lantern (Mono) 4:26
8 Gomper (Mono) 5:10
9 2000 Light Years From Home (Mono) 4:45
10 On With The Show (Mono) 3:41

06-10 HERE

11 - Beggars Banquet (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Sympathy For The Devil (Mono) 6:29
2 No Expectations (Mono) 3:57
3 Dear Doctor (Mono) 3:22
4 Parachute Woman (Mono) 2:21
5 Jigsaw Puzzle (Mono) 6:06
6 Street Fighting Man (Mono) 3:16
7 Prodigal Son (Mono) 2:52
8 Stray Cat Blues (Mono) 4:38
9 Factory Girl (Mono) 2:10
10 Salt Of The Earth (Mono) 4:47

12 - Through The Past, Darkly (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [2019 Deluxe Edition]
1 Jumpin' Jack Flash (Mono) 3:40
2 2000 Light Years From Home [Single Version] [Mono]** 4:45
3 Let's Spend The Night Together [Mono] 3:27
4 You Can't Always Get What You Want (Single Version) [Mono] 4:49
5 We Love You (Single Version) [Mono] 4:37
6 Street Fighting Man (Single Version) [Mono] 3:09
7 She's A Rainbow [Single Version] [Mono]** 4:12
8 Ruby Tuesday (Mono) 3:13
9 Dandelion (Single Version) [Mono] 3:52
10 Child Of The Moon (Rmk) [Mono] 3:15
11 Honky Tonk Women [Mono] 3:03
12 Cocksucker Blues [Mono]** 3:28

13 - Let It Bleed (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Gimme Shelter (Mono) 4:31
2 Love In Vain (Mono) 4:19
3 Country Honk (Mono) 3:08
4 Live With Me (Mono) 3:33
5 Let It Bleed (Mono) 5:28
6 Midnight Rambler (Mono) 6:53
7 You Got The Silver (Mono) 2:51
8 Monkey Man (Mono) 4:12
9 You Can't Always Get What You Want (Mono) 7:28

14 - Sticky Fingers (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update]
1 Brown Sugar [Mono]** 3:47
2 Sway [Mono]** 3:51
3 Wild Horses [Mono]** 5:41
4 Can't You Hear Me Knocking? [Mono]** 7:10
5 You Gotta Move [Mono]** 2:33
6 Bitch [Mono]** 3:35
7 I Got The Blues [Mono]** 3:53
8 Sister Morphine [Mono]** 5:30
9 Dead Flowers [Mono]** 4:03
10 Moonlight Mile [Mono]** 5:52

15 - Bonus Singles (The Rolling Stones In Mono) [BF 2019 Update] 
1 Fortune Teller (Mono) 2:20
2 Poison Ivy (Version 1) (Mono) 2:37
3 In Another Land [Single Version] [Mono]** 2:53
4 The Lantern [Single Version] [Mono]** 4:26
5 Brown Sugar [Single Version] (Mono)** 3:52
6 Bitch [Single Version] (Mono)** 3:38
7 Let It Rock [Single Version] (Mono)** 2:36
8 Tumbling Dice (US A-Side) [Mono]** 3:45
9 All Down The Line (Single Version) [Mono]** 3:54
10 Exile On Main St. Blues (Flexi Disc) [Mono]** 1:26

11-15 HERE

36 comments:

Lupine Assassin said...

Thanks for updating these! FYI: Track 5 is missing from disc 15?

peerke said...

Another fantastic gift.
Thanks Frank

by the way: "I'm Free" is missing on 04 - Out Of Our Heads (UK)

BlankFrank said...

LA & Peerke - Thanks you both for your close attention! "I'm Free" is now added and the numbering error in Volume 15 is now fixed!

lemonflag said...

No moss gathering on you, Frank!!
Thanks

old fan said...

Thank you very much for this Herculean effort. Much appreciated.

Anonymous said...

hi there.
very nice indeed!
reminds me of the beloved wormhole.
happy to find such accuracy over here too.
in description and content.
loved your bowie - update,
which got me here again in the first place.
it has been a while since i last visited.
i'll be around.
a friendly host, by the way.
all easy.
looking forward to your interesting future posts.
and hope to add some useful comment every now and then.
thanks so much.
ekko.

tsi&hrjs said...

Thanx Frank!

Another great addition. Your musical knowledge and collection are amazing!

Thank you for sharing it.

tsi&hrjs

Anonymous said...

A better idea would be to add the extra tracks from the hits and american albums to the original UK LP's so they would be in chronological order.

Anonymous said...

Beggar's Banquet, Sticky Fingers, and Let It Bleed were never issued in Mono. What you have are stereo fold-down versions.

YankeeBoy said...

Bravo for a fine idea and execution!! Thank you.

Rhodb said...

Thank you

sensational work to construct the files. Appreciate the effort


Regards

BlankFrank said...

"Anonymous Anonymous said...
Beggar's Banquet, Sticky Fingers, and Let It Bleed were never issued in Mono. What you have are stereo fold-down versions."

Almost completely true - "Sympathy For The Devil" is a unique mix and IMHO, the mono versions, while mostly fold downs, are a more powerful listening experience. It's now my preferred way to hear these two LPs.

BlankFrank said...

" Anonymous said...
A better idea would be to add the extra tracks from the hits and american albums to the original UK LP's so they would be in chronological order."

I wanted to make each volume a separate listening experience. I love the German Around and Around LP, as well as High Tide/Through the Past. Adding tracks to the existing LP doesn't improve the albums. Please listen to Around and Around, Stone Age, High Tide, and Through The Past and I hope you'll agree.

Thanks for your comment!

Silvio said...

a zillion thanks...beyond my dreams...

Swing Set Pros said...

I just found this blog and have high hopes for it to continue. Keep up the great work, its hard to find good ones. I have added to my favorites. Thank You.

Wooden Swing sets

intercepter said...

Killer Stuff!!! Thanks!!!

Den said...

Huge and Classic Compilation of the more Urgent and yes, Youthful Rolling Stones.
You ought to be awarded a Universal Medal of Sharity for your dedication to World Culture.
Den NC USA

zipper said...

Stupendous piece of work Frank...many many thanks for this wonderful collection.

Smokey said...

Thanks for this gigantic piece of work!

Paul Redbeard said...

Totally fab! Vary many thanks, Paul

Anonymous said...

Wow Frank!!!!! What a massive effort, I just wished to add my 'thanks' to the long list of admirers of your huge work ethic. Top job, mate. And they sound great too, the world needs to admit that Spector was right....MONO RULES. Cheers Rixboy

LonChes said...

Thanks for these in mono. Love it!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful stuff. I dipped in here for the Got Live If You Want It collection. I did a similar job with a reel-to-reel deck, back in the late 1970s but could never find the EP. In those days I made do with the live tracks from December's Children and the USA Out Of Out Heads. It always bugged me that I knew there were a couple more tracks on the EP that I was still missing.

So, this is great. Many thanks.

I was about to go for the Around And Around collection, too (I remember discovering this album, in the 1970s reel-to-reel days, containing a lot of tracks missing from the early UK albums), when I noticed that track 16 "How Many Times" seems to be missing. Is it possible to rectify this? I'd love to hear it, as I wasn't even aware of its existence until I saw it listed here. That one has to be very obscure!

Simon M

BlankFrank said...

@Anon, Yep, "How Many Times" was missing! It's now there. Thanks for pointing it out

Anonymous said...

Fabulous, thanks for putting it up. Now I'm on it.

cheers,

Simon M

Anonymous said...

Wow Frank, you ROCK! To do this massive task once would stop most people in their tracks, but to come back and redo it all over, plus take on board some critique, and fix up the Errors n Omissions, you are dedicated beyond belief....thanks so much for this massive effort. Cheers, Rixboy

Anonymous said...

I love the stones and would love this set but zippy doesn't work for me 403 something or other handed works brill

Anonymous said...

Yandex not handed stupid autocorrect

Anonymous said...

Amigo, you're obsessive the way I am obsessive, and I love you for it. Thanks so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Glorious post! Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication to great music. :)

Paolo Meccano said...

Thanks for sharing. Any plans to collect all the stereo Stones tracks?

Toddwell said...

What a beautiful collection of the best way to hear The Stones!! In mono!! I have the mono box set and despite these being MP3's...all be it 320 and brought down from 24 bit...these sound amazing and to my ears even a bit better than the CD's I have!! I litereally just found your blog yesterday, so i'm awe of the library of material you have here and will definetely be drinking much from this well! (:) I am curious, are most of if not all of your collections needle drops, or a mix of digital and vinyl?

1me0 said...

Thank you so much, this makes my month!!

g8rrick said...

many thanks for this wonderful post

stratonick said...

Thank you for this! I am also curious about whether these are needle drops or digital.

Mike said...

Pity that this collection died with Zippy. Hopefully it will turn up elsewhere. For now, sincere appreciation for an outstanding concept.