Sucking in the Seventies [Gatefold Sleeve] [Original recording remastered, Limited Edition]

This Odds and Sods recording is unlike anything else in the official Stones catalog and I have often wondered what the impetus was to put it out.

This is not exclusively a rarities collection nor is it a greatest hits. It is made up of deep album cuts (non-single rock radio favorites), a b-side, an unreleased alternate version and a live track from a tour with no official live release. It is very listenable and the rarities stuff make it a must buy. The highlights:

1. Everything Is Turning To Gold is an energetic Ronnie Wood penned funk rocker that the band should dust off for their live shows. Great track.

2. When The Whip Comes Down is a savage, quasi-punk rock live version from the '78 tour, which amazingly has never been documented by an official live release. This version will make you want to holler and break stuff

3. Time Waits For No One is the IORR version but remember this is the greatest song Mick Taylor ever crafted and did not get credit for.

Two major complaints:

1. I bought this on vinyl, I bought the original CD release and now they are trying to sell me a "Re-Mastered" version that is not even in the SACD format that they made such a big deal about when the ABKO-era stuff was dusted off a few years ago

2. Why Lord, why won't The Greediest Rock And Roll Band In The World load something like this up with additional b-sides, rarities and live stuff from the era? Bowie does it. The Who do it. The Beatles even opened the vaults with the Anthology discs for heavens sake!

Back in 1981, when we saw "Sucking In The Seventies" for the first time in record stores, it almost became the first Stones album I didn't buy. The cover was nothing, it had "contractual fulfillment" written all over it, and though it was the band's first 'hits' set since "Made In The Shade" came out in 1975, it actually eschewed some of the group's biggest hits of the 1976 - 80 period ("Miss You," "She's So Cold," and "Emotional Rescue) for a rather odd mix of singles ("Shattered," "Beast of Burden") - many edited, and the three from "Black and Blue" seemingly remixed (only "Fool To Cry" presents an interesting contrast to the original) and rarities. And yet, and yet...somehow it manages to hang together pretty well 25 years later.
The key is the sequencing and the rarities. "Shattered" closed "Some Girls" but opens this set, followed by its non-lp b-side, the Jagger/Richards/Wood "Everything Is Turning To Gold," four-plus minutes of rather a unusual mix of loose funk and grunge, chugging KR rhythm and rolling rhythms (has Charlie ever relied more on cymbals?) that seem sloppy at first until you realize the seemingly wandering pulse is deliberate and the track builds momentum, climaxing with a pair of unusual, almost Moroccon bits (Sugar Blue's harmonica and Mel Collins' sax add to the gumbo) that evoke nothing as much as Ornette Coleman's "Dancing In My Head." Raw, steamy, sweaty - yet dynamic and exciting, definitely a keeper. The original side two opened with the live "Mannish Boy" that is here in a superior mix to the "Love You Live" version - a hot, inspired take on Muddy Waters' classic from the infamous El Mocambo club show of 1977, with the whole band doing what comes naturally, but better. Another live track, the previously unreleased "When The Whip Comes Down" is next, and this relentless, breathtaking version shows the Keith/Ron guitar team at a peak circa '78, and the new remaster preserves the grunge and the recaptures the sting in this dirty piece of Stones rock - it's four-and-a-half minutes packs more energy and is more focused than the entire "Love You Live" and "Still Life" concert sets. I'm happy to have rediscovered it. Finally, the six-minute unreleased (or "Part 2") version of the funk gem "If I Was A Dancer," with developed lyrics (unlike the "Emotional Rescue" version) and splendid guitar interaction from Keith and co-author Ron Wood, who also plays the funk bass. Is it better than the ER opener? I don't know, but it's different, enjoyable, and I'm glad to have it.
As for the rest, well it flows ok, but I have it all elsewhere, but if you like this band the rare stuff on this cd has some of what makes them a great one, at their post-"Some Girls" peak - prime examples of deep blues, languorous funk, and punky high energy rock 'n' roll. Consider it an great ep plus bonus tracks, and you'll find the fine 2005 remaster satisfyingly discounted, too.

I was very pleasantly suprised to see this re-issued on CD. In the early 80's I somehow got hold of this on cassette and really enjoyed some of the unreleased tracks on here. On top of that the tracks fit together really well, even the straight blues Mannish Boy cover. For my taste, the Stones at their rock and roll best was their work with Mick Taylor (Sticky Fingers) and the mid 70's work with Ron Wood. This CD captures the brilliance of Keith Richards and Ron Wood's ability to blend blues, R&B, and funk/disco guitar stylings while still remaining true to down and dirty Stones rock n'roll. If I was a Dancer is a great song and my favorite on here. Kieth Richards once said that Fool to Cry was not really one of his favorite songs to play, and once while playing it in concert (during the days when smack was his party favor of choice) he was so bored he fell asleep mid-song only to be awoken by the sound of his hand hitting the guitar strings! So that's the picture that come's to mind every time I listen to Fool to Cry on this CD. I'd give this CD 5 stars if it weren't for the fact that most of the songs are available on other CD's.