Amazon.co.uk Review
It's no hyperbole to say that
Singles 1965-1967 Volume 2 box set is one of the most essential purchases that anyone,
Stones fan or not, should make. It covers the band through their most innovative, popular singles, and along the way brings out some of the best pop music ever made. From the dirty fuzz riff that pierces through the intro of "Satisfaction" onwards, what you are hearing is still as outrageous and vital today as it was forty years ago. These singles are all unconsciously embedded in the collective minds of everyone, and even those singles that are less well known, like "We Love You" (featuring two chaps called Lennon and McCartney on backing vocals) still rank up there as some of the best singles ever made.
The B-sides range from being throwaway efforts ("Who's Driving Your Plane" will never be anyone's favourite song) to being as essential and innovative as the main attraction; who could argue with hearing the exquisite "Lady Jane" or "I'm Free" as flipsides? The only minus side is the fiddly format the songs are presented in (less patient fans would be better served by The London Years compilation), but for that extra slab of authenticity, this release is beyond essential. --Thom Allott