
If you're in the market for just one Stones album this year, make it A Bigger Bang. But if you happen to be shopping for an additional stocking stuffer, you could do much worse than this odds-and-sods set. Most of the tracks on Rarities aren't very rare — all of them have been previously released in some form. But this disc works as a discriminating collection of lesser-known gems. The live tracks are revelatory: They include a torrid "Wild Horses," from 1995's live album Stripped, and an achy rendition of "Beast of Burden," from Sucking in the Seventies. The stunner is a live version of "Tumbling Dice," inexplicably left off Stripped. The first two verses (recorded at a rehearsal, then spliced together with a full-on live performance) are backed only by Chuck Leavell's rollicking piano and some righteous hand claps. Then there's a track that captures the early spark of the Stones: a loving cover of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock," recorded in Leeds, England, in 1971, at the height of the band's powers. Once a B side of "Brown Sugar," it's a keeper — and it has finally found a loving home in a good neighborhood.
-
MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
-
POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix
Music Reviews
-
star ratingRandom Access Memories
-
star ratingModern Vampires of the City
-
star ratingTrouble Will Find Me
-
star ratingExcuse My French
-
star ratingDemi
-
star ratingSports (30th Anniversary Edition)
We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.












Picks From Around the Web
loading comments...
COMMENTS
Read More