Rolling Stones
Rarities 1971-2003

The Rolling Stones - "Rarities 1971-2003"

It is well-known: you either love or hate the Rolling Stones. I find it quite difficult for a young person [let's say twenty years old] to fall in love with this historic band after listening to their latest album "A Bigger Band." Let's be honest, that record left many fans with a taste of disappointment. Luckily, Emi thought about this. Shortly after the release of the aforementioned album, Virgin delved into Emi's archives and found several gems that fans of the Rolling Stones cannot help but appreciate. Thus, the album emerges that those twenty-year-olds I mentioned might adore, and consequently, they might understand the Stones' philosophy and truly love them. "Rarities: 1971-2003" contains truly exceptional tracks, pearls lost in time, never officially released live tracks, untraceable B-Sides, and all the rock 'n' roll the Rolling Stones are capable of.

I admit, purchasing this album (after the partial disappointment of "A Bigger Band") I expected the usual "crafty" collection from record companies, always with the same tracks or absurd recordings (terribly done) of well-known tracks. Yet we must change our minds: the recorded live tracks are perfect under all aspects. Just to give a few examples: there is a live version of "Tumbling Dice" performed during the Voodoo Lounge Tour so beautifully that it almost (I emphasize "almost") surpasses the legendary studio version; a magnificent acoustic "Wild Horses" (appeared on "Stripped"), and even a rearrangement of "Live With Me" from the late '90s. Among the various masterpieces ("Let It Rock", "Mannish Boy", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You") there are also questionable tracks like the dance version (even more dance) of "Miss You," a not entirely impeccable track by the Stones. The B-Sides are abundant ("Wish I'd Never Met You", "Beast Of Burden", "Anyway You Look At It") and even a semi-unreleased track (never appeared on a Stones album) like "Fancy Man Blues" which is certainly the best of the album (rearrangements permitting). To close it all, a magnificent acoustic version of "Thru And Thru" by the legendary Keith Richards which personally fully surpasses the studio version that appeared on "Voodoo Lounge."

As I have already mentioned, I find these compilation albums questionable as they are often just an excuse for record companies to make money with poor and terribly recorded tracks, yet "Rarities: 1971-2003" is a truly exceptional album, absolutely essential for those who, like me, belong to that category of people who love the Stones without reservations.

To enrich it all, there is a gatefold cardboard cover with a booklet containing the history of the album, magnificent photos of our idols, and an exhaustive explanation of the origin of each track.