The Rolling Stones

Behind the album cover dreamt up by Andy Warhol with its iconic close-up crotch was a new opiate – a psychedelic whirlwind of rock’n’roll, blues, country and rhythm'n'blues. Following the influential albums Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, on April 23rd 1971 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards revealed their hugely impressive compositions, with carnivorous guitar riffs (Brown Sugar) haunted by hard drugs (Sister Morphine). On Sticky Fingers, we find a demonic sensuality (Wild Horses), violently percussive themes (Sway) and dirty, sticky blues (You Gotta to Move). Featuring top-class musicians (Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson, Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins, Paul Buckmaster...), this masterpiece is also the first 100% Rolling Stones album without Brian Jones, with stunning debuts from Mick Taylor (Can't You Hear Me Knocking). It is without a doubt among the top ten greatest records in the history of rock'n'roll. Plus, this sumptuous Deluxe Edition includes an extra disc full of unreleased takes and live tracks recorded on March 14, 1971 at the Roundhouse in London. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Dark and glistening. Like a cave on the French Riviera. That’s where Jagger and Richards' band – living as tax exiles - recorded the immense Exile on Main Street, a musical feast with dishes served as country (Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia), gospel (Shine a Light), blues (Shake Your Hips) and visceral rock'n'roll (the opening of Rocks Off and the cult track Happy with Keith Richards on vocals). The Rolling Stones may have been at the height of fame, but this masterpiece came from the heart and soul, with a dark and dirty sound and a sincere and raw style. American roots music (country, blues, folk) had rarely sounded so original. Jagger sings like an inspired old sage. Richards unleashes sharp, sublime guitar riffs. After all these years, we still can’t find the slightest flaw in this double album which many consider to be The Rolling Stones’ best... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Behind the album cover dreamt up by Andy Warhol with its iconic close-up crotch was a new opiate – a psychedelic whirlwind of rock’n’roll, blues, country and rhythm'n'blues. Following the influential albums Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, on April 23rd 1971 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards revealed their hugely impressive compositions, with carnivorous guitar riffs (Brown Sugar) haunted by hard drugs (Sister Morphine). On Sticky Fingers, we find a demonic sensuality (Wild Horses), violently percussive themes (Sway) and dirty, sticky blues (You Gotta to Move). Featuring top-class musicians (Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson, Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins, Paul Buckmaster...), this masterpiece is also the first 100% Rolling Stones album without Brian Jones, with stunning debuts from Mick Taylor (Can't You Hear Me Knocking). It is without a doubt among the top ten greatest records in the history of rock'n'roll. Plus, this sumptuous Deluxe Edition includes an extra disc full of unreleased takes and live tracks recorded on March 14, 1971 at the Roundhouse in London. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Recorded between 1968 and 1972, The Rolling Stone’s Beggars Banquet is a real rock’n’roll feast. One of the biggest feasts in history no doubt! Right from the first few shamanic bars of Sympathy For The Devil, it’s evident that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were trying to summon demons with their wickedly raw music. Blues, violence, rhythm'n'blues, sex, country, African music, revolt, soul, drugs and lust – there’s nothing missing from this electric frenzy. With its satanic prose, the album is carried by haunted guitars and minimalist rhythms. Here, the blue note either sweats buckets (Parachute Woman) or appears completely stripped down (Prodigal Son and Factory Girl). Rock had never been so poisonous and fascinating (Street Fighting Man). Richards releases bursts of demented guitar riffs while Jagger sings with unprecedented power and sincerity. The Stones would continue to build on this momentum with three other masterpieces: Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Dark and glistening. Like a cave on the French Riviera. That’s where Jagger and Richards' band – living as tax exiles - recorded the immense Exile on Main Street, a musical feast with dishes served as country (Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia), gospel (Shine a Light), blues (Shake Your Hips) and visceral rock'n'roll (the opening of Rocks Off and the cult track Happy with Keith Richards on vocals). The Rolling Stones may have been at the height of fame, but this masterpiece came from the heart and soul, with a dark and dirty sound and a sincere and raw style. American roots music (country, blues, folk) had rarely sounded so original. Jagger sings like an inspired old sage. Richards unleashes sharp, sublime guitar riffs. After all these years, we still can’t find the slightest flaw in this double album which many consider to be The Rolling Stones’ best... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

While young punks were stealing the limelight, the Rolling Stones stuck to their guns on Some Girls and proved that they weren’t ready for the nursing home just yet. With its eye-catching album cover by Peter Corriston (who had already designed the cover art for Led Zep's Physical Graffiti) the 1978 album marked Keith Richards’ return to business, having left the helm too much to the showman Mick Jagger on It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974) and Black & Blue (1976). His riffs add an incredibly human touch, transcending the entirety of this unhoped-for record. When the Whip Comes Down, Some Girls, Lies, Respectable, Before They Make Me Run, Shattered and the immense Beast of Burden prove that basic rock'n'roll could still exist between the punk revolution and the disco tsunami. Though even in this field, the Stones excelled with Miss You. And to perfect this eclecticism, Ron Wood even rolled out the pedal steel on Far Away Eyes for a wonderful country interlude. Some people think that Some Girls was the last great Rolling Stones record. With hindsight, they might not be wrong... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Aftermath, released in April 1966 by Decca Records, is the fourth British studio album by the Rolling Stones. It was issued in the United States in June 1966 by London Records as the group's sixth American album. The album is considered an artistic breakthrough for the band: it is the first to consist entirely of Mick Jagger–Keith Richards compositions, while Brian Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with their music, including sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, marimbas and Japanese koto, as well as guitar, harmonica and keyboards, though much of the music is still rooted in Chicago electric blues. It was the first Rolling Stones album to be recorded entirely in the US, at the RCA Studios in California, and their first album released in true stereo. It is also one of the earliest rock albums to eclipse the 50-minute mark, and contains one of the earliest rock songs to eclipse the 10-minute mark ("Goin' Home").

Behind the album cover dreamt up by Andy Warhol with its iconic close-up crotch was a new opiate – a psychedelic whirlwind of rock’n’roll, blues, country and rhythm'n'blues. Following the influential albums Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, on April 23rd 1971 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards revealed their hugely impressive compositions, with carnivorous guitar riffs (Brown Sugar) haunted by hard drugs (Sister Morphine). On Sticky Fingers, we find a demonic sensuality (Wild Horses), violently percussive themes (Sway) and dirty, sticky blues (You Gotta to Move). Featuring top-class musicians (Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson, Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins, Paul Buckmaster...), this masterpiece is also the first 100% Rolling Stones album without Brian Jones, with stunning debuts from Mick Taylor (Can't You Hear Me Knocking). It is without a doubt among the top ten greatest records in the history of rock'n'roll. Plus, this sumptuous Deluxe Edition includes an extra disc full of unreleased takes and live tracks recorded on March 14, 1971 at the Roundhouse in London. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Recorded between 1968 and 1972, The Rolling Stone’s Beggars Banquet is a real rock’n’roll feast. One of the biggest feasts in history no doubt! Right from the first few shamanic bars of Sympathy For The Devil, it’s evident that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were trying to summon demons with their wickedly raw music. Blues, violence, rhythm'n'blues, sex, country, African music, revolt, soul, drugs and lust – there’s nothing missing from this electric frenzy. With its satanic prose, the album is carried by haunted guitars and minimalist rhythms. Here, the blue note either sweats buckets (Parachute Woman) or appears completely stripped down (Prodigal Son and Factory Girl). Rock had never been so poisonous and fascinating (Street Fighting Man). Richards releases bursts of demented guitar riffs while Jagger sings with unprecedented power and sincerity. The Stones would continue to build on this momentum with three other masterpieces: Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Recorded between 1968 and 1972, The Rolling Stone’s Beggars Banquet is a real rock’n’roll feast. One of the biggest feasts in history no doubt! Right from the first few shamanic bars of Sympathy For The Devil, it’s evident that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were trying to summon demons with their wickedly raw music. Blues, violence, rhythm'n'blues, sex, country, African music, revolt, soul, drugs and lust – there’s nothing missing from this electric frenzy. With its satanic prose, the album is carried by haunted guitars and minimalist rhythms. Here, the blue note either sweats buckets (Parachute Woman) or appears completely stripped down (Prodigal Son and Factory Girl). Rock had never been so poisonous and fascinating (Street Fighting Man). Richards releases bursts of demented guitar riffs while Jagger sings with unprecedented power and sincerity. The Stones would continue to build on this momentum with three other masterpieces: Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

How do you follow a monumental achievement like the 1972 masterpiece Exile on Main Street? The short answer is: you can't. And so if the Stones—who'd been on a massive roll of success from 1968's Beggars Banquet through Exile finally made a less than acclaimed album, who could blame them? Hence the tale of 1973's Goats Head Soup, the album forever blamed for the Stones inevitable stumble. While it's true that nothing on Goats Head Soup is on the level of Exile's many highlights ("Rip This Joint," "Tumbling Dice," "Sweet Virginia"), the album does have the Stones' finest near-ballad—the hit single "Angie"—and "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," with Billy Preston on organ, and whose lyrics suddenly have fresh relevance ("The police in New York City/ They chased a boy right through the park/ And in a case of mistaken identity/ The put a bullet through his heart"). After that, however, it's a mixed bag. While they still can't be mistaken for top drawer Stones, much of the rest of the album—tunes like "Hide Your Love," "Winter" and "Can You Hear The Music"—is in retrospect not quite the filler they appeared to be in the wake of Exile. The last record produced by Jimmy Miller, who was key to their 1968-72 successes, Goats Head Soup was also one of the worst sounding Stones records before being remastered and reissued in 1994, 2009 and 2011 (Japan only), with the only difference between versions being censored or uncensored versions of the infamous last track, the Chuck Berry-styled rave up, "Star Star." Here the entire record is available for the first time in a much-improved 96kHz/24-bit hi-res mix. Among the included outtakes is a ripping instrumental take of "Dancing with Mr. D"—Mick Taylor playing slide is truly revelatory and "Scarlet" (with Jimmy Page on guitar) which while promising sounds unfinished. Also part of the reissue is the extraordinary Brussels Affair, a 1973 live show broadcast on French and American radio. Unquestionably essential, the pace of this greatest hits set has Mick Jagger out of breath the entire way. Mick Taylor has never played better and Charlie Watts, yes, the band's stone-faced metronome, turns in one of his most frantic performances. It’s the persuasive exclamation point on an overdue reappraisal of one of the Stones most maligned albums. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Recorded between 1968 and 1972, The Rolling Stone’s Beggars Banquet is a real rock’n’roll feast. One of the biggest feasts in history no doubt! Right from the first few shamanic bars of Sympathy For The Devil, it’s evident that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were trying to summon demons with their wickedly raw music. Blues, violence, rhythm'n'blues, sex, country, African music, revolt, soul, drugs and lust – there’s nothing missing from this electric frenzy. With its satanic prose, the album is carried by haunted guitars and minimalist rhythms. Here, the blue note either sweats buckets (Parachute Woman) or appears completely stripped down (Prodigal Son and Factory Girl). Rock had never been so poisonous and fascinating (Street Fighting Man). Richards releases bursts of demented guitar riffs while Jagger sings with unprecedented power and sincerity. The Stones would continue to build on this momentum with three other masterpieces: Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz