Published on Jan 25, 2007
A while back, I made the mistake of telling a good friend I did not see what the big deal was about the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. He stared at me like I was an idiot. "It's just basic rock and roll," he said.
I didn't get it at the time, but after thinking about it for a while I see what he meant. Rock and roll in the 90s was something very different than the preceding decades. And while I obviously grew up on some of the classic Stones, by and large it wasn't played much in my house; my father was a Beatles fan through and through.
Because the Stones influenced so much of what came after, not to mention created the entire concept of a swaggering frontman and guitar hero guitarist, it can be easy to forget that they were innovators. Really, there had been no one like them before, and those that have come after (Aerosmith, Guns 'n' Roses, etc.) have simply stepped into the shadow. Have you seen your mother, baby? Mick probably has. And your daughter, and your sister.
Where I differ from other critics is my feeling that the Stones only made a couple of classic albums, where nearly every song start-to-finish is part of the overall picture with no filler (or only one questionable track). I still feel that Exile is too long with not enough moments that truly grab you…perhaps I need to listen to it in chunks to really appreciate it, sure, but I've never had to do that with The Beatles, or Quadrophenia or Tommy, or Physical Graffiti (well, maybe the fourth side of that one), or even The Wall.
Back to the point. The best way to discover the Stones in 2012 – and iTunes makes this a lot easier – is to discover their singles, the killer riffs, the true definition of rock and roll. And they are all here on Forty Licks, as perfect a hits compilation as you could imagine. It summarizes everything you need to know about the band; only after appreciating this should you start digging into the actual albums.
If you are anything but a devoted fan, this is pretty much all you need, maybe along with Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers. The first disc is all 60s and early 70s, and nothing is missing that really matters. "Satisfaction." "The Last Time." "Street Fighting Man." "Honky Tonk Women." "Sympathy for the Devil" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Mother's Little Helper. "Get Off of My Cloud" and "Wild Horses. "Paint it Black" and "Not Fade Away." Don't even try to say these aren't some of the greatest rock songs of all time.
The second disc is the 70s and beyond, up to Bridges to Babylon, plus four new songs. Two of these are fine; the other two could have been chucked in favor of two better-known licks like "She's So Cold," but that's nitpicking. Any disc that has "Shattered," "Mixed Emotions," "Start Me Up," "Brown Sugar," "Miss You" and the excellent "Anybody Seen My Baby" is just fine by me.
Forty Licks works as a career summary, a stellar introduction and/or a perfect compilation for casual fans, not to mention it's the only release on the market that spans the band's entire career through 1996. More than that, it's basic rock and roll, and I like it.”