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125 of 132 found the following review helpful:
 WARNING!! Great music, but Amazon is not selling the SACD version of this disc Mar 24, 2006
By El Grande
I give the CD five stars for content (difficult to argue with that rating, this is a classic that the part-time Stones fan can't do without)... Five stars to Amazon for quick shipping and a pleasant experience with customer service on the phone... But zero stars to Amazon for misrepresenting what they are selling.
Apparently prior reviewers didn't have this problem, but when I received my "Hybrid SACD" of Hot Rocks (March '06), I furrowed my brow in concern when I noticed that the SACD logo appeared nowhere on the packaging (it does say "DSD Remastered" on the spine of the jewel box). After tearing open the package, I found that the SACD logo appeared nowhere on the disc or in the booklet. After being inserted in my SACD compatible player, I was unable to access the SACD layer.
That's because this ISN'T the SACD hybrid version that they're advertising it to be. This is the same standard CD you can buy at your local record store, Best Buy or Wal*Mart. Speaking of BB, I took this CD to my local outlet and popped the disc(s) into one of their Sony SACD players on the shelf, just to make sure it wasn't just MY unit that wouldn't play it correctly... The unit in the store did something that my player didn't, which perfectly illustrates the problem, it actually said on the player's LED display "NOT HYBRID DISC".
Well, I guess THAT clears it up.
Figuring that it was an honest mistake, I called Amazon and pointed out that I'd been shipped the wrong disc. Kudos to the fellow at Amazon's customer service center, he apologized and promptly sent me a replacement by overnight mail (no charge), and sent a label to affix to the package to return the CD I was erroneously sent. Only problem is...
The "replacement" CD is identical to the one I was sent the first time.
Giving up on Amazon after two tries, I have subsequently purchased a lightly-used proper hybrid SACD of Hot Rocks on eBay, and the disc(s) sound great. FWIW, the hybrid SACD issue of Hot Rocks appears to have only been issued in cardboard fold-out packaging (if online pics are to be believed), so if you order this CD and get it in a jewel box without any mention of it being a hybrid SACD, you've got the "regular" version of the CD.
The UPC code of the SACD issue is 0-18771-96672-2. The "regular" CD has the same number save for the last one, which is -1. The first and last numbers are very small in comparison to the middle ten, so at first glance the CD's appear to have the same UPC code... But that little '1' or '2' at the end makes all the difference.
I assume that this is an honest mistake on Amazon's part, but potential buyers who are searching for the SACD version of Hot Rocks have been warned. I believe that the "standard" layer on the SACD disc is identical in content and quality to the non-SACD version, so if you don't have an SACD-compatible player, none of this will be of any consequence to you.
69 of 72 found the following review helpful:
 As good as any Stones compiliation is likely to get. Mar 26, 2003
By Shotgun Method
If I was looking to point a casual fan toward a Rolling Stones retrospective, I'd completely pass on Forty Licks and tell them to go for Hot Rocks, without question. Everybody knows that 1964-1971 were the golden years for the Stones, and this compilation, which deftly selected the hits from that era, is damn good stuff. All the landmark material is accounted for--Get Off Of My Cloud, Paint It Black, Let's Spend The Night Together, Gimme Shelter, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, Sympathy For The Devil, a live cut of Midnight Rambler, and of course, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Although this will not satisfy diehard fans and I wish a few other songs were included (Stray Cat Blues, the Ya-Ya version of Carol, Sister Morphine, She's A Rainbow, 2000 Man) everything here is grade-A gritty blues rock. The second disc could very well stand alone, it's that good. As far as the SACD remasters are concerned, they are a massive improvement over the original remasters in every conceivable way. And don't believe the naysayers who claim the new versions are not compatible with PCs--they are. If you have this and Exile On Main Street, you're set as a casual fan. Completists will want the individual albums, but Hot Rocks does a damn good job of capturing the Stones at their finest before old age and drug abuse set in. Recommended.
45 of 47 found the following review helpful:
The greatest stones album ever... REMASTERED! Aug 28, 2002
Whenever an album is newly remastered, a reviewer has to take in both the customers who are buying the album for the first time, and those who are buying their third or fourth copy. I'll start with the former. This is one of those few, special, greatest hits sets that is, in every way, perfect! Most best of's always leave off important tracks and have moments of worthless filler. Others are made obsolete by better, more complete sets. Not Hot Rocks. Merely because it covers only the best, most famous, and most influential songs of the 7 years when the Stones were at their peak, mountains above the rest of rock and roll. (except the Beatles, Dylan, and Hendrix). Sure Not Fade Away, The Last Time, and 2000 Light Years (among others) were fine, but how can you say they aren't dwarfed by the looming presence of every song on this album? (Which includes Time is on my Side, Satisfaction, Paint it Black, Let's Spend the Night Together, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Sympathy for the Devil, and Brown sugar) In conclusion this is a perfect sampler of everything that was great and magical about the Rolling Stones, and remains great and magical today. Words can not describe the greatness of the songs in this album, so I can only say this, I can only say that you are not a rock and roll fan until you are Stones fan. So for everybody who wishes to sink their teeth into the glory days of the Rolling Stones, Hot Rocks is the place to begin. (Note: While you're at it, get Exile on Main Street and Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out as well.) Now for those who already who need a reason to buy this again. Most everyone who collects music knows how badly one can be screwed out of well-earned money by remasters. (i.e the Ozzy Osbourne "remasters" released this year) Not this time around. You will never Rolling Stones recordings that sound so fresh and clear. New musical bits are brought to the surface for the first time in years. (Most notably on Honky Tonk Woman where horns and new guitar licks can be heard for the first time) And all those classic old songs now sound sharper and more distinct than ever. You can hear those wonderful guitar riffs, drums, and bass licks (oh those wonderful Bill Wyman bass licks) like never before. (i.e. Brian Jones' sitar on Paint it Black is at last brought to the front of the mix, and you can actually hear two different guitars on Midnight Rambler). It gets even better for those that have bought SACD players, for on the SACD layer it sounds even more incredible. It almost sounds as if you are sitting there in the studio watching the Stones make the master takes. And for those that think this isn't worth buying, because all these songs are on other discs, think about this; you won't be hearing the original Brown Sugar and Wild Horses sounding so good for a while. So in conclusion anybody who is anybody owes it to themselves to buy the new version of Hot Rocks. New fans get a sampler of some of the greatest music ever made, and the older fans get the best sounding glory-day Stones you'll ever hear. The Rolling Stones Remasters is one of the best (if not the best) of its kind. It is definetely worth checking out. And Hot Rocks ain't a bad place to start. Get it today!
45 of 52 found the following review helpful:
Essential Collection, great sound but... Aug 27, 2002
By Fredpulm
I owned this excellent package in vinyl the very first day it came out (wow!) 30 years ago. The music is, with no question, an exceptional bunch of songs in one place: no dispute there and therefore recommended as essential. I do disagree with ABCKO about their research for the best masters for this proyect: the lack of stereo Masters in Satisfaction, Mother's Little Helper, Off of my cloud is dissapointing. I do have these in my analog Hot Rocks CD I obtained while stationed in Germany in 1989. With less resolution, but in stereo, they do sound great.
Aside from my misgivings for being a definitive project with full utilization of stereo with the SACD format, I would still recommend it.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
A Huge Compilation Set Sep 23, 2002
By Richard R. Carlton
This is the version of Hot Rocks 1964-1971 that was originally released in the U.S. on Jan 11, 1972 but was withheld from the UK until 1990 due to a lawsuit. The album includes different versions of Brown Sugar and Wild Horses that had not been previously released. By mistake, the UK release contained the only true stereo versions of Satisfaction, Heart Of Stone, Paint It, Black, and Get Off Of My Cloud until the 40 Licks CD was released in 2002. This US version covered their American hits from 1964-1971. The song are on the album in the order they were released in the U.S. Those that were only released as album cuts are noted.
9-25-64 Time Is On My Side (version 2) (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
12-18-64 Heart Of Stone (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
3-12-65 Play With Fire (B side of The Last Time) (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
6-4-65 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
12-17-65 As Tears Go By (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
9-24-65 Get Off Of My Cloud (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
5-6-66 Paint It, Black (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
7-1-66 Mother's Little Helper (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
2-11-66 19th Nervous Breakdown (also on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
7-1-66 Under My Thumb (not a single, from album Aftermath)
1-13-67 Ruby Tuesday (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
1-13-67 Let's Spend The Night Together (B side of Ruby Tuesday) (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
5-31-68 Jumpin' Jack Flash (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
8-30-68 Street Fighting Man (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-6-68 Sympathy For The Devil (not a single, from album Beggar's Banquet)
7-3-69 Honky Tonk Woman (also on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-5-69 Gimme Shelter (not a single, from album Let It Bleed)
12-5-69 Midnight Rambler (not a single, from album Let It Bleed)
12-5-69 You Can't Always Get What You Want (not a single, from album Let It Bleed)
5-7-71 Brown Sugar (1st release of version 2)(song not on a previous compilation album)
6-11-71 Wild Horses (1st release of version 2)(song not on a previous compilation album) Here is a list of the songs that were previously issued on the first 2 compilation albums, but were not included on Hot Rocks 64-71:
3-6-64 Not Fade Away (on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
6-12-64 Tell Me (version 2) (on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
7-24-64 It's All Over Now (on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
7-24-64 Good Times, Bad Times (B side of It's All Over Now) (on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
3-12-65 The Last Time (on Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass))
9-23-66 Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
8-18-67 Dandelion (on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-22-67 She's A Rainbow (on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2))
12-22-67 2000 Light Years From Home (B side of She's A Rainbow) (on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)) This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.
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