The purpose of this review is to completely compare the contents of "Singles Collection: The London Years" to the 3 "Singles" box sets which as a group contain the same songs plus more. There are some good comparisons in the other reviews, but also several omissions and inaccuracies, so hopefully this 1-to-1 comparison will clear things up a bit as to what songs are included on each, and which "missing" songs can also be found on the other ABKCO CD's, particularly "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies". Each of these collections is rather expensive, so hopefully this may help you decide which sets you really need or want.

To settle one thing first though, the songs on the "Got Live If You Want It" EP contained in the "Singles 1963-1965" box set are NOT included on the full length CD "Got Live If You Want It". They share the same title but that's all, and were actually two different releases. Buying the full length CD will NOT get you all the same songs on the EP as indicated in another review. With that out of the way.....

"Singles 1963-1965": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this box set, with the exception of 3 original British EP's exclusive to the box set. The first EP contains You Better Move On (also available on "December's Children") and Poison Ivy, Bye Bye Johnny & Money (all 3 also available on "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies"). The second EP (originally titled "5 X 5") contains If You Need Me, Empty Heart, 2120 South Michigan Avenue, Confessin' The Blues and Around & Around, all of which are also available on the "12 X 5" CD. The third EP (the afore mentioned "Got Live If You Want It") contains early live versions of We Want The Stones, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Pain In My Heart, Route 66, I'm Movin On & I'm Alright, none of which are available on any other CD (with the possible exception of I'm Alright which may or may not be the same version included on the full-length "Got Live..." CD).

Conclusion: Both "The London Years" and "Singles 63-65" contain the early single/B-sides Come On (also available on "More Hot Rocks") as well as I Want To Be Loved, I Wanna Be Your Man & Stoned which aren't available on any other ABKCO CD. So both sets contain 3 songs not included elsewhere, plus the box set includes the live EP. So the deciding factor between "The London Years" and "Singles 63-65" would appear to be the live EP.

"Singles 1965-1967": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this 2nd box set, with no exceptions. Both contain the single/B-sides Long Long While & We Love You (also available on "More Hot Rocks") and Sad Day & Who's Driving Your Plane? which aren't available on any other ABKCO CD. So both sets contain 2 songs not included elsewhere. No further conclusions.

"Singles 1968-1971": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this 3rd box set, with a few unique exceptions. The third box set additionally contains Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (also available on "The Rolling Stones Now!") and three non-ABKCO B-sides + 3 remixes exclusive to the box set. The B-sides are the Ry Cooder instrumental Natural Magic (from the film "Performance" soundtrack...Memo From Turner was the A-side) and Bitch & Sway which were the B-sides to Brown Sugar & Wild Horses. My guess is the licensing rights to these B-sides belong to Virgin Records, etc. and hadn't yet been negotiated when "The London Years" was originally released back in 1989. The remixes appear to be 3 different "rap" style remixes of Sympathy For The Devil. The box set also contains a bonus DVD (see the item description for more on that).

Conclusion: Both "The London Years" and "Singles 68-71" contain the B-side Child Of The Moon (also available on "More Hot Rocks") and Brown Sugar & Wild Horses (also available on "Hot Rocks 1"). So the deciding factor between "The London Years" and "Singles 68-71" would appear to be the three non-ABKCO B-sides, the three remixes and the DVD contained in the box set.

Final Conclusion: For the completest collector who has to have absolutely everything on CD, you basically have 2 choices. Buy all 3 box sets, or buy "Singles Collection: The London Years" and the two box sets "Singles 63-65" & "Singles 68-71" (a lot of duplication, though "The London Years" runs a little cheaper than the box sets + you don't have to change CD's as often).

A slightly cheaper option if you're mainly interested in completing the ABKCO Rolling Stones "canon" not released on the regular studio full-length CD's is to buy "Singles Collection: The London Years" and "Singles 1963-1965". You'd only be missing the three non-ABKCO B-sides and the 3 Sympathy For The Devil remixes.

A cheaper option still, if you're only interested in the very early singles & live EP and can live without a few later ABKCO B-Sides, is to buy "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies" and "Singles 1963-1965". With those 2 you'd only be missing Sad Day, Who's Driving Your Plane? and the three non-ABKCO B-sides and the 3 remixes.

In truth, the 2nd & 3rd discs of "Singles Collection: The London Years" make an interesting listen because each is primarily made up of A & B sides not included on the regular studio CD's. So they're almost like listening to independent CD's without repeating too many songs you'll hear when listening to the other albums. The 2nd disc from "More Hot Rocks" and also "Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)" do the same, only with different selections of songs, so comparing these two further is highly recommended as well.

Decisions, decisions. Hope this helps.

In Britain in the 1960s, albums did not occupy the preeminent position in the distribution of popular music that CDs do today. Most record buyers bought singles (two songs) or EPs ("Extended Plays," 4-5 songs), which were cheaper, and in any case, usually filled in the gap between albums, and featured songs which would not reappear on the LP. Thus, the most famous of the Rolling Stones' early work was originally heard on this format. This excellent reissue presents the singles as they were first issued, including cardboard reproductions of the original picture sleeves. The opaque black CDs--a new experience for me--really do resemble old vinyl records, and the sound quality is absolutely phenomenal! This second set of singles documents a particularly creative period for the band, and is frankly better than its predecessor because (by and large) the material rises to another level. Both sets are excellent, however, and truly necessary for hardcore Stones fans. It takes awhile to listen to twenty-some CDs that contain only a few songs each, but it's worth the effort to experience these classic tracks as the world first heard them.

This is a replica set of singles and not a great source of easy to listen to music.

Why all the complaints about this box set? There cannot be anyone who bought this and was surprised by the fact the discs themselves are not the main event. The negative reviews even acknowledge there is another box set which contains most of the material available here for far less money supplied on standard hour long discs. The negative reviewers call this singles box (and the other two in the series) as ripoff packaging because they are all under 10 minutes each. No one is forcing you to buy it. Obviously, not only are critics not the target audience, their complaints indicate just how much they do not get it.

These boxes are for those who want to collect the original covers for nostalgic, artistic and historical value. The fact that each contains a very short compact disc should be considered as the completion of the package. While not practical to play these on a regular basis, they enhance the experience in that they give one the opportunity to hear the music as it was originally intended 40+ years ago... 2 tracks at a time as a single.

There are a few rarities in two of the three boxed sets (not this particular one), which were explained by other reviewers; however, the music is almost incidental. These singles boxes can and should be considered more like coffee table books than for practical music listening. If appreciated in that way, they are excellent replicas of the original product as was released decades ago... like a book. In that regard, the intention of these sets have been admirably successful.

Well it finally looks as though ABKCO is doing a few thigs right. THEY DID A FANTASTIC JOB ON THE REMASTERED CD collection. THEY SEEM TO BE CONTINUING THIS RENEWED INTEREST IN presenting the greatest Rock N Roll band in an appropriate light. The packaging of both newly released box sets is superb. Using the original picture sleeves to house each CD single was a fantastic idea. I was also impressed with the quality, unlike previous attempts,this time it was done right. The band sounds and looks great and the CD booklets are also an added treat. However, ABKCO does not know the history of the band very well. They continue to press the wrong versions of songs on their records and CD'S. This trend has been continuing for more than 25 years! It's really amazing that they can never get it straight. To this day they have still failed to issue the TRUE STEREO versions of hits like SATISFACTION and GET OFF MY CLOUD. They claim thay they have,but it's a farse. The only place you can get the TRUE STEREO versions is on import albums and cd's released overseas in the 70's and 80's. In addition, this box set should be entirely in MONO. All singles during the 60's were released in MONO or SIMULATE STEREO which is also a farse! They might also try releasing some outakes of some of the BIG HITS, or maybe some vintage video during the 60's. They are still the only major band from the 60's that does not have some sort of outakes CD or DVD! The bottom line is we love the packaging,but we have these songs 100 times over..LET'S HEAR OR SEE SOMETHING WE'VE NEVER HEARD OR SEEN BEFORE! WHY MUST WE OBTAIN FAN CLUB CDS AND DVD'S TO HEAR AND SEE SOMETHING NEW! WEll as the song says WHAT A SHAME!

Twenty-five songs on 11 disks? No thanks. The packaging is great I'm sure, giving each cd a jacket identical to the one used on the 45s back in the 1960s. Just give me the music, please.

If you want these songs, you'll find ALL of them on SINGLES: THE LONDON YEARS, a collection that only has three cds. Yes, that's right, you can listen to a cd for at least thirty minutes without having to change it. Now, isn't that smart?