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.

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!

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.

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:

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.

I'm not an expert on the sixties era Rolling Stones

but I was very familiar with the Hot Rocks collections,

both this edition and the More Hot Rocks collection. I was

very impressed with the mastering job on this to say the least.

The '86 CD edition fell flat in a number of ways, this corrects the muddy and flat sound. This is probably over kill, but here's a number of thoughts on the tracks. Even if you don't own a SACD player, you hear a huge difference on a conventional CD player.

Time Is On My Side - This sort of represents the R n B side of this band. Great stereo mix of this track with a lot of clarity.

Heart Of Stone - Another stereo mix, the lead guitar alone is so much clearer. the lyric just shows how edgey with tounges in cheek this band was back then.

Play With Fire - Same mono mix as before but with better clarity,

Satisfaction - Of course their all time classic, great and welcomed stereo mix with the acoustic guitar filling the sound and clear.

As Tears Go By - A favorite, yet one of the reasons why people complained about why the Stones were imitating the Beatles too much during the early sixties. Even if it's a bit of a take off

Get Off Of My Cloud - Great tune, seems imitavtive of what The Kinks were doing around that time. Much better mono mix of this.

Mother's Little Helper - The Mono Mix of this, not that fake stereo mix from the '86 CD. Another classic.

19th Nervous Breakdown - Probably my all time favorite of their

Paint It Black - Of course another classic of that time, this stereo mix is just wonderful.

Under My Thumb - This songs is one of the reasons why anyone could never accuse the Stones of being politically correct. J/K Not much of a difference between this mix and the 86' edition, still a major improvement though.

Ruby Tuesday - Great ballad, brings back memories, again simply

Let's Spend The Night Together - You can hear the left channel guitar so much better on this edition

The stereo mixes on the following tracks are just an major improvement, Jumpin' Jack Flash - Street fighting Man - Sympathy

Honky Tonk Women - Welcome edition of the stereo mix of this, the horns don't feel as cluttered as they did in the 86' edition

Again, different, yet not different are the remaining tracks -

Everything has so much more presence and clarity, my only complaint is that I wish they had included lyrics with this

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.

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:

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.