I've been a die-hard Stones fan for many years and was excited to have all these great songs in one collection. But be advised, many songs on the second disc are EDITED VERSIONS!!!! Call me a ... music geek, but when I listen the the world's greatest Rock & Roll band, I wanna hear the songs the way they were intended to be heard!!! The WHOLE song, not some EDITED version!!!! The new songs are real good and maybe "Dont Stop" will come out as a single; Keith's ballad is great, too! But it's hard for me to listen to songs that I know have more to them! I hate when they EDIT songs just so they can cram a bunch onto one disc!!!! Forty Licks shoulda been 3 discs, it's that simple. And even if someone is new to the Stones, they should hear the REAL, ORIGANINAL versions!!! Disc one is okay, but disc two, not so much!! Just wanna let people know; fair warning . . . . . .

Between the mono versions on disc one and the edited versions on disc two, think twice before you buy this cd. The song selection is ok, but why not use the stereo versions of Paint It Black and Satisfaction, for example? If there was something mentioned on the packaging, ok... but the record companies continue to play their unfortunate little games. We need consumer protection laws passed to stop this ongoing non-information-labeling scam.

This release could have easily been a four disc set. There are far too many songs not included that should be there. In addition, I think the packaging in the 12x12 limited edition set leaves a lot to be desired. You get a skimpy 12x12 booklet and a decent poster. Instead of housing the two CD's in jewel cases, they slide into two slots in the bottom of the box. What were they thinking?

If I were to do it again, I'd go for the standard issue.

40 Licks was released worldwide on October 1, 2002. Obviously, there are 40 tracks including 4 new ones (the single Don't Stop, Stealing My Heart, Keys To Your Love, and Keith's Losing My Touch). This one is the 22nd compilation album the Stones have released. It is the 19th compilation in the UK and the 9th in the US. There are lots of opinions about what should and should have been included/left off (there are *25* single releases that were not included). Remember, if anyone ever releases the entire Stones catalog as a box set it will have to be packaged in a trunk that comes with a dolly to get it out of the store. Since everybody knows the songs anyway, how about if I list what is on it from when for you?

These songs are the most popular from the Rolling Stones Records releases. Here are the original US and UK release dates of each song (US release and re-release dates were often different during this period):

3-6-64 Not Fade Away

Here are the *25* single releases that are NOT on the album: Saint Of Me, Out Of Contol, Like A Rolling Stone, I Go Wild, Out Of Tears, Sex Drive, Highwire, Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh,, One Hit (To The Body), She Was Hot, Time Is On My Side, Going To A Go Go, If I Was A Dancer, Out Of Time, I Don't Know Why, Sad Day, Hot Stuff, Respectable, Waiting On A Friend, Harlem Shuffle, Rock And A Hard Place, Heart Of Stone, As Tears Go By, Tell Me, Dandelion

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.

Of the many Rolling Stones 'greatest hits' packages, this is by far the best, mainly because it has 40 songs on this 2-disk set, and each song has been cleaned up to some degree (some changes barely noticeable and some significant). I also like the song sequence, 60's stuff on the first disk and 70's to present on second disk, all in random order; it sounds more interesting when you don't know what song will be next.

You definitely get a lot for your money here. For those who have many different Stones CD's already, or for those who are just getting into the Stones, you will not be disappointed with what this package offers, if you really consider what you're getting.

After reviewing some of the gripes people have with this 2 CD collection, and then buying it for myself, I have to agree with only some of them.

Yes of course there are songs that I miss not having here ("Time Is On My Side", "Heart of Stone", "As Tears Go By", "She's so Cold", "Hang Fire", "Rock and a Hard Place", just to name a few). I realize that no collection could possibly please everyone with its song selection and must say that there IS enough good material here to make buying it a worthwhile choice. "Shattered" should've been kept off with perhaps "Hang Fire" in its place.

Another minor gripe I have is that much of their pre-1969 songs are in MONO??!? here, even though I have heard decent Stereo versions of all the Mono songs. "Satisfaction" is still in Mono (disappointing), but it does sound good (you can hear the piano better on this Mono version). The songs that I feel sound better than I ever heard before are "Sympathy for the Devil" (the percussion sounds as if it's right next to you), "It's All Over Now" (a fantastic Stereo version that never sounded so clean), and "Get Off My Cloud" (a song you can't resist turning up because it sounds fantastic).

The biggest gripe of all that I want to share (a number of other people have too) is the BACKGROUND HISS you can't help but notice (especially on "Gimmie Shelter", "Under My Thumb", and "Jumping Jack Flash"). If a record company is going through great lengths to present these classics in the best way possible, why couldn't they try their best to clean up the tape hiss? Other than the minor complaints listed above, the songs really do sound better than those lousy "Remastered" CD's that came out in 1986.

Some people complained about some of the songs on the 2nd disk being 'EDITED' versions. Although I understand this point, I don't think these edited versions are too much different for people to be concerned with, especially the casual fans. The edits are most noticeable on "Miss You", the 45rpm version that I actually like just as much as the LP version (there's stuff on this version you don't hear on the regular version that people are most familiar with). I do wish they included the full versions of "Emotional Rescue" & "It's Only Rock N Roll" however (both end too soon).

As for the 4 new songs, "Don't Stop" sounds just as good as anything else they put out in the past 10 years, and the other 3 are good also, especially Keith's ballad "Losing My Touch", one of his nicest songs to date.

I give this collection four and a half stars, minus one-half star due to the hiss. Hands down, this is the best "Best of" for the Rolling Stones.