As a huge Rolling Stones fan I have to say I am disappointed in this remaster. It is one of my favorite Stones albums but this version on UMG is highly compressed with a major loss in any dynamic range it had.

Yes, the guitars are louder and even clearer in some cases and because of this, many of the songs seem to lose their swing. Oh, it rocks, alright, but the swing that was present in the Virgin issue of 'Respectable' is gone. The break in 'Miss You' (OOooohh ooohh, Everybody waits so loooong) loses it's impact as well as the vocals and Charlie's drums in 'Before They Make Me Run.' In the latter song, the drums used to kick and the chorus used to stand out from the rest of the recording, which it no longer does. The break at about 1:35 in 'Shattered' where the bass drum kicks in is a plodding mess and much clearer and listenable on the Virgin '94 issue. The record, as a whole, loses much of it's depth and warmness as a result.

Perhaps the biggest travesty, and I don't recall any other reviews mentioning this, but at the beginning of 'Beast Of Burden', Keith's guitar is in the right channel and in the left you hear an echoing or 'bleeding' effect of the guitar lines. It is plainly obvious on the Virgin issue and all previous issues of the recording. On the UMG this is all but GONE! Even when I isolated the left channel and turned it up it was close to inaudible. I put on the Virgin and it's very audible, even without much volume or isolation of the left channel.

If you want the issue that sounds better and sticks closer to the integrity of the original recording, seek out the '94 Virgin remaster and not this. If these sort of nuances are not an issue for you and just prefer loud guitars at the loss of any dynamic range, then by all means, fire away and pick up this UMG remaster. Those of you not familiar with the original recording will not notice a thing. Those of you who are familiar with it do not feel that an upgrade is necessary.

I'm no audiophile; I own no fancy speaker systems or equipment, I don't know any of the lingo that goes along with sound quality, I don't own any vinyl, etc. I'm a casual music lover who still prefers to buy the CDs, but listens to the vast majority of my music on my iPod through $10-$20 headphones. And even I have to agree with what people are saying: the 1994 Virgin remaster by Bob Ludwig is better than this 2009 Universal remaster.

When I first bought this album a few months ago, it was the 2009 version. Right from the get-go, something about the sound quality hurt my ears; I don't blast my music very loud or often at all, but it actually gave me a bit of a headache listening to this album a few times. It just sounded too "bright," somehow, for lack of a better way to phrase it. Mind you, it's still a perfectly listenable CD.

So I finally bought the older 1994 version, and the difference is extremely subtle (to the point where I'm not sure if I can put my finger on the exact reasons), but to my untrained ears it sounds better than the 2009 version. It sounds more "full," more like the Stones I know. Sounds are perhaps less clear and crisp, but you know what? That's how I like my Stones. They're one of those bands who actually benefits from some "muddy" sound in their music, so to speak. It just gives them a certain atmosphere. I think the 2009 remasters cleaned up the recordings a little too much, and in doing so not only made a less pleasurable listening experience, but also lost a lot of that Stones feeling.

Conclusion: The 1994 Virgin CD is the way to go. Mind you, the 2009 UM version isn't the travesty a lot of people have made it out to be, but it's still a less satisfying listening experience, IMHO. I can't speak for any of the other 2009 remasters, but based on my 'Some Girls' experience, I'll continue to seek out the 1994 Virgin remasters.

Some Girls is the last album on which the Stones manage to get their act together for a full set and make good on their self-proclaimed status as greatest rock outfit in the world. Devoid of the filler that has become a staple of recent albums, Some Girls is the perfect distillation of the late '70s vibe, in which punk, rock and even disco, all vied for commercial and/or critical supremacy. In vintage Stones' fashion, Mick and Keith employed all the styles and more, to create a stunningly diverse, yet cohesive record. Apart from the fact that most of the songs are in the same key, Some Girls never stays in one place for very long. The striding disco of 'Miss You' quickly gives way to straight-ahead rock of 'When the whip comes down' which then moves to the soul classic 'Imagination.' However, the best is definitely saved for last. 'Beast of Burden' to this day remains a slow rock standard, while the unashamedly sleazy 'Shattered' shows the lads mugging and jibing at their best. Recorded in the prime of Richards' heroin addiction and topped off with a classic cover and sleeve, Some Girls sublimely documents the turbulent environment in which it was conceived.

All I want to say is these new Stones remasters are brittle...washed out...compressed...totally distorted and unlistenable. Do not buy these...stay with your Virgin Records versions...worst I have ever heard. I'm being liberal here folks...it's your money though. The artwork is shabby and on this cd they have basically edited Bill Wyman out of the band although he was still in the band. His photo is not shown with photos of the band in the booklet. Way to go Mick.

As the 70's wound down, disco and punk music were the sounds du jour, going to a club had become an all night activity, nobody had heard of AIDS, the standard mode of dress was arguably as grotesque as it ever had been, and there was a huge party going on everywhere. At least that's the way I remember it.

The Rolling Stones were quite a few years removed from their last really great work, Keith Richards was staring life imprisonment straight in the eye, due to yet another drug bust, Mick and Bianca Jagger were on the outs, and every magazine you picked up contained a photograph of one, two, or all three of them attending some party, premiere, or otherwise notable event, looking wasted.

Amidst the confusion, Jagger and Richards were able to get their heads together enough to write and record "Some Girls," an album that incorporated the big mess that had become their lives, and also an album that helped define the musical mayhem of the times. There's no question that, above all, Mick Jagger has always been a shrewd businessman, and even with all that was happening, he obviously had his finger firmly on the pulse of the music - buying public.

"Some Girls" managed to ignite controversy as soon as it hit the racks, the title track's racy lyrics and the album cover providing that punch. "Miss You," the song that seemed to be playing every time you turned around, found the Stones venturing into the disco / dance arena, but armed (unlike the myriad of others who tried) with a song that had an edge to it. Somehow, they made it work. The song became a classic, not a relic. The punk - driven "Respectable" and especially "Shattered" ("go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don't mind the maggots") found the Stones in top shape, and, unlike many of the bands of the punk era, these guys actually knew how to play instruments. What a novel concept. "Beast Of Burden" and the band's cover of "Just My Imagination" became hits, although they were, in my opinion, two of the weaker tracks on the album.

I was happy to see other reviewers mention "Before They Make Me Run," Richards' autobiographical tale of his problems with the law. It is indeed a great song, and even more than that, it has always been an undiluted pleasure to hear Richards blow the dust out of his vocal chords and sing a little bit. (His mid - 80's solo release "Talk Is Cheap" is proof that Richards has a respectable Rock and Roll vocal style).

"Far Away Eyes," a song dismissed by a number of reviewers, is, to me, The Stones' brilliant satirical goof on both the generic country music style of the day and on media evangelists. True, much of The Stones' early work was country - influenced, but not by the generic country style of the 70's. Mick's way over-the-top vocals are hilarious, and the lyrics even better. (...all I had to do was send ten dollars to the Church Of The Sacred Bleeding Heart Of Jesus, located somewhere in Los Angeles, California and next week they'd say my prayer on the radio and all my dreams would come true.) Jagger must have been laughing as listeners wondered why The Stones hadn't been able to capture the smooth, quasi - country sound of "Honky Tonk Woman."

The remaining tracks are also solid, the band tight (Charlie Watts' drumming is particularly superb), the production and arrangements perfect for the sound the band needed.

Another interesting footnote is that The Stones, by 1978, were already considered to be among the old geezers of Rock. Their time had come and gone, according to a lot of experts. Imagine that - here we are, 22 years later and, while the albums may not be as frantically great as they once were, the Stones remain one of the few bands that can sell out a 50,000 seat stadium. Not only that, but Keith still plays with the enthusiasm of a teenager who just got his first guitar, and he seems to be in pretty good shape, for the shape he's in.

"Some Girls" is not in the same league as "Exile On Main Street", "Beggars Banquet", "Sticky Fingers," or "Let It Bleed." Few recordings are. It is, however, a strong album that captures, perfectly, a brief moment in time.