GRRR!

The Rolling Stones do what they like to do

Perhaps, deep down, even most loyal fans of The Rolling Stones felt that even the fiftieth anniversary would hardly make their favorites remote to the studio and celebrate this big occasion with a full-length record of completely new material. After all, it is a common knowledge that should there be an award for the biggest number of collections released by one artist, The rolling Stones would at least be among nominees. And having reach the half-century mark in their outstanding career, the musicians offered nothing but another compilation, which was not a big surprise to anybody. Skeptics tend to say that this three-CD release called GRRR! is just another trap for those who like complete collections and now would need to spend another sum on records with the same songs only placed in a different order. Those in a more optimistic mood would argue that there still is something new the legendary ensemble is going to offer. The objective judgment is, as always, somewhere in between.

GRRR! respects historical accuracy

So, GRRR! is a set of three CDs with fifty tracks on them lined up based on chronology, which, considering The Rolling Stones history, looks like a proper solution. As we reach the middle of this gigantic collection, we find its most interesting content, because this part gathers hits from the band’s golden era. This is from the mid sixties to the mid seventies, the time when the ensemble was churning effortlessly new songs in a style tested and acknowledged. This, of course, is not a call to ignore the first CD and pass over directly to the second, but the truth of the matter is this is where you get to hear such immortalized tunes as Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy For The Devil, or Brown Sugar. The first part presents rather a historical and aesthetic value for a good reflection of how Mick Jagger and his fellow musicians were starting out. Quite symbolic is that the opener is the band’s first single, a remake of Chuck Berry’s Come On. This CD also houses some other covers, Time Is On My Side, and Little Red Rooster, offering a more aggressive variant of the originals.

GRRR! is worth listening anyway

The third part of GRRR! is like a hurried tour across a very vast period extending from the late seventies to the present day. The Rolling Stones have significantly lowered the bar for themselves in these thirty five years, but it comes as a surprise that even here there are no outright weak tracks. However, the most interesting of what this CD can offer is placed right at the end. This is a couple of absolutely new songs The Rolling Stones recorded in Paris. Gloom And Doom kicks off vehemently, with a good solid riff, later backed by energetic drums. This track instantly cuts thirty years off the musicians and brings the audience into the eighties. One More Shot does not have this rock and roll vibe, but it is instead filled with a true rock and roll yearning, which is conducted by a slow and even idle guitar riff. As a matter of fact, one should not lie to himself and say that GRRR! should be listened to, or even purchased, because of the last two sings. They are but a bonus to a great compilation, perhaps, the most objective, most historically and musically correct, of all those The Rolling Stones have ever delivered. It is a great temptation for the band’s hardcore followers, and a good opportunity for other listeners merely to get to know the best of the band’s catalogue.