The best Rolling Stones studio outtakes?

Probably because Dobie Gray's came out in 1973 before the Stones got a chance to press it and release it. And their version sounds just like Dobie's, IMO.

 

they weren't covering his version? I agree, they sound the same.

 

I few others you could add are Go Home Girl, Key To The Highway and Ain't That Loving You , Baby.

 

I assume they were covering the original version by a guy called John Henry Kurtz, released as a single in 1972.

 

I'd say "Criss Cross Man" is their best....love that groove. Always thought it would play well over the opening credits of a Scorsese movie.

 

I like Traveling Man & Hillside Blues quite a bit.

 

There is a version of "Shake Your Hips" that really rocks, I think a lot of it is the mix, sounds very different from the released version, guitars have a much harder edge (I don't think it is the usual outtake that floats around, though it may be a different mix of it, not sure about that) .

 

Fiji Gin. What the hell is this song about, anyway?

 

run a search for the rolling stones:black box. check out the song listing!!!

 

Lots of good stuff mentioned here...

In addition, I would suggest...

the long ventilator blues found on the "diamonds/disease" boot

The bob clearmountain re/mix of before you make me run single

And

My all-time favorite unreleased track - invitation!!!

 

I agree with everything you wrote except for the sentence in bold.

 

I am not as up as many here on the sound values of Exile. I think some complained of "loudness" (the boosting by 3% or whatever it is of the volume that occurs with some remastering and that it affects the listening experience because you can't play it loud properly). I actually agree it is too loud in this sense and I didn't like Sticky Fingers for the same reason. But, the original record was famous for being murky and that Jagger's vocals were too low in the mix. This version of the CD fixed that, to the point I wondered if it was remixed in fact (despite what the liner notes state).

As to performance, I probably am in the minority on the board but I have to be honest that I never really liked Exile On Main Street. The songwriting was considerably inferior to that of earlier Stones albums. The performances were good but not stellar. There are some high points of course and it would have made a fine single album with more attention to production and mixing IMHO. The Stones never regained their mojo after Sticky Fingers IMO. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy a lot of their work after, e.g. I was just watching that great version of Hand Of Fate from Paris '76 (where it's great IMO again partly because Wood followed closely Wayne Perkins' work on the solos). And there are many other examples. So the presentation of Exile on that reissue for me shows that it is a good rock and roll album, indeed excellent in parts. But not a great one. Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, as well as Ya-Ya's, were great albums.

 

Drift Away
Criss Cross Man
Good Time Women

 

The Paris Outtakes Vol 1 & 2 from 1977-79 and consisting mostly of Some Girls material has some of the finest jams I'm ever heard.

 

I used to collect this stuff for many years, but in the end I come to the conclusion, that they had quite a good quality control and that there are no real jewels left in the archives (what found it's way out of those). And this is no accusation, it's praise.

 

I agree based on what I've heard except for Plundered My Soul and that Dobie Gray cover.

 

Pay Your Dues is another worthwhile-in-it's-embryonic-form track like Good Time Women. The early version of Shine A Light that is labeled as Get A Line On You is also good.

 

Yes, I definitely agree. I am a HUGE Stones fan, so I've bought some bootlegs - and keep checking out links to these "great outtakes" - but I have to say that very few of them are worth a second listen. The vast majority sound and unfinished, and I can see why.

IMO the only exceptions are Plundered My Soul, Drift Away, and CS Blues (the latter mostly for historical importance).

 

Is there a list anywhere that includes all their outtakes? (from each album)