Rarities 1971-2003
Though countless Rolling Stones zealots contend that the band's most compelling work bubbled to the top prior to 1973, the music department at Starbucks has unearthed a sundry collection of B-sides, live takes and unreleased studio recordings culled mostly from the three decades that followed. Cherry-picking from a selection many times larger than the 14 tracks presented here, the compilation's producers reach as far back as a 1971 live cover of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock" and navigate through the Stones' forays into blues (Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" from 1977; "Fancy Man Blues" from 1989), rhythm & blues (1986's "Harlem Shuffle" and a 1998 live take of Let It Bleed's "Live With Me") and disco (the seven-minute dance mix of the 1978 hit "Miss You"), as well as stripped-down 1995 versions of Glimmer Twins gems "Wild Horses" and "Tumbling Dice." The accompanying compendium of liner notes and band member comments testify that the Rolling Stones still believe that rock and roll will never die. And even those zealots must concur that the music here is timeless, as the band remains as vital as ever.--Scott Holter