Hot Rocks 1964-1971

this two-lp/two-cd set is both a lot more and a bit less than what it seems. it is seven years' worth of mostly very high-charting — and all influential and important — songs, leaving out some singles in favor of well-known album tracks, and in the process, giving an overview not just of the rolling stones' hits but of their evolving image. one hears them change from loud r&b-inspired rockers covering others' songs ("time is on my side") into originators in their own right ("satisfaction"); then into tastemakers and style-setters with a particularly decadent air ("get off of my cloud," "19th nervous breakdown"); and finally into self-actualized rebel-poets ("jumpin' jack flash," "midnight rambler") and shaman-like symbols of chaos