High Tide Green Grass (Big Hits Vol.1)

ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ『ビッグ・ヒッツ(ハイ・タイド・アンド・グリーン・グラス)』、長い間入手困難だったイギリス盤仕様、モノ音源で発売!!
1966年発表、ザ・ローリング・ストーンズにとって初のベスト・アルバム。今回、長い間入手困難だったイギリス盤仕様で今回レコード・ストア・デイ2019限定盤として再発。全英チャート4位を記録した、オリジナル14曲収録アルバムを、重量版グリーン・ヴァイナル仕様で発売。アビイ・ロード・スタジオのショーン・マギーによりカッティングされたモノ音源。ゲートフォールド・スリーヴにカラー・ブックレット、ジェリー・シャッツバーグがニューヨークで撮った、表ジャケットに使われた魚眼レンズによるメンバーのポートレート写真など、イギリス盤アートワークを可能な限り忠実に再現。「サティスファクション」、「黒くぬれ!」、「ラスト・タイム」、「19回目の神経衰弱」など多くのヒット・ナンバーを収録。

The first hits compilation of the Rolling Stones is still one of the most potent collections of singles that one can find. Listening to it in 1966 or today, one can understand how, almost prematurely for the 1960s -- as most of the material here dates from 1964 or 1965 -- the Stones set themselves up as the decade's most visible rock & roll rebels. The defiant, in-your-face fuzztone riff and sexually frustrated lyrics of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and the frenetic pounding punk anthem "Get Off of My Cloud" are highlights of a 12-song set that has no weak points, only peaks -- the louder-than-life rhythm guitars on "It's All Over Now" and "The Last Time," the wailing R&B of "Time Is on My Side," the balladry, folk, and soul style of "As Tears Go By" and "Tell Me," and all of the rest make for a body of work that's still amazing to hear decades after the fact. Appearing as it did in the late winter of 1966, this collection completely missed the group's drift into psychedelia, and it has since been supplanted by Hot Rocks and More Hot Rocks, but Big Hits is still the most concentrated dose of the early Stones at their most accessible that is to be had, short of simply playing their first five U.S. albums. The artwork and photography were pretty cool too, and the original LP had one of rock's early classic gatefold album designs. ~ Bruce Eder