Metamorphosis

by The Rolling Stones

Overview

Though it remains the only Rolling Stones outtakes collection album ever to be officially released, Metamorphosis is one of those albums that has been slighted by almost everyone who has touched it, a problem that lies in its genesis. While both the Stones and former manager Allen Klein agreed that some form of archive release was necessary, if only to stem the then-ongoing flow of bootlegs, they could not agree how to present it. Of the two, the band's own version of the album, compiled by Bill Wyman, probably came closest to the fan's ideal, cherrypicking the vaults for some of the more legendary outtakes and oddities for a bird's-eye view of the entire band's creative brilliance. Klein, on the other hand, chose to approach the issue from the songwriting point-of-view, focusing on the wealth of demos for songs that Jagger/Richards gave away (usually to artists being produced by Andrew Oldham) and which, therefore, frequently featured more session men than Rolling Stones. Both approaches had their virtues, but when Klein's version of the album became the one that got the green light, of course fans and collectors bemoaned the non-availability of the other. The fact is, if Wyman's selection had been released, then everyone would have been crying out for Klein's. Sometimes, you just can't win. So, rather than wring your hands over what you don't receive, you should celebrate what you do. A heavily orchestrated version of "Out of Time," with Jagger accompanying the backing track that would later give Chris Farlowe a U.K. number one hit, opens the show; a loose-limbed "Memo From Turner," recorded with Al Kooper, closes it. No complaints there, then. The real meat, however, lies in between times. During 1964-1965, Mick Jagger and Andrew Oldham headed a session team that also included the likes of arrangers Art Greenslade and Mike Leander, guitarist Jimmy Page, pianist Nicky Hopkins, bassist John Paul Jones, and many more, convened to cut demos for the plethora of songs then being churned out by Jagger and Keith Richards. Some would subsequently be redone by the Stones themselves; others, however, would be used as backing tracks for other artist's versions of the songs. Metamorphosis pulls a number of tracks from this latter grouping, and while "Each and Every Day of the Year" (covered by Bobby Jameson), "I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys" (the Toggery Five), "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" (Vashti), "Sleepy City" (the Mighty Avengers), and "We're Wasting Time" (Jimmy Tarbuck) may not be Stones performances per se, they are certainly Stones songs and, for the most part, as strong as any of the band originals included on the group's first four or five LPs. Elsewhere, the 1964 Chess studio outtake "Don't Lie to Me" is as fine a Chuck Berry cover as the Stones ever mustered, while "Family," the rocking "Jiving Sister Fanny," Bill Wyman's "Downtown Suzie," and a delightfully lackadaisical version of Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why" are outtakes from two of the Stones' finest-ever albums, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. All of which adds up to an impressive pedigree, whatever the circumstances behind the album, and whatever else could have been included on it. Indeed, if there are any criticisms to be made, it is that the album sleeve itself is singularly uninformative, and the contents are seriously jumbled. But those are its only sins. Everything else you've heard about it is simply wishful (or otherwise) thinking. ~ Dave Thompson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/27/2002
Label:	Abkco Records / Universal Music
UPC:	0018771900627

Tracks

1. Out of Time
2. Don't Lie to Me
3. Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind
4. Each and Every Day of the Year
5. Heart of Stone
6. I'd Much Rather Be with the Boys
7. (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City
8. We're Wastin' Time
9. Try a Little Harder
10. I Don't Know Why
11. If You Let Me
12. Jiving Sister Fanny
13. Downtown Suzie
14. Family
15. Memo from Turner
16. I'm Going Down

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Rolling Stones   Primary Artist
Mick Taylor   Guitar
Brian Jones   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Keith Richards   Guitar
Mick Jagger   Vocals

Technical Credits

Paschal Byrne   Remastering,Analog Transfer,Digital Transfers
Teri Landi   Remastering,Digital Transfers,Archive Research
Steve Rosenthal   Remastering,Restoration,Archives Coordinator
Bob Ludwig   Remastering,Mastering
Andrew Loog Oldham   Audio Production,Liner Notes,Composer,Producer
Jon Astley   Remastering,Analog Transfer,Digital Transfers
Jody H. Klein   Reissue Producer,Restoration Supervision
Jimmy Miller   Audio Production,Producer
Lula Mae Hardaway   Composer
Richard E. Roth   Art Direction
Mick McKenna   Tape Archivist,Archive Research
Gus Skinas   Engineer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Allan Steckler   Research,Art Direction
Paul Riser   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Charlie Watts   Group Member
Mick Jagger   Composer,Group Member
Maria Papazahariou   Production Assistant
Jack Byrne   Archive Research
Glenn Ross   Original Concept
Iris Keitel   Repackaging Art Direction
Lenne Allik   Concept
Alisa Ritz   Repackaging Art Direction
Nicole Monea   Assistant Producer,Design Production Assistant
Don Hunter   Composer
Bill Wyman   Group Member,Composer
Laura Walton   Production Assistant