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Do any of your Rolling Stones recordings bring "Satisfaction"?

Before I became a snobby audiophile I loved the Rolling Stones.  But as my system grew and I discovered all kinds of sounds in recordings (CD as well as Vinyl) that I had never heard before and the openness and depth of soundstage that was a wonder, I never had that same Wow moment with the Stones recordings.  Actually the best sound I have found came from the Hot Rocks double LP.  Has anyone else had a better experience with their recordings?  Having gone through so many remasters, nothing seems to have changed.  Sticky Fingers should be something better than we get.  The opening riff of Brown Sugar has always seemed so muddy.  My rant, any thoughts?

udog
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geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Stones on DSD CDs are outstanding. If you don’t believe me pick up High Tides Green Grass or Though the Past Darkly, the “best of” DSD CDs are pretty inexpensive on eBay. I have quite a few now. 😛
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
For me, the Stones’ best sound is from Hot Rocks’ Midnight Rambler, which has gargantuan bass and rhythm. And, it’s a live track! Why the heck these guys didn’t ensure that future mastering of their albums captured that same type of sound is beyond me. After all, they’re supposed to be a rock and roll band, right? I find that the sound of most Stones’ albums to be dry and without that boogie factor. They deserved better IMO.

I would add that, while I’m talking about vinyl I have that I’m commenting on, I also picked up three of the those Abcko CD remasters in the early 2000s; Majesty’s, Bleed and Beggars. Those sound OK, but again, they could have boosted the low end a bit and given Watts and Wyman more presence. Again, just my opinion. They’re not the only band to have suffered from such lack in production, by a long shot.
wolf_garcia
6,628 posts
 
I have a great sounding re-issue vinyl LP of Beggar's Banquet (my fave Stones album...it's folkie-ness appeals to me somehow) from Barnes and Noble (who knew?). I saw the Stones live only one time and that was in 1966 in my home town of Honolulu, original members of course, short but sweet...on "Sweet Lady Jane" Brian Jones played a dulcimer with a feather (a guitar pick works better, but hey...cool!)...great show! There's a live recording of this show on Youtube that sounds surprisingly good. They used Fender Bandmaster and Bassman amps (not sure those were even miked) through the mediocre '66 era "sports arena" type standard house PA system. Those were the days.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Just to mention the irony about the DSD CD Stones releases circa 2002 - they were produced by Abkco, you know, the company that pretty much botched the original Digitally Remastered Stones stuff way back when. All is forgiven. Virgin Records reissues back in the 90s were very good, too. But the DSD stuff is the sine qua non.
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