Marianne Faithfull doing Melanie Safka doing Marianne Faithfull is what you get when Mick Jagger's ex-girlfriend performs on a majestic version of "Ruby Tuesday" backed up by the London Symphony Orchestra.
It's a reunion of sorts for Jagger and Faithfull, as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones follows his ex with a similar version of "Angie," with deeper textures than the original pop hit.
This elaborate package comes in a cardboard sleeve with six pages of photos and liner notes, and is a worthwhile addition to the Rolling Stones' catalog of music.
Sure there are "symphonic" albums of music by Creed, the Beatles, Depeche Mode, heck, even Symphonic Star Trek, but this package, all in black with silver ink, of course, is something special.
"Angie" is downright eerie.
Perhaps the late Michael Hutchence wasn't the best choice to open up the voices, beginning with his rendition of "Under My Thumb," but at least he's not awful.
It's tough to make such diverse compositions as "She's a Rainbow," "Gimme Shelter," and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" melt into each other with little definition, but they do that here, fading into background Muzak without a cutting voice like Faithfull to pronounce the mood.
Faithfull walks away the star of the show on this project produced by Chris Kimsey, a triumphant survivor who witnessed some of this music's emergence the first time around.
In that light, having the operatic Maire Brennan vocal on "As Tears Go By" comes off as a twisted joke.
Both singers who hit with the song are obviously available and were at these sessions.
Wouldn't it have been the perfect time for a duet? Or at least let Melanie have a shot at it.
"Sympathy for the Devil" fares much worse, the hellish London Children's Choir and London Voices so dark that Jerry Hadley's vocal comes off as parody.
Since Bryan Ferry already ruined the song on his solo debut, allow him the chance to bring some marquee value to the proceedings.
His presence on the orchestrated Beatles soundtrack All This and World War II was a delight.
"Dandelion" does work well in this setting, a song so strong it breaks through on its own.
All the music is listenable, and how could it not be? These titles have stood the test of time, and with the quality players there are passages that are unique, though nothing as stunning as Jimmy Miller's crossfade on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" or that song's brash use of a choir to sing about a drug deal.
The package is dedicated to Brian Jones and, despite its pomp, there are moments of grandeur.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Fighting ManMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 2 | Paint it BlackMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Aboud Abdel Ali, Hossam Ramzy | Play | 05:53 | 13 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Under My ThumbMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Hutchence | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 14 MB |
| 4 | As Tears Go ByMick Jagger, Andrew Loog Oldham, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Moya Brennan, Michael Hutchence | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | Sympathy for the DevilMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Jerry Hadley, London Voices | Play | 05:49 | 13 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | DandelionMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 15 MB |
| 7 | Ruby TuesdayMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Marianne Faithfull | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 17 MB |
| 8 | AngieMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra, Gilbert Biberian, Mick Jagger | Play | 06:18 | 14 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | She's a RainbowMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 10 | Jumpin' Jack FlashMick Jagger, Keith Richards | London Symphony Orchestra | Play | 05:36 | 12 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Gimmie Shelter: Gimme Shelter | London Symphony Orchestra, Various Artists | Play | 06:03 | 13 MB | 27 MB |
| 52 mins | 119 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 229 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abdel Al Aboud | Violin |
| 2 | Aboud Abdel Ali | Performer, Primary Artist, Violin |
| 3 | Florence Astley | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 4 | Jon Astley | Arranger, Editing, Sequencing |
| 5 | Layla Astley | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 6 | Ted Astley | Arranger, Assistant Arranger |
| 7 | Virginia Astley | Arranger, Assistant Arranger |
| 8 | Zelda Astley | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 9 | Ann Barnard | Music Copyist |
| 10 | Gilbert Biberian | Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist |
| 11 | Moya Brennan | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 12 | Matt Clifford | Arranger, Assistant Arranger |
| 13 | Jaz Coleman | Arranger, Assistant Arranger |
| 14 | Ronald Corp | Choir Master |
| 15 | Rupert Coulson | Engineer |
| 16 | Marianne Faithfull | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 17 | Geoff Foster | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Jerry Hadley | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 19 | Katie Heath | Choir/Chorus |
| 20 | Alex Hunt | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 21 | Michael Hutchence | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 22 | Kevin Jacobs | Engineer |
| 23 | Elizabeth Jagger | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 24 | Mick Jagger | Composer, Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 25 | Scott Johnson | Art Direction |
| 26 | Scott Johnson | Art Direction |
| 27 | Chris Kimsey | Mixing, Producer |
| 28 | London Symphony Orchestra | Orchestra, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 29 | London Voices | Choir/Chorus, Primary Artist |
| 30 | Jean-Paul Metzger | Recording Supervision |
| 31 | New London Children's Choir | Choir/Chorus |
| 32 | Andrew Loog Oldham | Composer |
| 33 | Hossam Ramzy | Percussion, Primary Artist |
| 34 | Keith Richards | Composer |
| 35 | Peter Sander | Recording Supervision |
| 36 | Peter Scholes | Conductor, Music Supervisor, Supervisor |
| 37 | Michael Smallcombe | Photography |
| 38 | Mike Smallcombe | Photography |
| 39 | Peter Smith | Executive Producer |
| 40 | Peter Smith | Executive Producer |
| 41 | J.J. Stelmach | Art Direction |
| 42 | Joseph J. Stelmach | Art Direction |
| 43 | Thomas Stiehler | Engineer |
| 44 | Anna Templeton | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 45 | Paloma Trigas | Choir/Chorus, Vocals |
| 46 | Steve Vining | Executive Producer |
| 47 | David Woodcock | Music Copyist |
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| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |