Observations, rants, and musings by Joe Siegler.

The Rolling Stones – Honk

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I got this compilation roughly a year after I had reacquired a record player.  I didn’t own any Stones on vinyl, so I thought a compilation was the best way to go.  I did have a prior compilation on CD (Fourty Licks), but that wasn’t easily available (read cheaply) on vinyl.  Looked around and found the latest compilation was freshly released – that’s this one.  2019’s “Honk”.  It’s a triple vinyl and has quite a lot of songs on it.  I opted for this vs finding a used copy of one of the earlier comps as it covers just about everything.  It’s fairly recent too, it covered the Stones 2016 blues covers album as well (Blue & Lonesome).  Now even with a triple vinyl, and thirty six songs total, there will always be a few left off here and there.

However, this compilation has a ton of different versions.  This vinyl version is considered the “Standard” release, and a version of this is available digitally.  However, there’s also a deluxe physical edition that has a fourth disc, but that one was limited edition, and the fourth was just 10 more live tracks, so I didn’t care for that.  Studio was fine.  The iTunes digital deluxe has the 36 standard songs, the 10 live songs, plus it also included the track “Living in a Ghost Town” which was a song the Stones put out in 2020, so I’m not sure how that works as this comp came out in 2020, and that song was a bonus track on the Hackney Diamonds album in 2023.  So that song confuses me, but it’s not on my vinyl anyway.

There’s no past history with this release for me since it was brand new in 2019, so I just got it as I wanted some Stones on vinyl.   There’s not a ton more to say about this one, so I’ll get into tracks, which probably won’t be much. We’ll see.

Start Me Up – From the Tattoo You album.  A song I remember new, and I remember as a “song”, not the cultural thing it has turned into.  I’ve heard this many MANY times are sporting events where it seems to have a different meaning.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I can’t hear the song on its own now without hearing the sports influence.   The vinyl has some nice bass I can’t recall hearing before in the mix.  Granted, the song is 45 years old now, so I could just be forgetting, but still.  Track still holds up now for sure.

Brown Sugar – Growing up I would listen to a lot of radio in the Philly area, and that meant WMMR or WYSP.  One of them used to use the opening riff from this song as one of their station ID pieces of music.  I heard this RIFF A LOT over the years because of that.  It originally came out in 1971 and sounds like it’s from that era.  That’s a danger if you will of complications that span long periods of time – the various ebbs and flows are noticeable.  That’s not to say this song is bad at all, it isn’t.  Quite like it but it always reminds me of radio station idents.  And of course what the song is ACTUALLY about, which this teenager didn’t know about back in the day – I thought it was about literal brown sugar.  To be so innocent again.

Rocks Off – This song is one I didn’t know by song title.  There’s actually a fair amount of Stones songs I’m not sure of the names for.  This one comes from Exile in Main Street (1972).  It’s also one that’s not burned into my brain from decades of radio play.  When I listened to it today, it’s not one that springs to mind.  It’s a faster paced track with an odd sounding mix – things are all over the place.  Not bad, but not one of my fav Stones tracks, I would have left this off the compilation if I was choosing tracks.  Nice piano vibe in there, but it’s hard to hear sometimes (hello again to the mix).

Miss You – We go back to one of the tracks that was definitely played a lot.  Miss You.  My memory has the Stones playing this on SNL back in 1978, but when I looked it up, I was wrong (oh well).  This is one that was heard a TON on the radio – classic rock radio LOVES this track.  It’s a slower based song (definitely not SLOW, tho).  It’s mostly driven by a bass riff – Keith takes a back seat for the most part here.  This young teen always loved the line of lyric “There’s some Puerto Rican girls just DYING to meet you”.

Tumbling Dice – This is one of their more well known and loved tracks, but for me I didn’t care for it that much.  It’s got the sound of not being fully done – can’t quite put my finger on it.  It just kind of feels like it never gets going – the opening sound just keeps going through the track, never really expands, has a time change.  It’s just there.  It’s not bad – I don’t hate it, just would have preferred something else – Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown, maybe?

Just Your Fool – We jump forward in time to 2016 and one of the blues covers makes an appearance.  Just Your Fool was the lead single off that album, and probably the song I listened to the most from that album.  It’s short (at 2:18), so gets right to the point.  HEAVY on the harmonica.  Good old school blues track.  If you like that kind of tune, you’ll love this, but I recall this album being polarizing when it was new.

Wild Horses – Onto Side B with this track from 1971’s Sticky Fingers.  It’s a slow song.  In fact when I was younger, this was a definite skip, as I never was fan of slower songs then, I wanted all faster stuff.   It sounds in places like Angie (which is also on this album) in overall tone.  As I got older I learned to appreciate it more.  Great change of pace song for sure.  I do like the guitar work in the solo section, it doesn’t stick out, it fits the mood of the song really well.  I have to assume that’s Keith – good job there.

Fool to Cry – Another song I don’t recall by title.  It comes from the 1976 Black & Blue album, and bears the sounds of that.  That keyboard/proto synth sound that is all over mid 70’s rock music is also here.  Once this song started playing, I can’t say I recall this track terribly well at all.  It’s another slow track, but I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would.

Angie – Paired well with Wild Horses, they’re both slower songs.  This one was one of their biggest hits.  My wife always hated this song.  Another track I remember well due to borderline overplay on FM radio in decades past.  As I listen today, I can see why this song is a big hit.  The music behind the vocals is unlike a lot of Stones songs, it’s got a nice clean non rock sound in general.  A lot of piano in there.  Good track, and one that in years gone by I would not have said that about.

Best of Burden – Oddly the first thing that comes to mind when I hear this song is a duet of it that Mick did with Bettle Midler.   Was her cover officially, but Mick turned up on it.  That version came out in 1984, and is the one I think of first.  It’s a fair Stones song.  Slower paced, doesn’t really find a high gear, but it works for this track.  I did find myself tapping my thumbs on my desk with the beat as I was listening today, so I guess that means it worked.  :)

Hot Stuff – Back to another track I don’t know by name.  It has a strong disco vibe to it.  Has Billy Preston on the track (piano).  I get musical experimentation, and I’m all for it, but I don’t think it works here.  Not one of my favorites, it’s another that never seems to get out of first gear.  Seems like the “Hey look, we’re doing a disco sort of track” was the idea they thought would carry it.

It’s Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It) – One of their signature songs.  Right up there with Satisfaction IMO.  Oddly Satisfaction is not on this compilation, but I digress.   One of their catchiest and most singable choruses.   It’s one of those songs whenever I hear it you just want to sing along with the chorus.  Some signature songs that have been seriously overplayed lose all meaning and enjoyment, but not this one.  Still a killer track all these years later.

Rock & A Hard Place – Side C starts off with this track from the 1989 “Steel Wheels” album.  It’s got a great rock beat.  At the time this album came out it was seen as a big return to form, as the prior album (Dirty Work) was generally viewed as a disappointment, and the album before that was a mixed bag (Undercover).   Some great guitar accents here on top of the solo which I quite enjoyed.  This also had some very good backup vocals that at one point were allowed to shine on their own.   Nice bass, good drums…  this was a killer track in 1989 and still works VERY well in 2025.

Doom & Gloom – This was a track that first appeared on a prior compilation (2012’s “Grrr”).  Its inclusion here is an odd choice, but it is a good track.  At the time it was a breath of fresh air, because at the time it had been 7 years before the prior album (A Bigger Bang), and four years till the next album of any kind (2016’s Blue & Lonesome), and another eleven years till the next proper Stones album (2023’s Hackney Diamonds).   It’s got a slightly different guitar sound going in the background towards the back part of the song that I can’t quite place.  A good solid straightforward Stones track that a lot of people will probably miss as it’s not on any proper album, just compilations.  The song also appears in the Marvel movie “Avengers: Endgame”.

Love is Strong – Going to the 90’s with this track from the 94 album “Voodoo Lounge”.   Got that slower Keith guitar track to it mixed in with some harmonica for good effect.  It’s got that blues based sound as it’s driving force, but it doesn’t sound like a blues song directly.  It’s a track that I always liked, but most of my friends had tuned out of the Stones by this point, so they weren’t into it.  Mick’s vocals are delivered in a much lower register than he normally sings in.  Good track.

Mixed Emotions – Back to 1989 with this, the lead single from Steel Wheels.  This got a crap ton of radio play at the time, and it’s a good track for sure.  I like Hard Place a bit better from that album.  But it’s again good solid straight forward Stones rock & roll – can’t go wrong there.

Don’t Stop – This is another compilation track.  This one was recorded for the 2002 comp I mentioned before, “Fourty Licks”.  It’s an “ok” track, that was original written as a Jagger solo track that got used here.  I don’t dislike it, it’s just kind of “there”.  Would have preferred something else other than another compilation’s exclusive track.

Ride em on Down – Another track from the blues cover album – was that album’s third single.  It’s got a real dirty guitar sound that runs through it.  It sounds so old school blues, it almost doesn’t sound like the Stones – has a sound that was known from before the Stones existed at all.  But I believe that’s the entire point of the album this came from – bring that sound into the now.  On another song I’d say the same sound that runs through it would be a negative, but for this kind of song it works well.  Particularly love the guitar solo here.  Some angry sounding harmonica on display, too.

Bitch – Side D starts with a song that I always thought had an amusing name as a kid.  Always thought they named it that just to hear radio people say “bitch” on the air (which in the 70’s would be a BIG deal).  Love this guitar riff – always have.  I do remember thinking as a kid being disappointed that the word bitch doesn’t actually appear in the lyrics anywhere.   I also really dug the horns copying the guitar riff from earlier in the song.  Great vibe there.  It’s funny cuz I could play this song around my mom and not be worried about “They said what?” in the lyrics.  haha.

Harlem Shuffle – This is a track that I always ADORED – and I know people hated.  As I recall, this was the lead single from the mostly derided 1987 album “Dirty Work”.  This was a cover, actually – which I thought was an odd move for a lead single (the original was by Bob & Earl). I didn’t know that in 1987 though – so I dug this track.  Thought it had a cool vibe to it.  I also got a kick out the video as it had Paula Abdul in it, who I had the major hots for in the mid 80’s.  I would have preferred they included the other

Hate to See You Go – Another song from the blues album.  As much as I like that album, I think it’s a bit over-represented here on this compilation.  It’s a good blues track standing on its own, but I really would have preferred something else.  There’s PLENTY of Stones material out there.  I mean hell, what about the track Continental Drift from the Steel Wheels album?  I enjoy that track a lot, and nobody ever talks about it. :)

Rough Justice – The lead single from the 2005 album “A Bigger Bang”.  It’s a great track for a lead single.  One of my favorite bits about this one is it has the line of lyric “But am I just one of your cocks”, and I’d see the clip played on TV around the time, and they’d bleep “cocks”, which was hilarious 20 years ago.  Now it’s positively laughable.  Another good solid in your face Stones rocker.  Good solid if not overly specutlar riff from Keith.  One of those songs that works better when all put together than if you break down the individual parts and look at them.

Happy – This is an older song I didn’t know by title, but once it started playing, I knew the track.  It also feels like an odd song for a Stones title. “Happy” just doesnt’ feel like a song title the Stones would do.  :)   Song’s OK, – not one of my favorites.

Heartbreaker – I know this song is officially titled “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”, but does ANYONE use the Doo’s when they talk about this song?  It’s freakin Heartbreaker.   It’s a smoking hot track from start to end.  Lyrics, music, the whole damn thing is spectacular.  A real highlight of this compilation.  Once the horns kick in roughly 40% of the way into the song they become the dominant flavor of the song, and I really like it.  It’s one of those tracks that I listen to go and go “Oh fuck, just listen to it yourself, you’ll get it”.  If the song “Gimme Shelter” (which annoyingly isn’t on this compilation) didn’t exist, Heartbreaker would probably be my #1 favorite Stones song overall. As it is, it’s #2.

One More Shot – ANOTHER compilation track.  This also came from 2012’s “Grrr!”.  Come on dudes, there’s dozens of Stones tracks that could have been here over this track, which coming after the really spectacular Heartbreaker feels like a let down of epic proportions.  This is a pretty blah Stones track.

Respectable – The third disc and Side E starts with this track from the the 1978 album “Some Girls”.  I always loved when I was younger the different ways Mick delivered the title track in the song.  It wasn’t always the same, it changed up, I liked that.  Oddly, I remembered THAT, but not much of the rest of the song.  The song itself is a typical fast paced Stones song with the usual accents and things you hear in a song like this from them.  Not the most remarkable, but an enjoyable song, especially when paired with that memory of mine from the past.  I also like the way the song ends with a musical choice that sounds unlike the rest of the song in tone, I like that sound, actually.

You Got Me Rocking – The second single from the ’94 “Voodoo Lounge” album.  It’s remained popular, as it still pops up in the band’s setlist – breaking through all the legacy tracks they have.  Oddly, my thoughts about about this song have changed. I’ve always had this filed in my brain as one of the good tracks from the VL album, but today when listening, this song didn’t do a lot for me.  I don’t know if it’s just me today or what, but I recalled this being better from the past.  It’s not bad, and I did like the guitar solo, but the base part of the song wasn’t as good as I remembered it being.

Rain Fall Down – This is one of those tracks I point to when people want a lesser known track from the Stones.  Was the second single from the ’05 “A Bigger Bang” album.  It’s got a bit of a funk feel to it, but it doesn’t cross over too far in that direction.  I like the beat for sure.  Sitting here listening, I was bopping in my office chair, so that’s always a good sign you’re into the song.  The guitar seems to be mixed up front a bit more than usual when it’s used.  Loved the underlying beat, it’s the bit that got me going with this song.  Definitely one should look at if you’re looking for a more obscure Stones song (although it’s not THAT obscure being an album single, but still – most don’t know this).  UPDATE: I finished most of that text in the first minute or so of the song then listened.  At the end I thought “I really enjoyed that”.

Dancing with Mr. D – Back to the “Yeah don’t know that one from the title” thing again – we’re back to 1973 again (Goat’s Head Soup).  I didn’t care for this – was one of those “main beat doesn’t go anywhere” songs.

Undercover of the Night – The lead single from the 1983 album “Undercover” is my wife’s favorite Stones song.  I remember this being a HUGE deal at the time because it was the first taste of new Stones music after the wild success of the Tattoo You album.  The video caused a bit of controversy at the time due to imagery used it based on what was going on lyrically.  I can’t recall if it was actually banned or not – that kind of thing happened a lot back then.   Musically, I liked it, because it sounded like it expanded on the sound they had on Tattoo, did something new with it.  The guitar solo and the funk beat that ran underneath it was a compelling sound for me and was my favorite part of this track.

Emotional Rescue – At the time this was new, I remember people taking a major dump on this one for its well.. weirdness.  It’s got a disco sound to it, and Mick sings in a MUCH higher register than he normally does.  The song has saxophone where guitar normally would be.  It’s a really bizarre track when you look at the various pieces to it, yet it still works despite all of that.

Waiting on a Friend – The last side of the album starts with the final track from the Tattoo You album.  Waiting has turned out to be one of my fav overall Stones songs.  It’s a song that I feel more attached to the video for.  When I was younger and this was new, a lot of things I experienced in life were in front of me.  To that, I always saw the “friend” part of this song play out in the video as something I thought was cool, so because of my emotional attachment to the video I really liked the song.  Which is odd as musically it wasn’t the kind of song I was really into then.   I find it hard to write about because my memories of the song and my life at the time and the videos are all mushed together.  The song is now 45 years old (WTF!) and it’s just evolved into this thing where I really love the song, and I have a hard time describing why from decades in the past.

One goofy thing about the video – there’s a line of lyric that says “watching girls passing by ain’t the latest thing”, and they didn’t have two girls walk by Mick in the video – I thought they should have.   Also, what was with Mick’s dance moves after they pick up the rest of the band in a bar at the end of the video?  :)

Saint of Me – First of two in a row from the 97 Bridges to Babylon album.  This is another of those tracks that most people don’t know about but should.  Really adore the underlying beat here.  It instantly gets me going.   It’s kind of a “compressed slow burn”.  It starts off slow and gets faster, but doesn’t take the whole song to get there.  When they get to the faster parts, I find myself wanting to sing along, it’s got a really catchy chorus   I do love how Keith’s guitar is mixed in with Mick’s vocals, they’re paired well together here.   Good beat, great chorus, good damn song.

Out of Control – This song has a louder guitar sound than we usually get from a Stones song.  Stones riffs don’t sound the same, but they’re usually from the same palate.  This one steps outside the box a bit.  Given this came out in 97 after several years of grunge at that time I wonder if some of that snuck in?  The song itself isn’t the strongest, but I do like the guitar work here.

Streets of Love – A ballad from the Bigger Bang album.  In fact I’d call it a power ballad, something that was huge in the 90’s.  So the Stones went there.  It’s not bad, I just was never a huge fan of the power ballad.  Here’s one of if you like them.

Out of Tears – The 36th and final track here comes from the Voodoo Lounge album.  It too is a ballad.  Odd choice ending the compilation with two ballads in a row.   This doesn’t do anything for me, although I did like the guitar solo a bit.   Would have rather the album ended with Saint of Me (choosing solely from what’s on Side F).

Like any compilation album, there’s always discussions about what should and should not be included.  I’ve mentioned a couple already in the parts above.   I mean this was a triple album with 36 songs, and there’s issues.  They’d probably need a ten disc set to cover everything everything and even then someone would bitch that so and so song wouldn’t be there (like me and “Continental Drift”).  But this was a fun listen despite the issues with a few tracks not being there (how can you NOT have Satisfaction & Gimme Shelter?).  Plus there’s always the regular albums those songs came from.   Was a good listen for sure, Mick, Keith, and the boys have produced some great shit over the decades – hard to believe their first album is now 61 years old – I mean wow.

I really should stop starting these things with “I’m not gonna write a lot”, cuz I always end up with too much.  This topped 4,000 words, and I really thought it would be less than 1,000.  haha.

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