Metamorphosis is the third
compilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter...
of Rolling Stones music released by former manager
Allen KleinAllen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
's
ABKCO RecordsABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a New York headquartered independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the...
(who usurped control of the band's
DeccaDecca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades...
/
LondonLondon Records is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 through 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label.-History:...
material in 1970) after the band's departure from Decca and Klein. Released in 1975,
Metamorphosis centers on outtakes and alternate versions of well-known songs recorded from 1964 to 1970.
After the release of
Hot Rocks 1964–1971 in 1971, an album entitled
Necrophilia was compiled for release as the follow-up, with the aid of
Andrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, impresario and author. He was manager of The Rolling Stones in the 1960s, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, featuring many previously unreleased (or, more accurately, discarded) outtakes from the Rolling Stones' Decca/London period.
Metamorphosis is the third
compilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter...
of Rolling Stones music released by former manager
Allen KleinAllen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
's
ABKCO RecordsABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a New York headquartered independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the...
(who usurped control of the band's
DeccaDecca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades...
/
LondonLondon Records is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 through 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label.-History:...
material in 1970) after the band's departure from Decca and Klein. Released in 1975,
Metamorphosis centers on outtakes and alternate versions of well-known songs recorded from 1964 to 1970.
History
After the release of
Hot Rocks 1964–1971 in 1971, an album entitled
Necrophilia was compiled for release as the follow-up, with the aid of
Andrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, impresario and author. He was manager of The Rolling Stones in the 1960s, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, featuring many previously unreleased (or, more accurately, discarded) outtakes from the Rolling Stones' Decca/London period. While that project failed to materialize—with
More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)More Hot Rocks is the second compilation album of Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein...
being released in its place—most of the unreleased songs were held over for a future project. In 1974, in order to give it an air of authority,
Bill WymanBill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
involved himself in compiling an album he entitled
Black Box. However, Allen Klein wanted more
Mick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is a Golden Globe and Grammy Award winning English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, occasional film producer and actor, best known for his work as lead vocalist and frontman of The Rolling Stones.The Rolling Stones started in the early 1960s as a...
/
Keith RichardKeith Richards is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, record producer and a founding member of The Rolling Stones. As a guitarist, Richards is mostly known for his innovative rhythm playing. In 2003 he was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone magazine's "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of...
songs in the project for monetary reasons, and Wyman's version remained unreleased.
Metamorphosis was issued in its place.
Most tracks that appear on side one of the vinyl album (all tracks up until "Try a Little Harder", except for "Don't Lie to Me") are demo songs, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for other artists to perform. They were mostly recorded with session musicians like
Big Jim SullivanBig Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959...
on guitar,
Clem CattiniClem Cattini was the drummer for the 1960s English band, The Tornados as well as being a session musician. Cattini is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Engelbert Humperdinck and Lou Reed...
on drums, and
Jimmy PageJames Patrick Page OBE is an Englishcomposer and record producer.Page has been described as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Page #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest...
on guitar, and were not intended for release by the Rolling Stones. Indeed, on most of these tracks the only Rolling Stones member that appears is Mick Jagger. While "Out of Time" and "Heart of Stone" were already well-known, they appear here in drastically different renditions, with session players providing the backing. Side two includes unreleased band recordings created up until the
Sticky FingersSticky Fingers is the ninth studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in April 1971. It is the band's first album of the 1970s and its first release on the band's newly-formed label, Rolling Stones Records, after having been contracted since 1963 with Decca Records in the UK...
sessions of 1970.
Released in June 1975,
Metamorphosis came out the same day as the band's authorized hits collection
Made in the ShadeMade in the Shade, released in 1975, is the first official compilation album by The Rolling Stones during their Atlantic Records contract. It draws entirely from their first four albums on that label.-Release history:...
and was also seen to be cashing in on The Rolling Stones' summer
Tour of the AmericasThe Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 was a concert tour, intended for North and South America, that took place during 1975.-History:This was the Stones first tour with new guitarist Ron Wood, after Mick Taylor left the band...
. While the critical reaction was lukewarm (many felt some of the songs were best left unreleased),
Metamorphosis still managed to reach #8 in the US, though it only made #45 in the UK. Two singles, "
Out of Time"Out of Time" is a song by Blur and was released as the lead single from their seventh album Think Tank in 2003 . The song is a bass-driven ballad with minimal drums and only acoustic guitar. The faint screaming noise at the start of the track is a soundclip from Doctor Who. Its forlorn lyrics...
" (featuring Mick Jagger singing over the same backing track used for
Chris FarloweChris Farlowe is a successful English pop, R&B and soul singer.-Career:...
's 1966 version) and a cover of
Stevie WonderStevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Blind from birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S...
's "I Don't Know Why" briefly made the singles charts.
Upon its initial release,
Metamorphosis was released with 16 songs in the UK, while the American edition had only 13—omitting tracks "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind", "(Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City", and "We're Wastin' Time".
The album's cover art alludes to
Franz KafkaFranz Kafka was a major fiction writer of the 20th century. He was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia , Austria–Hungary...
's novel
The MetamorphosisThe Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world; Elias Canetti described it as "one of the few great and perfect...
.
In August 2002, the full UK edition of
Metamorphosis was issued in a new remastered
Compact DiscA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
and
SACDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes...
digipakDigipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc. resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000...
by
ABKCO RecordsABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a New York headquartered independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the...
.
Track listing
All songs by
Mick Jagger and Keith RichardsThe songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards is a musical collaboration whose output is primarily part of the catalogue of their group, The Rolling Stones....
, except where noted.
Side one
- "Out of Time" – 3:22
- "Don't Lie to Me" (Hudson Whittaker) – 2:00
- "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind
"Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" is a song by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, released first by the singing duo Dick and Dee Dee and then by Vashti Bunyan in May 1965....
" – 2:25
- "Each and Everyday of the Year" – 2:48
- "Heart of Stone
-Inspiration:Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Heart of Stone" is an inspired by the blues and R&B, being one of their first compositions released as a lead single....
" – 3:47
- "I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys" (Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, impresario and author. He was manager of The Rolling Stones in the 1960s, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
/Keith Richards) – 2:11
- "(Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City" – 2:51
- "We're Wastin' Time" – 2:42
- "Try a Little Harder" – 2:17
Side two
- "I Don't Know Why
"I Don't Know Why", , is a 1968 song by Stevie Wonder, from the album For Once in My Life...
" (Stevie WonderStevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Blind from birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S...
/Paul Riser/Don Hunter/Lula Hardaway) – 3:01
- "If You Let Me" – 3:17
- "Jiving Sister Fanny" – 2:45
- "Downtown Suzie" (Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
) – 3:52
- "Family" – 4:05
- "Memo from Turner
"Memo from Turner" is a song by the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. It was re-released in October 2007 on a seventeen-song retrospective compilation album The Very Best of Mick Jagger, making a re-appearance as a Jagger solo effort...
" – 2:45
- "I'm Going Down" – 2:52
Recording details
"Out of Time" – 3:22
- The demo—with Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is a Golden Globe and Grammy Award winning English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, occasional film producer and actor, best known for his work as lead vocalist and frontman of The Rolling Stones.The Rolling Stones started in the early 1960s as a...
on lead vocal—for Chris FarloweChris Farlowe is a successful English pop, R&B and soul singer.-Career:...
's hit single version, recorded 27–30 April 1966
"Don't Lie to Me" – 2:00
- Recorded on 12 May 1964
- Incorrectly credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, record producer and a founding member of The Rolling Stones. As a guitarist, Richards is mostly known for his innovative rhythm playing. In 2003 he was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone magazine's "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of...
on the album
- Line up: Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Brian Jones (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), Bill Wyman (bass), Ian Stewart
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist and cofounder of The Rolling Stones. He was dismissed from the line-up in May 1963 but he remained as road manager and piano player.- Role in the Rolling Stones :...
(piano)
"Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" – 2:25
- Recorded on 13 February 1964
- The first version of this song to be released (in early 1965) was by the American duo Dick and Dee Dee, followed closely by the Vashti Bunyan
Vashti Bunyan is an English singer-songwriter.Following the release of her first LP, Just Another Diamond Day, in 1970, Bunyan disappeared from the music industry until interest in her music was reignited in the early 2000s.-Biography:...
recording.
"Each and Everyday of the Year" – 2:48
- Recorded in early September 1964
- Bobby Jameson's version of this song features the same backing track as this recording. It was also covered by a group that went by the name of Thee, both in 1965
"Heart of Stone" – 3:47
- Recorded 21–23 July 1964 with Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page OBE is an Englishcomposer and record producer.Page has been described as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Page #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest...
on guitar and Clem CattiniClem Cattini was the drummer for the 1960s English band, The Tornados as well as being a session musician. Cattini is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Engelbert Humperdinck and Lou Reed...
on drums
"I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys" – 2:11
- Recorded in February 1965
- Originally released by The Toggery 5 in 1965.
"(Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City" – 2:51
- Recorded in early September 1964
- Originally released by The Mighty Avengers in 1965
"We're Wastin' Time" – 2:42
- Recorded in early September 196
- Originally released by Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck OBE or Tarby is an English comedian. He attended the same school as John Lennon and newscaster Peter Sissons.His first television show was It's Tarbuck 65! on ITV in 1964. He has also hosted numerous quiz shows, including Winner Takes All, Full Swing, and Tarby's Frame Game...
in 1965
"Try a Little Harder" – 2:17
- Recorded on 13 February 1964
"I Don't Know Why" – 3:01
- Recorded on 3 July 1969 (the same night that Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was an English musician and one of the founding members of the rock group The Rolling Stones. Jones was known for his use of multiple instruments, his flamboyant attire and his recreational drug excesses.- Early life :Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham,...
died) during the sessions for Let It BleedLet It Bleed is the eighth album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in late-November 1969 by Decca Records/ABKCO Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO in the United States...
. The music after the stop was spliced in at a later stage. The second slide guitar solo by Mick TaylorMichael "Mick" Kevin Taylor born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones....
is a copy of the first solo
- Incorrectly credited to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Mick Taylor
Michael "Mick" Kevin Taylor born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones....
on the first pressing of the album. The credits were corrected with the second pressing and on the 2002 SACDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes...
version
"If You Let Me" – 3:17
- An Aftermath outtake, recorded 3–6 March 1966
- Line up: Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Brian Jones (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), Bill Wyman (bass), Ian Stewart (piano)
"Jiving Sister Fanny" – 2:45
- Recorded in June 1969, during the Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in late-November 1969 by Decca Records/ABKCO Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO in the United States...
sessions, with Mick TaylorMichael "Mick" Kevin Taylor born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones....
on lead guitar
"Downtown Suzie" – 3:52
- Recorded on 23 April 1969 as a Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in late-November 1969 by Decca Records/ABKCO Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO in the United States...
outtake under the original title "Sweet Lyle Lucie". It features Ry CooderRyland "Ry" Peter Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer.He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in blues-rock, roots music from his native North America, and, more recently, for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries...
on open G tuned guitar.
"Family" – 4:05
- Recorded on 28 June 1968 as a Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet is the seventh studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones. It was released by Decca Records/ABCKO Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO in the United States in December 1968...
outtake.
- Line up: Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitars), Charlie Watts (drums), Bill Wyman (bass), Nicky Hopkins
Nicky Hopkins Nicky Hopkins Nicky Hopkins (born Nicholas Christian Hopkins (February 24, 1944 – September 6, 1994) was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on some of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely...
(piano), Jimmy Miller (percussion)
"Memo from Turner" – 2:45
- Recorded on 17 November 1968; a different take was released as a Mick Jagger solo single in October 1970 and featured in the film Performance
Performance is a British film made in 1968 but not released until . It was directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, and stars James Fox and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones in his film acting debut.- Plot :...
.
- Featuring Mick Jagger on vocals and Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, probably best known for organizing the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity...
on guitar, the identity of the other musicians on this track is not certain, with Jim CapaldiNicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter and a founding member of Traffic. He drummed with several famous singers and musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Alvin Lee, and Mylon LeFevre.-Overview:Capaldi was born Nicola James Capaldi in Evesham,...
and Steve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English singer-songwriter who performs and writes rock, blues-rock, and jazz. He sings with a tenor voice and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Hammond organ, guitar, bass, and other string instruments. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of...
of Traffic, as well as the other Rolling Stones, being mentioned as playing on it.
"I'm Going Down" – 2:52
- Recorded 14–15 July 1970 as a Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers is the ninth studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in April 1971. It is the band's first album of the 1970s and its first release on the band's newly-formed label, Rolling Stones Records, after having been contracted since 1963 with Decca Records in the UK...
outtake
- Credited to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Mick Taylor
Michael "Mick" Kevin Taylor born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones....
on the first pressing of the album. The credits were changed to 'Jagger/Richards' with the second pressing and on the 2002 SACDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes...
version. Although often thought of as a "Keith Richards" riff, the guitar part was actually written by Mick Taylor. Richards does not perform on the song.
- Line up: Mick Jagger (vocals), Mick Taylor (guitars), Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
(guitars) Charlie Watts (drums), Bill Plummer (bass), Bobby KeysBobby Keys is an American saxophone player and together with Jim Price and occasionally Jim Horn formed the most in-demand horn section of the 1970s...
(sax), Rocky Dijon (percussion)
- All information used in this section taken from [www.timeisonourside.com]
Chart positions
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1975 |
UK Top 50 Albums |
45 |
| 1975 |
Billboard Pop Albums |
8 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1975 |
"I Don't Know Why" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
42 |
| 1975 |
"Out of Time" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
81 |
| 1975 |
"Out of Time" |
UK Top 50 Singles |
45 |