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METAMORPHOSIS
Five Reviews - Overall Average Rating - 7.9 Tongues
METAMORPHOSIS
by devilsadvocate
June 27, 2009
Rating:
I really wish I could give this album a higher rating. I'm looking at my old vinyl
copy and Side 2 would deserve at least an 8, while Side 1 would be lucky to get away with
a 5. That makes it 13 divided by two gives the 6.5 rating I'm giving the overall
album.
Why oh why did anyone feel the need to re-record "Out of Time"! This
version found on here is dull, boring and totally unnecessary. Yawn. Skip. "Don't Lie
to Me" comes next. This fast-paced Chuck Berry number is the only interesting song on
Side 1. Every other song after that is not really the Stones, but rather Mick (and
possibly Keith) playing with session musicians. Not bad, but not terribly
interesting either. And certainly not suited to repeated listening. It would have been
much better to use some of the unreleased Chess material instead for this side of the
album.
Side 2 tells an entirely different story. Every song here is good. In some
cases, such as "Jiving Sister Fanny", it is very hard to understand why they
were left off "regular" albums. "I Don't Know Why" opens Side 2.
The story is that this is the song the Stones were working on when they learned of
Brian's death. "Downtown Suzie" is a catchy little tune written by Bill
Wyman with very nice slide guitar work from Brian Jones. "I'm Going Down"
is another song which should definitely have been included on a "regular" album.
It was apparently written by Mick Taylor, but the official credits are
Jagger-Richards.
To listen to some sound clips from
METAMORPHOSIS or to buy the remasterd CD, click here:
Metamorphosis
More fan reviews:
METAMORPHOSIS
by Stoneheart
August 28, 2008
Rating:
How can anybody rate this album a 10? Come on, the Stones were embarrassed by its forced release by Alan Klein, as he would not allow the tracks that were suggested by Bill Wyman, whom the Stones picked to represent the band and to pick out the proper songs. From the songs list I've seen that Wyman wanted to use for this record, well, those songs would have been cool and a very nice LP would have been made. But there were not enough songs owned by Klein's company to please him on Wyman's list and Klein had the final say. Too bad!
There are still a few excellent songs on here, the best ones being Wyman's penned song "Downtown Suzie" (why wasn't this one on Beggars?), along with "Jiving Sister Fanny", "I Don't Know Why", "If You Let Me"; and I even like the Stones take of "Memo From Turner", even if Mick Jagger's solo cut of this song is better.
Most of the rest of the songs just don't cut the cake. "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys" is average at best, but this different version of "Out Of Time" plain out sucks, heck, the Stones, other than Jagger on vocals, do not even appear on this song, we only hear session musicians, and Brian Jones' marimbas are missed here big time! That orchestral playing ruins the song! "Heart Of Stone" is another poor remake minus the Stones that shows up here and also wasn't needed to be redone.
If you were lucky enough to have the first CD release of this album, put out by Stress
Records in Russia back in 1999, well then you are lucky. A few of the songs found on
that unofficial release are different and better versions, plus that CD comes with 6 bonus
tracks, all excellent songs, including the wonderful 1964 cut "Andrew's Blues",
and a alternate take of "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby" which is better than
the release version. If these songs were actually a part of the album, I would raise the
rating I give it to a six at least, but I give it only a three, since that is what is for
sale today, and a three is being generious, to say the least.
METAMORPHOSIS
by Ahthony Nasti
March 18, 2003
Rating:
This album is a collection of alternate takes and unreleased songs that never made it on
traditional Rolling Stones albums. The album, originally released in 1975, contains some
nice gems from the early years.
I especially enjoy the alternate take of "Out Of Time", especially with its
driving orchestral arrangement and nice, layered harmonies. The alternate take of
"Heart Of Stone" gives it a nice, acoustic touch. "I'd Much Rather Be With
The Boys" sounds like a song that a girl group like The Ronnettes would sing. But
it's the cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why" that will send shivers down
your spine. This is a chilling love song recorded the night Brian Jones died. "Jiving
Sister Fanny" is a funky rocker with driving guitars and funky basslines. Bill
Wyman's "Downtown Suzie" is very nice with a Bo Didley beat. "Family"
is a terrifying look at a family shattered by emotional problems. "Memo From
Turner" and "I'm Going Down" are obvious drug references.
Metamorphosis is a great Rolling Stones album and the only one that never gets
honored in their concert setlists. Hopefully, the band will begin to perform some of these
great songs in concert.
METAMORPHOSIS
by DW
December 22, 2001
Rating:
So, you have bought Aftermath, Sticky Fingers and Some Girls
and pretty much everything in-between. Well before you buy that copy of Undercover
that you know is not going to live up to your expectations of what the Stones are capable
of, save yourself the disappointment and seek out a copy of Metamorphosis. Now,
it is true that there is no official abkco/virgin CD, but there are 6 different unofficial
versions of Metamorphosis on CD which contain every track from the original album
(along with a variety of bonus songs tacked to the track list). Although I think highly of
every song on Metamorphosis, my favorites are "Memo From Turner" and
"Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind". Metamorphosis is perfect for any
Stones fan who wants to hear songs of the same caliber as Beggars Banquet and Sticky
Fingers - just keep in mind that the first half of the album is from the 12x5
era. Anyway, if you want a copy of Metamorphosis on CD you can find one on-line
pretty easily (check online auctions and gemm). This collection of outtakes is well worth
the trouble it takes to find it.
METAMORPHOSIS
by ALJAZ
February 7, 1999
Rating:
The sound is great. I like it because it's not a commercial album. Simply the best
None of the songs was a great hit and I think that it should have gotten more
attention than it had. You can't even get it on CD. .
The songs on the first side of the album are more or less classical rock 'n' roll. I like
OUT OF TIME basically because of the violins.In EACH AND EVERYDAY OF THE YEAR Mick's
performance is perfect, especially his voice. Charlie shines in THE HEART OF STONE. Keith
is brilliant in TRY A LITTLE HARDER. Keith and Charlie are in total accord. But it's
the songs on the second side that give me the shivers.The guitars especially the solos are
indescribable. This is seen or heard in I DON'T KNOW WHY which is one of the best songs,
for me anyway. Jagger is again brilliant in acoustic IF YOU LET ME. The harmony of voices
in DOWNTOWN SUSIE fascinates me. I especially like MEMO FROM TURNER because everything
guitars, drums and voices are in perfect harmony.
I give a rating of 10 to the following songs:
- OUT OF TIME
- HEART OF STONE
- TRY A LITTLE HARDER
- I DON'T KNOW WHY
- IF YOU LET ME
- DOWNTOWN SUSIE
- FAMILY
- MEMO FROM TURNER.
Note: Since the first two reviews here were
written, Metamorphosis is
now finally out on a remastered CD! Metamorphosis
To listen to some sound clips from
METAMORPHOSIS
or to buy the remasterd CD, click here:
Metamorphosis
See "A FEW OTHERS" for more info on songs on this album
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