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The Rolling Stones - Necrophilia: Outtakes 1964-68 (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Out Of Time
  2. Don't Lie To Me
  3. Have You Seen Your Mother
  4. Think
  5. Hear It
  6. Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind
  7. Aftermath
  8. I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys
  9. Andrew's Blues
  10. Pay Your Dues
  11. Let The Good Time Roll
  12. Heart Of Stone 3:47
  13. Each And Every Day Of The Year
  14. (Walkin' Through) The Sleepy City
  15. Try A Little Harder
  16. Blue Turns To Grey
  17. We're Wastin' Time

Notes

IT TOOK THREE YEARS OF MAJOR AND MINOR CHANGES TO RELEASE TWO FINAL VERSIONS OF ‘METAMORPHOSIS’. THE ALBUMS WERE OUT IN TIME FOR THE FIRST VENUES OF THE 1975 TOUR OF AMERICA; EVEN IF ROLLING STONES RECORDS PROMOTED THE TOUR WITH THEIR OWN FIRST GREATEST HITS COMPILATION ALBUM, ALL THE INTEREST WAS CAPTURED BY THE LONG AWAITED AND MUCH RUMORED ‘METAMORPHOSIS’. THE HISTORY OF ‘METAMORPHOSIS’ BEGINS IN 1972 WHEN KLEIN’S ABKCO RECORDS WAS ALLOWED TO RELEASE ONE MORE ALBUM OF INEDIT MUSIC, THE LAST ONE, AS FROM THE SETTLEMENT BETWEEN KLEIN HIMSELF AND THE ROLLING STONES. THE CHOSEN FATHER OF THE FORTHCOMING NEWBORN WAS ALLAN (a.k.a. AL) STECKLER. INSTEAD OF GATHERING B-SIDES AND MINOR HITS, HE PREFERRED TO GO BACK TO THE DUSTY ARCHIVES AND TRIED TO GIVE LIFE TO SONGS LEFT DEAD IN THE VAULTS. MAYBE, HE THOUGHT - WITH SELF IRONY - THAT A LITTLE DOSE OF NECROPHILIA WAS REQUIRED WHEN DIGGING SONGS OUT OF DUST AND ‘NECROPHILIA’ WAS THE PROPOSED TITLE FOR HIS COMPILATION. HE TEAMED WITH FABIO NICOLI (ART DIRECTOR AND COVER DESIGNER) AND ANDREW OLDHAM (PRODUCER) AND THEIR PROJECT GOT VERY CLOSE TO THE FINAL OKAY. ‘NECROPHILIA’ WAS GIVEN A CATALOGUE NUMBER (ABKCO AB-4224), SOME HARD-CARD TRIPLE GATEFOLD PROOF SLEEVES WERE MADE AND SOME ACETATES WERE MADE AT THE STERLING SOUND STUDIOS, NYC, ON 12 OCTOBER 1972. TWO OF THE 17 SONGS OF THE ACETATES ARE NOT LISTED ON COVER TRACK-LISTING AND SO WE CAN SUPPOSE THAT SLEEVES WERE PRINTED AT A LATER TIME.

FABIO NICOLI USED A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GROUP SHOT BY GERED MANKOWITZ IN PREPARATION OF ‘BETWEEN THE BUTTONS’ ALBUM COVER AND ANDREW OLDHAM PROVIDED THE USUAL NOTES FOR BACK COVER. WITH PROOF SLEEVES MADE AND EVERYTHING ELSE READY FOR THE FINAL STEP THE PROJECT WAS STOPPED - AS FAR AS KNOWN - BEFORE THE MAKING OF TEST PRESSINGS. IT’S HARD TO TELL THE REASON WHY THIS PROJECT WAS STOPPED. WE CAN SAY THAT THE ALBUM WAS NOT CONSIDERED BELOW THE GROUP’S STANDARD LEVEL OF QUALITY (NINE OF THESE SONGS WILL BE OKAYED FOR ‘METAMORPHOSIS’), WE CAN SAY THAT THE TITLE COULD BE EASILY CHANGED IF CONSIDERED TOO ‘STRONG’ OR OFFENSIVE. AT LAST, WE CAN SUPPOSE THAT THE EXPLOSIVE SUCCESS OF THE ROLLING STONES’ LATEST TOUR OF AMERICA COULD DEMAND A BEST SELLER ALBUM FOR CHRISTMAS TIME AND NOT A COLLECTION OF LEFTOVERS.

‘NECROPHILIA’ WAS SHELVED, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. IN 1974, ALLEN KLEIN AND THE TEAM BILL WYMAN/CHARLIE WATTS COMPILED, SEPARATELY, 2 SETS TO BE PROPOSED TO DECCA MANAGEMENT IN TAPE FORM.

"WE WANTED TO HAVE IT DONE HISTORICALLY, SO THAT IT WOULD HAVE AT LEAST HAD A VALUE TO COLLECTORS"(BILL WYMAN) AND SO "WE SPENT MONTHS GOING OVER MATERIAL"(CHARLIE WATTS) AND "WE PROVIDED AN ALBUM WHICH HE (KLEIN) TURNED DOWN. I SELECTED ABOUT 18 TITLES, LAID IT ALL OUT HISTORICALLY, WITH DETAILS"(BILL WYMAN.)

THE WATTS AND WYMAN’S SELECTION WAS QUICLY RENAMED‘THE BLACK BOX’ DUE TO ITS PROPOSED PACKAGE CONSITING OF A THIN BLACK BOX TOGETHER WITH A BOOKLET OF OLD PHOTOGRPAHS, PRESS CLIPPINGS AND RELATED EPHEMERA AND TIED WITH A RED RIBBON. ACCORDING TO THE VERY FEW INFORMATIOINS WE HAVE KLEIN SELECTED 14 SONGS (8 OF WHICH FROM THE REJECTED ‘NECROPHILIA’ PROJECT) AND WYMAN 12 SONGS (ONLY 2 OF THEM WERE ON ‘NECROPHILIA’ TOO).