Rolling Stones – Goats Head Soup Deluxe: Half Speed Master (180g Vinyl 2LP)

New Stereo Album Mix Sourced from the Original Session Files and Pressed on Deluxe 180g Vinyl 2LP with Bonus LP of Rarities including 3 Previously Unreleased Tracks; Mastered at Half Speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London

The Rolling Stones’ eleventh UK studio album, recorded in Jamaica, Los Angeles and London as their last collaboration with producer Jimmy Miller, Goats Head Soup came in the wake of the band’s landmark 1972 double album Exile On Main St. It was introduced by the single that became one of their most exalted ballads, the endlessly elegant “Angie,” completed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during a songwriting sojourn in Switzerland. The timeless love song, showcasing Jagger’s yearning lead vocal and Nicky Hopkins’ beautiful piano motif, topped the charts in the US, where it was certified platinum, and went to No. 1 across the world. “We decided to do something different, and it worked,” Richards told Rolling Stone of “Angie.” “Maybe a lot of people bought it that would never buy a Stones LP.” In a recent interview with The New York Times, Bob Dylan chose “Angie” as one of three Stones songs he wished he had written.

Goats Head Soup, with its famous David Bailey sleeve, featured the Stones’ vintage 1969-1974 line-up of Jagger, Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, with the addition of some essential collaborators. On an album on which their trademark rocking sound was often augmented by more low-key, reflective material, there were no fewer than four featured piano players: Hopkins, Billy Preston, Ian ‘Stu’ Stewart and Jagger himself. “Angie” was the only single to be released from the LP in the UK, where it spent two weeks at No. 5 in September. In the US, the exhilaratingly funky, horn-filled “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” featuring Taylor’s wah-wah lead guitar, followed it into the top 20 in February 1974. The many other highlights included the majestically brooding opener “Dancing With Mr. D,” the lithely strutting “100 Years Ago” and “Star Star” and the graceful “Winter.” Richards’ rueful lead vocal on “Coming Down Again” featured another Stones stalwart, saxophonist Bobby Keys. “Silver Train,” the b-side of “Angie,” would be revived after a gap of some 40 years, during the Stones’ 14 On Fire tour of 2014, when Taylor reprised his original guitar part in shows in Tokyo and Brisbane.

Another prized jewel in the Rolling Stones’ unmatched catalogue is restored to its full glory. Features the new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files. The Deluxe Edition features the three previously unreleased tracks, “Scarlet,” “All The Rage” and “Criss Cross.” 180g vinyl 2LP-set mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Stones devotees will be thrilled by the inclusion of the previously unheard “Scarlet,” featuring guitar by Jimmy Page, and a third newly unveiled song, “All The Rage.” The layered guitar textures of “Scarlet” make for a track that’s as infectious and raunchy as anything the band cut in this hallowed era. As well as Page guesting alongside Mick & Keith on the track it also features on bass Rick Grech of Blind Faith fame. “All The Rage” has a wild, post – “Brown Sugar” strut and the percussive “Criss Cross” rocks and swaggers as only the Stones can. The bonus disc also sheds new light on tracks such as “100 Years Ago” and “Hide Your Love,” with further unissued mixes by Stones insider and acclaimed producer Glyn Johns.

Features:
• Deluxe Edition 180g vinyl 2LP
• New stereo album mix sourced from the original session files
• Mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London
• Bonus LP of Rarities & Alternative Mixes including the three previously unreleased tracks “Scarlet,” “All The Rage” & “Criss Cross”