Forty Licks, like Elvis' 30 #1 Hits, is a career-spanning compilation that wouldn't have happened without the unprecedented, blockbuster success of Beatles 1. Where Elvis' set is hurt by the simple fact that there are too many damn Elvis comps on the market, the Rolling Stones benefit greatly from the fact that there has not been any set that chronicles all their recordings from the '60s through the '90s. It also benefits that this is the concept behind the record -- it's meant to be a journey through their biggest songs, not just the number one hits. Of course, the Stones couldn't have had a CD containing just their number ones that spanned one disc, much less two, because they never topped the charts that frequently. This is a liberating thing (compare it to Elvis', which got weighed down with the number ones, resulting in some subpar selections), since it opens the door for almost every Stones song of note to feature on this collection, along with four new songs (not great, but solid songs, all). Sure, there are many great Rolling Stones moments missing, and not just fan favorites Beggars Banquet or Exile on Main St., either -- "Play With Fire," "2000 Light Years From Home," "Tell Me," "Heart of Stone," "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," "Lady Jane," "Time Is on My Side," "Waiting on a Friend," "I'm Free," and "We Love You" are all missing in action. The thing is, as the disc is playing, you don't miss any of them, and it feels like all the hits are here. At first, the nonchronological order seems to be a mistake, but both discs flow well, especially since they're roughly divided thematically (the first is devoted largely to the '60s, with the rest on the second). Yes, the Stones made great albums that should be in any serious rock collection, but if you just want a summary of their best moments, Forty Licks is it; it does its job as well as Beatles 1 did. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Forty Licks is a doublecompilation album by The Rolling Stones. A 40-year career-spanning retrospective, Forty Licks is notable for being the first retrospective to combine the band's formative Decca/London era of the 1960s, now licensed by ABKCO Records (on disc one), with their self-owned post-1970 material, currently distributed by Universal Music Group (on disc two). Nevertheless, the compilation is currently out of print.
Forty Licks was compiled following the enormous success of The Beatles' 1 compilation from 2000. Released in September, Forty Licks peaked at #2 in the UK and US—behind Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits package—selling close to 8 million units worldwide. In the United States alone, it is certified quadruple platinum. Of the four new songs featured on disc two, "Don't Stop" was promoted as a single, becoming a minor hit in both the UK and the US.
The album contains tracks from throughout the Stones' career, but omits Dirty Work.
Concurrently with the album's release, The Rolling Stones embarked on the successful, year-long international Licks Tour, which would result in Live Licks in 2004.
Track listing
Note that recent Chinese produced versions only have 36 tracks—"Honky Tonk Women" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" are missing from disc one and "Brown Sugar" and "Beast of Burden" are missing from disc two and all tracks are in mono format only.[citation needed] All albums referenced are in the American catalogue, excluding compilations, though in other countries the albums may have separate track listings.
The songs in the list below are songs which did not appear on Forty Licks, but were either on Hot Rocks 1964–1971 (1971) or Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (1993). Up until Forty Licks' release in 2002, these two compilation albums were the most comprehensive greatest hits sets available for The Rolling Stones. Each set covered one label of The Rolling Stones catalogue. Many other compilation albums exist from the two labels, yet these are considered to be the two most comprehensive greatest hits albums of all.
Note that of the 33 songs (on Forty Licks) which could have been on these two compilation albums, only 7 were not. The five songs from disc 1 not on Hot Rocks 1964–1971 all appeared on its follow up release More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies). The two remaining songs can be easily explained for their absence on Jump Back. In the case of "Happy" it would be the only song on the album with Keith Richards on vocals; and in the case of "Shattered" it was an American-only single, while Britain had "Respectable" as their single for that time period. Until the year 2004 Jump Back was only available in Britain.
Songs from Hot Rocks and Jump Back not appearing on Forty Licks
