The purpose of this review is to completely compare the contents of "Singles Collection: The London Years" to the 3 "Singles" box sets which as a group contain the same songs plus more. There are some good comparisons in the other reviews, but also several omissions and inaccuracies, so hopefully this 1-to-1 comparison will clear things up a bit as to what songs are included on each, and which "missing" songs can also be found on the other ABKCO CD's, particularly "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies". Each of these collections is rather expensive, so hopefully this may help you decide which sets you really need or want.

To settle one thing first though, the songs on the "Got Live If You Want It" EP contained in the "Singles 1963-1965" box set are NOT included on the full length CD "Got Live If You Want It". They share the same title but that's all, and were actually two different releases. Buying the full length CD will NOT get you all the same songs on the EP as indicated in another review. With that out of the way.....

"Singles 1963-1965": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this box set, with the exception of 3 original British EP's exclusive to the box set. The first EP contains You Better Move On (also available on "December's Children") and Poison Ivy, Bye Bye Johnny & Money (all 3 also available on "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies"). The second EP (originally titled "5 X 5") contains If You Need Me, Empty Heart, 2120 South Michigan Avenue, Confessin' The Blues and Around & Around, all of which are also available on the "12 X 5" CD. The third EP (the afore mentioned "Got Live If You Want It") contains early live versions of We Want The Stones, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Pain In My Heart, Route 66, I'm Movin On & I'm Alright, none of which are available on any other CD (with the possible exception of I'm Alright which may or may not be the same version included on the full-length "Got Live..." CD).

Conclusion: Both "The London Years" and "Singles 63-65" contain the early single/B-sides Come On (also available on "More Hot Rocks") as well as I Want To Be Loved, I Wanna Be Your Man & Stoned which aren't available on any other ABKCO CD. So both sets contain 3 songs not included elsewhere, plus the box set includes the live EP. So the deciding factor between "The London Years" and "Singles 63-65" would appear to be the live EP.

"Singles 1965-1967": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this 2nd box set, with no exceptions. Both contain the single/B-sides Long Long While & We Love You (also available on "More Hot Rocks") and Sad Day & Who's Driving Your Plane? which aren't available on any other ABKCO CD. So both sets contain 2 songs not included elsewhere. No further conclusions.

"Singles 1968-1971": "Singles Collection: The London Years" contains all of the songs included in this 3rd box set, with a few unique exceptions. The third box set additionally contains Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (also available on "The Rolling Stones Now!") and three non-ABKCO B-sides + 3 remixes exclusive to the box set. The B-sides are the Ry Cooder instrumental Natural Magic (from the film "Performance" soundtrack...Memo From Turner was the A-side) and Bitch & Sway which were the B-sides to Brown Sugar & Wild Horses. My guess is the licensing rights to these B-sides belong to Virgin Records, etc. and hadn't yet been negotiated when "The London Years" was originally released back in 1989. The remixes appear to be 3 different "rap" style remixes of Sympathy For The Devil. The box set also contains a bonus DVD (see the item description for more on that).

Conclusion: Both "The London Years" and "Singles 68-71" contain the B-side Child Of The Moon (also available on "More Hot Rocks") and Brown Sugar & Wild Horses (also available on "Hot Rocks 1"). So the deciding factor between "The London Years" and "Singles 68-71" would appear to be the three non-ABKCO B-sides, the three remixes and the DVD contained in the box set.

Final Conclusion: For the completest collector who has to have absolutely everything on CD, you basically have 2 choices. Buy all 3 box sets, or buy "Singles Collection: The London Years" and the two box sets "Singles 63-65" & "Singles 68-71" (a lot of duplication, though "The London Years" runs a little cheaper than the box sets + you don't have to change CD's as often).

A slightly cheaper option if you're mainly interested in completing the ABKCO Rolling Stones "canon" not released on the regular studio full-length CD's is to buy "Singles Collection: The London Years" and "Singles 1963-1965". You'd only be missing the three non-ABKCO B-sides and the 3 Sympathy For The Devil remixes.

A cheaper option still, if you're only interested in the very early singles & live EP and can live without a few later ABKCO B-Sides, is to buy "More Hot Rocks: Big Hits & Fazed Cookies" and "Singles 1963-1965". With those 2 you'd only be missing Sad Day, Who's Driving Your Plane? and the three non-ABKCO B-sides and the 3 remixes.

In truth, the 2nd & 3rd discs of "Singles Collection: The London Years" make an interesting listen because each is primarily made up of A & B sides not included on the regular studio CD's. So they're almost like listening to independent CD's without repeating too many songs you'll hear when listening to the other albums. The 2nd disc from "More Hot Rocks" and also "Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)" do the same, only with different selections of songs, so comparing these two further is highly recommended as well.

Decisions, decisions. Hope this helps.

You've heard it before, but I might as well say it: this is the worst gimmick ever concieved. If you remember the Stones from back in "the day" (I wasn't even alive in "the day", mind you), and miss the covers to your old Stones' 45's, I guess this is for you. The rest of us will be better suited with the what I call the main singles collection (that is, the 3-disc version spanning all of their singles from 1963-1971).
The quality of the music itself is middling at best. Back then (in 1963-1964, anyway), the boys hadn't quite found their voice, instead covering lots of older songs or else writing extremely derivative, forgettable originals. That being said, there are a few very good covers, like I Just Want to Make Love to You, Time Is On My Side and I Wanna Be Your Man, plus the unjustly forgotten instrumental Stoned.
The Stones didn't really take off, be it artistically or commercially, until 1965. Little Red Rooster topped the UK charts in that year, though it was all but forgotten in the US. And that's just too bad, because it's them at their bluesiest and best. Then, Keith Richards wrote the unforgettable Satisfaction riff in, as we all know, his sleep (now a part of Stones mythology) and the Stones became the Stones we know and love. After Satisfaction, they gave us Heart of Stone, Play With Fire, The Last Time and several others. The best songs by far come later, so I'd reccomend the 1963-1971 box over this, and the other two.

If you were living in London when "Come On" was released, if you went to your local record store and played it and its marvellous "B" side - "I Want To Be Loved" - on your mono, low-fi record player over and over again, if you went back to the store and bought each single and EP as they arrived and put every track through the same repeat play process, if you still have them in your attic in a lovingly scratched, wholly unplayable state or if you've lost them over the years then this is all you could ask for. Or is it?

Well, the good news is that they're all here... every "A" side, "B" side and EP track from the period when the Stones really were the most exciting thing around. And, unlike many groups of the time, their "B" sides and EP tracks were good - not just fillers but, as "I Want To Be Loved", "Stoned", "Little By Little", "Good Times, Bad Times", "Off The Hook", "Play With Fire", "Bye Bye Johnnie", "Money", "Empty Heart", "Around & Around" & "2120 South Michigan Avenue" amply evidence, essential parts of what all the fuss was about. Thirty three memories in one boxed set.

And the bad news? Cleverly but annoyingly the whole lot is spread over 12 beautifully packaged individual CD's with each one containing the A & B side of a single or the contents of an EP. Great to look at and, for those around at the time, a real walk down memory lane, but an expensive production and one that's difficult to play without hopping out of your chair every five minutes or so to load yet another disc. At this price it would have been much more sensible and user-friendly to have included a couple of full length 16 track CD's in addition to the individual releases but, as it stands, you'll need to burn them down to your own CDs or playlist them through your iPod for the whole process to become manageable.

The alternative? Well, that depends on what you want and how much you're prepared to pay... all the "A" & "B" sides from this period are included on the first disc in the "The Singles Collection - The London Years" boxed set which also includes both sides of their single releases through to 1970. All the tracks from their first EP are included on the "More Hot Rocks" compilation, all the tracks from the second EP are on their "12x5" album and all the tracks from the third EP are on their "Got Live If You Want It" album. An even more expensive option, with a lot of duplication, but then you do get a great deal more for your money.

So... an indispensable but oddly delivered memory bank for those of us who were there and want to be there again, and an intriguingly expensive "coffee table" purchase for those who weren't.

This box set is amazing. It just rocks and the packaging is cool as hell. the tracks sound great. good re-mastering job. I have a CD changer and just load them all in, and open up a beer. good times.

I've got to listen to 12 cds to get through thirty-three stones songs? Most of them clock in under three minutes! Yeah, great jacket covers and all, but I'm really concerned with the music. I'm surprised they don't include latex gloves so I'll never have to soil the cd jackets with the oils from my fingers! Careful! Okay, I've had my fun, but really, this one is truly for collectors only. I'm a huge fan, not a collector. If you want all the early singles the Stones ever released in one set, get the SINGLES COLLECTION: THE LONDON YEARS instead. It contains all the singles from 1963-1971, plus a few rare gems. The one interesting thing about SINGLES '63-'65 is the inclusion of the three brit EPs. While the actual EPs were never released here, all the songs from the two studio EPs, THE ROLLING STONES and FIVE BY FIVE are available on various U.S. releases (12x5, MORE HOT ROCKS and DECEMBER'S CHILDREN). The third EP, GOT LIVE IF YOU WANT IT (a shameful effort to "catch the boys live"), is no better than the full-length american counterpart. Both are painful to listen to. If you have the early Stones U.S. releases, you'll already have these songs in studio format.
SINGLES 1963-1965 is a neat gimmick with all the original covers, but I'm gonna pass on it.