1. It’s All Over Now, 2. Don’t You Lie To Me, 3. I Can’t Be Satisfied, 4. Stewed And Keefed, 5. Around And Around, 6. Confessin’ The Blues, 7. Down In The Bottom, 8. Down The Road Apiece, 9. Empty Heart, 10. Hi Heel Sneakers, 12. If You Need Me, 13. Look What You Done, 14. Reelin’ And Rockin’, 15. Tell Me Baby, 16. 2120 South Michigan Avenue, 17. Goodbye Girl, 18. Key To The Highway, 19. Mercy Mercy #1, 20. Time Is On My Side #2, 21. What A Shame, 22. Mercy Mercy #2, 23. That’s How Strong My Love Is, 24. Try Me, 25. The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man.

Here we have another disc titled Complete Chess Studio Recordings. Previously we had from these sessions discs like Checkmate (Cellar Dweller) which presented official tracks that were recorded at Chess Studios with the few real outtakes that have surfaced over the years, The Complete Chess Studio Sessions 4 cd (WLR NF 64) let alone an official vinyl compilation album issued in Japan by London Records and many underground vinyl albums and cds, too many to mention (over 100!).

The legend of the Stones visit at Chess Studios has become bigger and bigger with different versions floating around: according to Bill Wyman Muddy Waters helped the band to unload their instruments while Keith Richards maintains his versions that they found him painting the studios ceilings; whatever the reality the tracks that have come out from the three sessions (two consecutive days in June 64, then in November of the same year and in early May 65) are celebrated as the best incarnation of the blues side of the Stones well represented by the proficient engineers well used to recording the blues at best. This release from Eternal Grooves (one of the few bootleg labels to have a webpage) presents them chronologically. The fact is that all Chess recordings have originally been recorded in stereo so it’s up to the band and Abkco to finally provide collectors with those masters; surprising thing here is that many are in wide stereo, even those hat had previously come out in narrow stereo like I Can’t Be Satisfied and Don’t Lie To Me from Metamorphosis or the Abkco SACDs, except for some strictly released in mono by other bootleggers (Reelin’ And Rockin’, Goodbye Girl, Key To The Highway, Mercy Mercy, That’s How Strong My Love Is, Try Me). On the other hand What A Shame is in mono, while the stereo take is available on The Unstoppable Stones compilation or on the Abkco cds No.2 or Now, likewise Time Is On My Side was available in stereo on Milestones or on the Hot Rocks cds.

Track 16 is 2120 South Michigan Avenue which was the real address of the Chess Studios in Chicago in its longer version from the German Around and Around album.

Track 24 is Try Me, one of the latest outtake to have been liberated, this version has Stu on organ and maybe Brian Jones on piano. The last track is The Under Assistant West Coast Promo Man here in the uncensored version, coming from the US 7” vinyl release (omitting the verse Break My Ass).

Packaging is great as well with a 4 page booklet that has track by track information including song by song line-up (in Japanese). Musically speaking the overall impression while listening to this release is in fact one of pleasure, in part because of the fantastic ability of the band to encompass blues standards technically while retaining the right feel that is at the base of any blues performance but also for the great quality of these songs that could aptly become part of a blues compilation that never happened.