The Ultimate Guide and charts

You all know the new book "The Ultimate Guide" by Felix Aeppli, out last fall. This is a great book indeed, with lots of facts and details regarding the Rolling Stones and their recording career. Still, it could be even greater if you all help in, making corrections, supplements, additions and comments. There is a lot of Stones information out there. I hope everyone can cooperate, so that all the information can get together. The following is comments from Jens Backlund, Finland. If you have comments, please pass them on to IORR or Felix!

Aeppli and the charts
by Jens Backlund

Felix Aeppli's new book "The Ultimate Guide" (TUG) is huge and great. An hour goes by so fast when you sit down with its numerous details.

I have a few comments ready on Aeppli's section titled "You Got The Silver". This chapter deals with the highest chart positions Stones have made with their hits in the UK and the US. Aeppli choose the charts from the most common sources, i.e. the Record Mirror/Music Week/BBC UK-charts and Billboard's US pop charts. In his previous book "Heart of Stone" (HOS), the limit was made to the top 50, now it is expanded to top 100. So far so good. Aeppli has worked very hard with both of his books, but...

In the book HOS, the B-sidehits "You Can't Always Get What.." (US no. 42) and "Hot Stuff" (US no. 49) were missing. They aren't still mentioned in TUG. Also, the album "England's Newest Hitmakers" is listed as no. 1 in the US in both books. It was in fact no higher than no. 11.

More singles hits are missing in TUG: "Play with Fire", a B-side, went to no. 96 in the US. "Let's Spend the Night Together" is listed as a US non-hit, while it really was no. 55 in Billboard. "In Another Land" got to no. 87 in the US. "Out of Time" (Metamorphosis-version) was no. 81 in the States. "Sweet Thing" reached no. 24 in the UK, no. 84 in US.

"One Hit" is listed as no. 80 in the UK. This was bubbling under the official top 75. If Aeppli wants to have the UK bubblers between 76 and 100, he should at least include (I can't provide a complete list here) "Terrifying"(no. 82) and "Lucky in Love" (no. 91, it is wrongly listed as no. 49 in TUG). US bubblers have always been below the official hot 100...

Some albums are also absent: "Monkey Grip" went to no. 99 in the US. "Gimme Some Neck" was an American chart hit at no. 45. "Main Offender" peaked at no. 45 in the UK. If solo hits are included, why not "Jamming with Edward", which was tumbling the US chart way up to no. 33 in the spring of 1972. I think Billboard credited it to Nicky Hopkins only (shocking!), which could explain much...

Additional errors: "Out of Tears" climbed to no. 38 in the UK, not no. 36. "Throwaway" was no. 67 in the US and not a hit in the UK, it is the other way around (UK no. 67, US non-hit) in the book. "Get Stoned" went to no. 8 in the UK. I know it is listed as no. 13 in some other books... "Dirty Work" peaked at no. 4 in the UK, not no. 3. "London Years-the Singles Collection" reached no. 91 in the US, not no. 88. "She's the Boss" got no higher than no. 13 in the US, it was according to the book a no. 3 hit there.

I wish this could have been shorter...