Ultimate Classic Rock

Arriving in the midst of a creative peak for the Rolling Stones, 1969's 'Let It Bleed' also found the band in flux -- and dealing with the hangover of the peace, love, and controlled substances of the '60s. Lurking deep in the album's second side, 'Monkey Man' highlights both sides of the band during this fertile yet uncertain era.

Just because this one is a cover doesn't mean we can't love it tenderly! Even the Rolling Stones had idols, mentors and rock star heroes that they were in awe of. And such a scenario can be be noticed in their rambunctious, rhythmic cover of American bluesman Slim Harpo's song 'Shake Your Hips.'

At another attempt to show just how versatile their music can be, the Rolling Stones decided to put together the surfer-esque styled yet never fleeting rock 'n roll tune of 'Hang Fire.' The track is off of the bands 1981 album 'Tattoo You.'

If you think there was something wrong -- as some fans contend -- with the Rolling Stones dabbling in dance and disco rhythms as powerfully and capably as they do on 'Dance (Pt. 1),' the opening track to their 1980 album 'Emotional Rescue,' we'd like to invite you to explain it to us.

Country music can be flat-out-rocking when the Rolling Stones are at the wheel. On this 1978 track from the album 'Some Girls,' the Stones create an interesting Gram Parsons-like song, complete with tremendous tongue-in-cheek lyrics that follow a lonesome man who meets a girl -- yes, with far away eyes -- while traveling through Bakersfield on a Sunday.

Allow us to introduce you to another great tune from the 1976 record 'Black and Blue,' specifically 'Hot Stuff', which shows yet again just how far the Rolling Stones are able to stretch their musical palette.

Hidden on side one of the Rolling Stones' 1974 LP 'It's Only Rock & Roll,' 'Til The Next Goodbye' is one of the album's highlights. Mick Jagger delivers a moving, seemingly sincere, ballad, woven from the same country-influenced cloth that had served them so well since the dawn of the decade.

This brooding track opens up the Rolling Stones' 1973 album 'Goats Head Soup' on a rather ominous note. As Stones guitarist Keith Richards was slipping further and further into drug addiction, vocalist Mick Jagger was living the celebrity lifestyle.

It appears that the boys of the Rolling Stones can do no wrong. They're rock and roll; they're gospel-like; they're soulful; and with 'Cherry Oh Baby' -- a tune off of 1976's 'Black and Blue' -- they demonstrate their comfort and skill in the world of reggae.

As with most of the 1981 Rolling Stones album 'Tattoo You,' 'Slave' was a leftover track from various '70s sessions. In this case, an unused track from the ''Black And Blue' sessions. It's funk groove would have made a perfect fit on that 1976 album, too, but we're just glad this lost song found a good home.