Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)

Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
Re-release cover
Greatest hits album by The Rolling Stones
Released	12 September 1969
Recorded	8 August 1963 – June 1969
Genre	Rock
Length	42:30
Language	English
Label	London (US), Decca (UK)
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Miller
The Rolling Stones compilations chronology
Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966) Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969) Stone Age (1971)
Original cover
The octagonal cover

Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) is The Rolling Stones' second official compilation album, released in 1969 shortly following Brian Jones's departure from the group and subsequent death. The album was released by Decca Records in the UK and London Records/ABKCO Records in the US.

In September, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), dedicated to Jones, appeared with an octagonal-shaped album cover. Because their first Big Hits compilation had been released in separate formats, with the Aftermath-era material appearing only on its UK edition, the American edition of Big Hits Vol. 2 included hit singles from the Aftermath period.

The British track listing included the more obscure "You Better Move On", from The Rolling Stones' self-titled 1964 debut EP and "Sittin' on a Fence", an Aftermath outtake originally released in 1967 on the US-compiled Flowers album. In addition to those songs, many tracks, notably single-only releases, were collected for the first time on a UK Rolling Stones album: "Let's Spend the Night Together", "Ruby Tuesday", "We Love You", "Dandelion", and "Honky Tonk Women".

Both versions of Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) proved to be popular releases, reaching #2 in the UK and US with enduring sales.

The name of the album is a play on a line from the KJV translation of I Corinthians 13: "For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face...", but it is more likely the Stones intended a homage to Ingmar Bergman and his 1961 film Through a Glass Darkly.

In the inside flap of the album, there is a anonymous poem chosen by Jones, which reads: "When this you see, remember me, and bear me in your mind. Let all the world say what they may, speak of me as you find."

In August 2002 the US edition of Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) was reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.

The British version was again made available to the public as part of a limited edition vinyl box set, titled The Rolling Stones 1964–1969, in November 2010. It was also re-released digitally at the same time.

It was released once more in 2011 by Universal Music Enterprises in a Japanese only SHM-SACD version.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link (UK)
Allmusic	link (US)
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [1]

UK track listing

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 3:40
   • Originally released as a single in May 1968
2. "Mother's Little Helper" – 2:45
3. "2000 Light Years from Home" – 4:45
4. "Let's Spend the Night Together" – 3:36
   • Originally released as a single in January 1967
5. "You Better Move On" (Arthur Alexander) – 2:39
   • Originally released on the 1964 EP The Rolling Stones
6. "We Love You" – 4:22
   • Edited version; originally released as a single in August 1967

Side two

1. "Street Fighting Man" – 3:15
2. "She's a Rainbow" – 4:11
3. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:16
   • Originally released as a single in January 1967
4. "Dandelion" – 3:32
   • Edited version; Originally released as a single in August 1967
5. "Sittin' on a Fence" – 3:02
   • Originally released on the American compilation Flowers in July 1967
6. "Honky Tonk Women" – 3:00
   • Originally released as a single in July 1969

U.S. track listing

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Side one

1. "Paint It Black" – 3:20
2. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:12
3. "She's a Rainbow" – 4:35
4. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 3:40
5. "Mother's Little Helper" – 2:40
6. "Let's Spend the Night Together" – 3:29

Side two

1. "Honky Tonk Women" – 3:03
2. "Dandelion" – 3:56
3. "2000 Light Years from Home" – 4:45
4. "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" – 2:33
5. "Street Fighting Man" – 3:10

Personnel

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals, percussion, harmonica
• Brian Jones – guitar, harmonica, sitar, piano, tambura, mellotron, recorder, organ, backing vocals
• Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals, bass guitar
• Mick Taylor – guitar on 'Honky Tonk Women'
• Bill Wyman – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Charlie Watts – drums, percussion

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Top Position
1969	UK Albums Chart	2[2]
1969	Billboard Pop Albums	2[3]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Top Position
1969	"Honky Tonk Women"	UK Top 50 Singles	1[2]
1969	"Honky Tonk Women"	The Billboard Hot 100	1[4]

Certification

Country	Certification	Sales
United States	Platinum	1,000,000[5]

References

1. Marcus, Greil (18 October 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone (San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.) (44): 42. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
2. "The Rolling Stones - Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
3. "Through the Past, Darkly: Big Hits, Vol. 2 - Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
4. "The Rolling Stones - Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
5. "Rolling Stones - Platinum Albums". RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database. Retrieved 29 June 2014.