The Rolling Stones Release 'Made in the Shade'

Made in the Shade, released in 1975, is the first official compilation album by The Rolling Stones during their Atlantic Records contract.

It draws entirely from their first four albums on that label.

The Stones had two previous "official" compilation albums on Decca Records, Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) in 1966 and Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) in 1969. In addition, 1971's Hot Rocks 1964-1971 and 1972's More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) were released by Allen Klein's ABKCO Records without The Rolling Stones' authorization.

The material on Made in the Shade surveys the highlights from the band's post-Decca/London era thus far, from 1971's Sticky Fingers to It's Only Rock 'n' Roll from 1974, with no new material.

Released in the summer of 1975, in the down period between Mick Taylor's departure and as the Stones were auditioning guitarists during the recording of 1976's Black and Blue (coincidentally, the '60s rarities comp Metamorphosis also came out in the summer of 1975), Made in the Shade offers a perfunctory summary of the Stones' records from the first half of the '70s.