The Rolling Stones have announced plans for a deluxe, expanded reissue of their 1976 album Black and Blue in advance of its 50th anniversary. The Black and Blue reissue will be released on November 15 and will be available in multiple configurations and formats.
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These include “Super Deluxe” five-LP vinyl and four-CD box sets, both including a Blu-ray disc; two-CD and two-LP packages; and single-CD and single-LP releases. All versions will feature a new remix of the original eight-song album created by studio whiz Steven Wilson.
The CD and vinyl box set also feature previously unreleased studio recordings from the Black and Blue sessions, and rare live performances from 1976. The box sets come with a 100-page hardback book featuring a new essay by Stones expert Paul Sexton, photos from the album sessions and supporting tour, and a replica of a 1976 concert poster.
One of the unreleased studio recordings, a cover “Shame, Shame, Shame, a 1975 soul hit for the disco group Shirley & Company, has been made available as an advance digital single. A new music video for the track will debut on The Stones’ official YouTube channel on Wednesday, September 25, at 11 a.m. ET.
More About Black and Blue
Released in May 1976, Black and Blue was The Rolling Stones’ 15th U.S. studio effort. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band’s sixth U.S. chart-topper.
The Stones released two singles from the record, the ballad “Fool to Cry” and the funky “Hot Stuff.” “Fool to Cry” peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Hot Stuff” only reached No. 49.
Other standout tracks include “Cherry Oh Baby,” a cover of a 1971 reggae song by Eric Donaldson, and the melodic ballad “Memory Motel.”
Black and Blue was recorded during a transitional period for the band following the 1974 departure of guitarist Mick Taylor.
During the Black and Blue sessions, several guitarists auditioned for the group, and three wound up playing on the album—Ronnie Wood of Faces, former Canned Heat member Harvey Mandel, and lauded session guitarist Wayne Perkins.
Jeff Beck and Robert A. Johson also took part in the sessions, but did not appear on the record. Around the time the album was recorded, Wood, still a member of Faces, had taken part in The Stones’ 1975 tour.
Ronnie played electric guitar on three tracks on Black and Blue, and lent backing vocals to five tunes.
Perkins, who had previously recorded with Joni Mitchell and Bob Marley and the Wailers, played guitar on three songs, including “Fool to Cry.” Mandel contributed guitar to “Hot Stuff” and “Memory Motel.”
Keyboardists Billy Preston and Nicky Hopkins, both frequent Stones collaborators, also contributed to multiple tracks on the album.
Black and Blue went on to be certified platinum by RIAA for sales of 1 million copies in the U.S. Wood, of course, was chosen as The Stones’ new guitarist and has been a member of the band ever since.
More About the Black and Blue Box Set
Besides the “Shame, Shame, Shame” cover, among the unreleased studio tracks featured on the box set is a Mick Jagger-Keith Richards original called “I Love Ladies.” There are also four studio jams featuring some of the guest guitarists took part in the sessions—Beck, Mandel, and Johnson.
The super deluxe collection also features a full recording of concert the band played during six-night residency at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Centre in May 1976. The show included appearances by Preston, founding Stones piano player Ian Stewart and percussionist Ollie Brown, who all had contributed to Black and Blue.
The Blu-ray features a previously unreleased TV broadcast of a 1976 Rolling Stones show at the Paris venue Les Abattoirs. The disc also offers Dolby Atmos and high-resolution stereo mixes of the studio album and the Earls Court concert.
A limited-edition version of the vinyl box set featuring discs pressed on black-and-blue-marbled vinyl also be available from select online retailers.
More Information About the Reissues
The Black and Blue reissues can be pre-ordered now. The two-CD and two-LP versions also feature the unreleased studio outtakes and jams.
A limited-edition LP version of Black and Blue featuring a zoetrope vinyl design will be available exclusively at The Rolling Stones’ online store.
Black and Blue Super Deluxe Four-CD/Blu-ray Track List:
Disc 1: Steven Wilson Remix 2025
- “Hot Stuff”
- “Hand of Fate”
- “Cherry Oh Baby”
- “Memory Motel”
- “Hey Negrita” (Inspiration by Ron Wood)
- “Melody” (Inspiration by Billy Preston)
- “Fool to Cry”
- “Crazy Mama”
Disc 2: Outtakes and Jams
- “I Love Ladies”
- “Shame, Shame, Shame”
- “Chuck Berry Style Jam” (with Harvey Mandel)
- “Blues Jam” (with Jeff Beck)
- “Rotterdam Jam” (with Jeff Beck and Robert A. Johnson)
- “Freeway Jam” (with Jeff Beck)
Disc 3: Live at Earls Court 1976
- “Honky Tonk Women”
- “If You Can’t Rock Me/Get Off My Cloud”
- “Hand of Fate”
- “Hey Negrita” (Inspiration by Ron Wood)
- “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”
- “Fool to Cry”
- “Hot Stuff”
- “Star Star (Starf—er)”
- “You Gotta Move”
- “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
- Band Intro
- “Happy”
- “Tumbling Dice”
- “Nothing from Nothing”
- “Outa-Space”
Disc 4: Live at Earls Court 1976 (continued)
- “Midnight Rambler”
- “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”
- “Brown Sugar”
- “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
- “Street Fighting Man”
- “Sympathy for the Devil”
Blu-Ray Disc
–Black and Blue (Steven Wilson Remix 2025)
(track list same as above)
-Live at Earls Court 1976
(track list same as above)
-Les Rolling Stones Aux Abattoirs, Paris-Juin 1976
- Band Intro
- “Honky Tonk Women”
- “Hand of Fate”
- “Fool to Cry”
- “Hot Stuff”
- “Star Star”
- “You Gotta Move”
- “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
- Band Introductions
- “Happy”
- “Outa-Space”
- “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
- “Street Fighting Man”
(Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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