Thanks to some boring old record company disputes, we've had to wait a surprisingly long time for the men in suits to come up with the definitive Rolling Stones compilation. Now that it's here, however, it's only fair to salute a job well done - this handsome 40-track collection (one for every year they've been together) is the perfect reminder that the Stones really once were, as they proclaimed, the best rock'n'roll band in the world. The first CD naturally contains all their well-worn 60s classics and is, you suspect, the one most casual listeners will really want to have. It would be a shame to overlook the second disc completely, however, since it does an excellent job of plucking out the more worthy material from the band's decidedly more erratic last three decades - and also squeezes in four new songs which, against all the odds, are surprisingly good. Fans may have quibbles about the track selection (why no 'Waiting on a Friend'?) and, needless to say, there's no substitute for hearing the original albums - but as a colourful, slickly-packaged slice of vintage rock'n'roll nostalgia, Forty Licks is virtually impossible to find fault with.

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