PLAYLISTICLE: The Rolling Stones [2020]

There has been a trend of big artists being featured on EPs or playlists on streaming services since at least November 2018, when Bruce Springsteen's The Live Series debuted with Songs Of The Road, part of a coordinated effort to fully introduce Springsteen's studio catalog and live recording archive to the streaming world. Springsteen continued The Live Series through 2024, and in that same timeframe, artists like INXS, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, John Lennon, Billy Joel, and the Rolling Stones have also recontextualized parts of their catalogs into virtual EPs or exclusive streaming playlists either as stand-alone projects or as part of larger promotional efforts. As of August 2025, both Queen and Cat Stevens are actively releasing these EPs and playlists to streaming services. From 2020 through 2023, the Rolling Stones released thirty-three playlists and EPs. Today we'll be covering the ones released in 2020.

Just in time for the popular fall holiday that's best enjoyed with music, The Rolling Stones released Halloween on October 30, 2020. In addition to the cool Frankenstein monstered-out version of the band's lips & tongue logo, Halloween contained five thematically suitable songs:

• "Living In A Ghost Town" from 2020 digital download
• "Scarlet" feat. Jimmy Page from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Too Much Blood" from Undercover [1983]
• "Sympathy For The Devil" live from Havana Moon [2016]
• "Beast Of Burden" from Some Girls [1978]

For the November 6, 2020, release of Rainbow, Rolling Stones songs with colors in their titles were gathered for a six-track EP, including "Scarlet" again.

• "Scarlet" feat. Jimmy Page from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Ruby Tuesday" live from Steel Wheels - Atlantic City, New Jersey [2020]
• "Silver Train" Giles Martin 2020 Mix from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Brown Sugar" from Sticky Fingers [1971]
• "Paint It Black" live from Live Licks [2004]
• "Blinded By Rainbows" from Voodoo Lounge [1994]

Goats Head Soup received a Super Deluxe Edition release in 2020, complete with a Giles Martin remix of the original album, a bonus disc of alternative mixes and rarities, as well as a live disc entitled Brussels Affair taken from a pair of shows in Belgium on October 10, 1973. On November 20, 2020, the EP Goats Head Revisited was released with these five Gile Martin 2020 Mix tracks. "Silver Train" makes an encore appearance from Rainbow.

• "Coming Down Again" from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Winter" from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Angie" from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Hide Your Love" from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Silver Train" from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]

The fourth Rolling Stones 2020 EP, Unwind, was released on November 20, 2020, with six tracks:

• "Miss You" from Some Girls [1978]
• "Emotional Rescue" from Emotional Rescue [1980]
• "Rain Fall Down" from A Bigger Bang [2005]
• "100 Years Ago" Piano Demo from Goat's Head Soup [2020 reissue]
• "Waiting On A Friend" from Tattoo You [1981]
• "Slipping Away" live from Stripped [1995]

There are five tracks on the Country EP. It was released on November 27, 2020, and features artwork that resembles a worn handkerchief.

• "Dead Flowers" from Sticky Fingers [1971]
• "Loving Cup" from Exile On Main St. [1972]
• "Far Away Eyes" from Some Girls [1978]
• "Sweet Virginia" from Exile On Main St. [1972]
• "Do You Think I Really Care" from Some Girls [1978]

The Rolling Stones released the Turning Blue And Lonesome EP on December 4, 2020. It contains the following six blues tunes:

• "You Gotta Move" from Sticky Fingers [1971]
• "Stop Breaking Down" from Exile On Main St. [1972]
• "Ride 'Em On Down" from Blue & Lonesome [2016]
• "Ventilator Blues" from Exile On Main St. [1972]
• "Little Red Rooster" live from Live At The El Mocambo
• "Hate To See You Go" from Blue & Lonesome [2016]

The seventh and final Rolling Stones EP of 2020 is Ballads. Released on December 11, 2020, Ballads contains these five tracks, including an encore appearance of "Angie":

• "Wild Horses" from Sticky Fingers [1971]
• "Angie" from Goat's Head Soup [2020]
• "Fool To Cry" from Black and Blue [1976]
• "Out Of Tears" from Voodoo Lounge [1994]
• "Anybody Seen My Baby?" from Bridges To Babylon [1997]

We'll cover the Rolling Stones EPs from 2021 soon.