(Corrects Bob Ludwig’s first name in paragraph 10)

Rolling Stones fans are a grumpy lot these days. 
   
The band has not toured since August 2007, triggering a painful withdrawal period for acolytes of the death-defying rockers; a CD reissue program turned out to be an anticlimax; and now the Stones’ new label has censored one of their raunchier tunes. 
    
Universal Music has licensed the rights to the group’s post-1960s albums, and released the first batch three weeks ago: remastered versions of “Sticky Fingers” (1971), “Goats Head Soup” (1973), “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll” (1975) and “Black And Blue” (1976). 
    
Fans were initially thrilled about the prospect of the new reissue program, contemplating discs jam-packed with bonus material. That soon turned to disappointment and then outrage when it emerged that any outtakes, demos and other goodies will stay in the vaults.  
    
The previous remastering program took place in 1994, when the band was signed to Virgin Records, and those discs remain the gold standard. (Universal has held back the reissue of 1972’s “Exile on Main Street” until early 2010, promising “wider plans for this title.”)
    
But sharp-eared fans at the Web site It’s Only Rock n’ Roll have noticed a difference between the Universal and Virgin versions of “Goats Head Soup,” and they are not thrilled. In the groupie put-down “Star Star,” a vulgar synonym for the female genitals has been obscured, as has a reference to late actor John Wayne. 
   
Both phrases were obscured when the album first came out in 1973. In fact the album’s U.S. release was delayed by several months because Atlantic Records, the group’s label at the time, wanted to drop the song completely. Moreover, the Stones were forced to change the original title, which has always been heard in its full glory, chanted about 65 times during the song.  
    
The Virgin reissue restored both the naughty word — which begins with a “p” — and the John Wayne reference to the couplet “Yeah, I’ll make bets that you’re gonna get John Wayne before he dies.”
    
So who’s to blame for the problem? No one is talking: That includes publicists for both the Rolling Stones and Universal, as well as officials at Marcussen Mastering Studios, the Hollywood firm handling the Universal reissues. 
    
It’s likely Marcussen worked from the tapes supplied by the Stones camp. At least, that’s what happened with the Virgin Records program, says mastering engineer Bob Ludwig, who handled that project.
 
“Sometimes the clients intentionally want us to change things,” Ludwig said via email, recalling that the Stones requested a “small number of … little changes,” such as restoring Sonny Rollins’ extended sax solo on the “Tattoo You” track “Slave.” 
    
“When I did the re-mastering I was told that Keith (Richards) really got into it and set up a vinyl turntable, had someone re-buy all the original vinyl issues, and did lots of comparisons,” Ludwig said.

If Universal ends up recalling the album or refunding fans, it shouldn’t break the coffers at the world’s biggest record company too much. The reissued album has sold fewer than 100 copies in the United States, according to a music industry source.

The Rolling Stones are once again reissuing all their post-1971 studio albums, but fans hoping for bonus tracks won’t get any satisfaction.

Instead Universal Music Group, which took over the band’s catalog last year, said on Thursday that 13 of the albums would simply be remastered. Special, undisclosed plans were underway for a 14th album, the band’s 1972 opus “Exile on Main Street,” which will come out later in the year.

No reissue plans were announced for any of the band’s live albums from the the era, such as “Love You Live” and “Stripped,” or its many compilations.

The reissues will roll out in three batches, grouped by the albums’ original release dates, beginning on May 4 with 1971’s “Sticky Fingers,” 1973’s “Goats Head Soup,” 1974’s “It’s Only Rock’n'Roll” and 1976’s “Black And Blue.”

Four albums — 1978’s “Some Girls,” 1980’s “Emotional Rescue,” 1981’s “Tattoo You” and 1983’s “Undercover” — will roll out on June 8.

The final five — 1986’s “Dirty Work,” 1989’s “Steel Wheels,” 1994’s “Voodoo Lounge,” 1997’s “Bridges To Babylon” and 2005’s “A Bigger Bang” will reach stores on July 8.

The band’s previous label, Virgin Records, launched a reissue program in 1994 with deluxe versions of the catalog, from “Sticky Fingers” to “Tattoo You.” While they did not contain bonus tracks, the packaging was designed to mimic the original vinyl releases. The cover of “Sticky Fingers,” for example, contained a working zipper.

Universal officials were not available for comment to discuss specifics of the reissue plan.

The band’s 1960s catalog is owned by former manager Allen Klein’s ABKCO Records, which reissued most of the original albums in 2002.

Even if Keith Richards did not vote for Mick Jagger in Rolling Stone magazine’s recent poll of the 100 greatest singers of all time, all is apparently peace and love with rock’s longest-wed couple.

The Rolling Stones guitarist was one of 179 high-profile voters in the survey. They had to choose their top 20 singers in order, and the magazine has published some of the ballots on its Web site (http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/24160218/the_100_greatest_singers_inside_t/photo/1).

Richards’ top pick was Aretha Franklin, who ended up coming in at No. 1 overall. His ballot included the usual suspects: collaborators (George Jones, Toots Hibbert), people whose songs he has covered (Jimmy Cliff, Buddy Holly), and old buddies (Gram Parsons, Tom Waits). And of course, he voted for himself at No. 20.

One glaring omission: his former schoolmate and current bandmate of almost half a century, Mick Jagger, who came in at No. 16 on the overall list.

The so-called “Glimmer Twins” have had their issues in the past, breaking up the band in the 1980s, and even as recently as 2003 an infuriated Richards tried to push Jagger off the stage during a concert in Osaka for no apparent reason.

But Richards’ manager Jane Rose — each member has his own manager — quickly doused any talk of a new rift.

“They are all getting on well,” she wrote via email. “When Keith got the ballot he just thought his vote was for ‘outside’ the family. If Keith Richards did not think Mick was his favorite, they would not be the Glimmer Twins!”

So why the vote for himself? Richards sings two songs at every Stones show, an interlude that usually sends the uncultured masses to the beer stands. For the die-hards, it’s the best thing about the show.

When Q magazine asked Jagger in 1989 if Richards’ voice was one that only a mother could love, he diplomatically sidestepped the issue: “You said that, I didn’t! Ask his mum! Ask Doris! That’s it! I ain’t saying any more!”

If there’s any consolation for Mick, it’s that Keith did not vote for a certain person with whom he has an even more complex relationship, Chuck Berry (No. 41 overall). But that’s another can of worms…

Reporting by Dean Goodman

Photos by Reuters