The Rolling Stones captured live, long after The Beatles had ceased playing live. The sound of this album is pretty muddy, raw - but the rawness adds to the excitement. It's The Rolling Stones being showmen ( Mick, "you don't want me to drop my trousers do you?", "YES!" reply the crowd, alarmingly! ) etc, etc. The tracklisting is pretty cool, the guitar is VERY cool all through the rhythm and blues stomper that is Carol. That's arrived after a mighty fine version of 'Jumpin Jack Flash', the single that restored The Rolling Stones reputation after 'Satanic Majesties' had made people wonder what the hell was going on. 'Stray Cat Blues', oooh, I adore the guitar and I wish I was there!! Ah, I wasn't born, what can I do, travel back in time?? 'Beggars Banquet' is such a fantastic album anyway and this version of the song from said album starts all slow, moves and grooves as it goes along, and Keith Richards proves himself to be a guitar god once and for all. Live Rolling Stones is something different, a little. It's a show, and it's fab from a musical point of view, offering something slightly different from the studio versions which were never as raw or genuine as this. So, we have mistakes. We have all sorts of things. We have Keith flying during his guitar solo, relying on talent and instinct, more than remembering what it was he was actually meant to be playing in first place!
Things continue, a gorgeous 'Love In Vain' that breaks my heart and has me weeping. A nine minute long 'Midnight Rambler', stupendous, etc, etc. A live 'Sympathy For The Devil' that lacks the carefully crafted mood of the studio original but still reveals itself to be a fine song in any case. Come 'Live With Me', the groove and kick is infectious, come the closing brace of 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Street Fighting Man' we learn that a)The Rolling Stones were fantastic and b)that "Charlie's good tonight, innie?", which indeed it appears he was, bless him. Oooh, a story!! This is so funny! One Xmas, a couple of years ago now, I travelled down to see my parents, as you do. My dad was unemployed at the time, and there was a job in the paper. "It's working at old Charlie Watts place" said my dad. To which my brother Jason replied, "Isn't he the drummer for The Rolling Stones?" and he laughed. To which my dad replied, "yeah, he's looking for a groundsman". And we were like, SILENCE! How cool would that have been?? My dad working for Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, lol! here. Charlie has a load of land, a farmhouse and horses right in Devon, where my family are from!! The only sad thing is my Dad didn't get the job, goddamit. I could have gone around telling everyone that my father works for The Rolling Stones. How rock n roll would that be??!
Jumpin Jack Flash / Carol / Stray Cat Blues / Love In Vain / Midnight Rambler / Sympathy For The Devil / Live With Me / Little Queenie / Honky Tonk Women / Street Fighting Man
Things continue, a gorgeous 'Love In Vain' that breaks my heart and has me weeping. A nine minute long 'Midnight Rambler', stupendous, etc, etc. A live 'Sympathy For The Devil' that lacks the carefully crafted mood of the studio original but still reveals itself to be a fine song in any case. Come 'Live With Me', the groove and kick is infectious, come the closing brace of 'Honky Tonk Women' and 'Street Fighting Man' we learn that a)The Rolling Stones were fantastic and b)that "Charlie's good tonight, innie?", which indeed it appears he was, bless him. Oooh, a story!! This is so funny! One Xmas, a couple of years ago now, I travelled down to see my parents, as you do. My dad was unemployed at the time, and there was a job in the paper. "It's working at old Charlie Watts place" said my dad. To which my brother Jason replied, "Isn't he the drummer for The Rolling Stones?" and he laughed. To which my dad replied, "yeah, he's looking for a groundsman". And we were like, SILENCE! How cool would that have been?? My dad working for Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, lol! here. Charlie has a load of land, a farmhouse and horses right in Devon, where my family are from!! The only sad thing is my Dad didn't get the job, goddamit. I could have gone around telling everyone that my father works for The Rolling Stones. How rock n roll would that be??!
Jumpin Jack Flash / Carol / Stray Cat Blues / Love In Vain / Midnight Rambler / Sympathy For The Devil / Live With Me / Little Queenie / Honky Tonk Women / Street Fighting Man