Rod Stewart "Live 1975-1998" 4-CD box set

Finally finished Side 1 and 4. I loved Side 1. Great set list and sound very raw and gritty. I also enjoyed side 4. It might have my favorite Rod song in Handbags and Gladrags on it. All in all, for 32 dollars shipped a good deal.

I would say if I had to choose though I would go with the Rod Stewart Sessions which I also got for the same price. It is fairly expensive new. But at the same price to me a no brainer.

 

Can someone let me know if Sailing and I Don't Want To Talk About It are without any strings/backing vocals?? I am just going to buy maybe ten tracks from his Leicester/Newcastle gigs and am wondering about that concerning these two performances.

 

Sessions was a real pleasant surprise, I would have grabbed the Footloose deluxe in a heartbeat.

 

Aaaaaaahhh - stop calling them "sides"! They're different discs!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

Sailing sounds like there is a faint string accompaniment with some backing vocals. I Don't Want To Talk About It seems to be clear of strings/backing vocals.

 

Thanks much. Well one out of two seems like a sure winner, and the other I may just have to give it a try. Problem with me downloading more than a few individual songs, lossy too, as opposed to buying the physical product is there is no resale value on the downloads, unlike the physical product. I'm looking at disc 1 and a few tracks on disc 2 as sort of more bonus material to add to the deluxe versions of AC and ANOTT.

 

I guess I have to get out of my out album habit. It is OK to say Disc 1 right??

 

That would be nice!

 

Yes, but would that be prospective lp sides 1,2,3, or 4 of disc one, and/or disc four? .

 

Starting slowly with some individual songbuys. Wow. I can understand the lyrics to Three Time Loser for the first time and the band cooks and the vocals are on fire, . Big Bayou - a swampy rave on rave up, . In Wild Side of Life, I think the vocals sound better than the studio version, and I think I might feel the same about 3 Time and BBayou. To my ears, wish the drums were a little bit more upfront in BBayou, but another winning concert performance and recording. I like how the audience is audible but perfectly barely so, in I Don't Want To Talk About It. Another strong vocal. Pretty arrangement, but tasteful, and not over the top with too much sugar. Get Back rocks. Sounds like RS and band have something important and essential to prove at the Leicester gig. I think it's got just enough of that Faces magic and RS solo star power. Love how Get Back slows down and the first couplet is drawn out and soulfully crooned and caressed! Wow, for 5 recordings, I'm a happy camper, and will be back for a few more tunes!

Thoughts anyone on Sweet Little Rock and Roller? Angel? Maggie? The samples sound great. With every one of them at over 7 minutes long, is there a lot of vamping or audience singing?

 

Three Time Loser
Big Bayou
Wild Side of Life
Get Back
I Don't Want To Talk About It

I have to talk about it after burning it to a cdr. The sound and playing of the band and Mr Stewart's vocals are smokin' and golden. Absolutely essential stuff, imo, with the in-concert rockers slaying the studio performances.
One more LP side to go, . Wish there were more recordings from the mid 70's included in the cd set, but it's probably worth it just for what there is of that era that is included.

last time I checked Wolfgang's Vault had a bunch of late 70s show's they had as part of their KBFH archives.

 

A lot of this was sing-a-longs. I can't be specific about the ones you mentioned, but there seemed to be a good deal of it.

 

Some of that would be nice to have edited out when possible.

 

Attended that 89 Meadowlands show, my jaw dropped when he did the Jeff Beck Group tune. Now I'm seriously considering this set. Let's just say I got a soft spot for the old whore.

 

I'm a-waitin' on my Japanese version of this set.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the performances and the recordings on this 4 CD set. Quite good ... Oh and Rod being in good voice.

 

Beck was briefly on that tour, IIRC. He would do a mini set in the middle with his own band, then Rod would come on and they'd do Infatuation and 2-3 old tunes.
Beck was out of there pretty quickly, it was a bizarre arrangement.

 

I believe the band had a book open on how long Jeff would last...

Before getting this set I was sure I had heard most of the tracks on boots years ago.
Turns out that I had gigs from the same tours but apart from Meadowlands, not the same concerts...and even for Meadowlands, not all the songs on this set were on the boot..

Any thoughts on on covers - Dock of the bay, Hungry heart, Baby please don't go? I have heard them often, but anyone hearing them as a fresh thing?

 

Actually, I did not like any of them. The best of the three, for me, was Baby. Honestly, I am not a big cover guy though.

 

Hungry Heart is Rod (almost solo) on acoustic guitar--for me, the highlight of the box.
BPDG is eh.
I think Rod's voice on Dock of the Bay sounds a bit beat up.
He did a fantastic rendition years ago on a TV special live from the Apollo (with Nile Rogers in the band), just nailed the song. The crowd was in his hand. Gotta dig that out.

 

I couldn't resist downloading You Wear It Well. Seems to me like the performance could fall apart at any given moment, but they manage to keep it together and it's just such a great tune and lyric. Blew it without even trying - almost! Ragged and loose suits it though.

 

I thought that was in '84 ... Did Jeff Beck tour with Rod in '89, too? I doubt it because he toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan that fall, I believe.

 

Beck was on the '84 tour for only a handful of dates before he left -- that was the last time they toured together in any capacity.

 

Wrong, they appeared on the same bill, in 1995. The bill was, in this order: Keb Moe, Santana, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart. I was at the show in George, Wa. I can't recall, but there may have been a few dates, but there was at least this one. I was there.

JB, jumped on a helicopter and left the grounds immediately after his blazing set. The show/mini tour was, as in the past, billed as one where JB was to join Rod on stage for "People Get Ready" and a couple of others. Just before Rod played "People Get Ready", he announced that "Jeff was supposed to come out for this one, but it appears he's gone home....so we'll make due without him."

In addition, and there is YouTube video for this, if you search "Rod Stewart Jeff Beck Wiltern." Just a few years ago, Rod surprised Jeff....definitely not staged....when he came out from back stage at the Wiltern Theatre in L.A. to rip through a few tunes. A crazy surprise, and an absolute gift for those in attendance.

Jeff Beck played with Rod for the last time on that 1984 Camouflage tour in B.C.

I was at the 1st show after JB had left. The entire tour, including the show I was at, was promoted with JB on the bill.

It was a great performance nonetheless. For the 2nd and final encore, Rod came out and told the crowd that he'd play one more song. By a round of applause, it would be decided. The choices were: "Infatuation" (for a 2nd time/very popular at the time), "I Was Only Joking", or "You Wear It Well." The winner....."Infatuation", but Rod said "What the hell.....let's play em' all!"

The radio stations were the ones to report that Rod and JB had another falling out, and the rumors swirled that he was off the tour beginning that evening, a lot of ppl were bummed, including me. Rod never made any mention of it, but he more than made up for it.

 

As a mostly casual Rod Stewart fan, I found this very enjoyable; hard for me to imagine any real fan not having it.