Rolling Stones Album-by-Album Thread (Part 12)

My own experience with "Still Life" is a little prejudiced. I first picked it up as a teenaged Stones fan after reading about it in Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell's book The Worst Rock n' Roll Records of All Time. At that time, my preferred mode of cultural engagement was snark, and I wanted to hear what the Rolling Stones sounded like when they stunk--and that's what I was listening for when I first heard it. Revisiting it, it's quite a bit better than that, although it's still very much lower-case-g good rather than capital-G great.

I think the best part of "Still Life" (and the full-concert download "Hampton Coliseum") are the R&B songs: "Twenty Flight Rock", "Going to a Go-Go", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Time Is On My Side". This is immediately pleasurable stuff when performed by anyone, and it's particularly exciting to hear it played by the Rolling Stones. I especially think it's fun to hear them perform it with the confidence and experience that they have in 1981, which is quite a bit different (not better, but different) from the rawer, less polished way they played this sort of material in 1964. The rest of the album, I think, is OK to good--not stuff to get really excited about, but perfectly good for hearing the Rolling Stones just play.

I think that "Still Life" does suffer to some degree from being constrained to a single album. It has to pick and choose tracks to fit on a single album, and it ends up with kind of a strange tracklisting. It doesn't repeat any material that was on "Love You Live"--which I can't help but think must have been intentional--and so it excludes lots of obvious hits. It also includes the R&B tracks mentioned above, which (if the "Hampton" download is any indication) were the most fun part of the Stones' 1981 setlist, but which are a little unusual for the Rolling Stones' repertoire. These were good ideas, but it does give "Still Life" an assorted hits-and-rarities feel rather than the feel of what an actual Rolling Stones concert would be like, and that makes for a live album that has several enjoyable moments but struggles to really come together as an album.

 

'Still Life' I never liked the performance's are weak and generic sounding to me. This album never clicked with me for a live album it has no punch very dull to me. It's as if they are going through the motions and that is it.

 

Glad you pointed that out, now I realize that's my favorite kind of live Stones: sloppy, half-drunk and going for broke. I think "Texas" has everything they do best, and they weren't half as fun after they polished the rough spots post '78.

 

I like your insight though I was only at the concert and not an owner of the album. A few weeks ago at one of my local shops I couldn't help but notice a plethora of Still Life lps in the rack. Not a good sign if one was considering buying it.

 

I hate to be blunt, but I find Still Life to be nearly unlistenable by usual Stones standards. As a previous poster pointed out, it makes Flashpoint sound great in comparison. Whatever happened to all those great grooves the Stones used to lay down in the early 70's? Everything is played too fast, and this isn't really a great era for Jagger live vocals. I don't like the covers either - I can't stand Goin To A Go-Go. I hate to say it, but I think I prefer junkie Keith's playing over the coked up alcoholic version of Keith. The weaving sounds pretty sloppy to me at times.

 

"Still Life" might have been a little bit more cohesive with different sequencing. One thing I noticed when revisiting it is that while the inclusion of the R&B tracks is great, it's a little strange that they're split between the two sides of the album. It's a little disjointed sometimes, too; for example, the transition between "Shattered" and "Twenty Flight Rock" seems like kind of a sudden shift in pace and tone. So, maybe inspired by the sequencing on "Tattoo You", I just tried a playlist of the tracks on "Still Life" that split the songs between the two halves of the album by style, putting more conventionally rock tracks on the first half of the album, and more R&B tracks (including "Satisfaction") in the second half:

Part one
1. "Under My Thumb"
2. "Let's Spend the Night Together"
3. "Shattered"
4. "Let Me Go"
5. "Start Me Up"

Part two
1. "Twenty Flight Rock"
2. "Going to a Go-Go"
3. "Time Is On My Side"
4. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
5. "Satisfaction"

The album seemed to play better this way. The first half plays quickly and urgently, while the second half slows down and swings more before breaking out more wildly at the end with "Satisfaction". Each half also has a "closer" track--"Start Me Up" on part one, and "Satisfaction" on part two--which follows a pretty typical way to sequence an album by closing each side with strong tracks. I know that this is more different from the order in which the tracks were actually performed in concert, but putting the selections in this order seemed to make the album come together a little more.

 

The Picture Disc is always just missing in everyone's collection. In other words, they meant to get around
to grabbing it but never did.
They were $12.99 in the import bins back through 1983 or so. $25 on ebay right now for those that must have one. And it's a good clean player, not full of pops and clicks. Mick suggests on live cable broadcast: "everyone at home having a good time tonight smokin' a few joints, drinking a few beers at home wit-cha, alright, ALRIGHT!! ALL RIGHT, BABY, Let's Spend the Night Together.....

 

My favorites have always been the first two songs on each side. "How can Time is on My Side" not give you goose bumps when Keith comes in singing his part. Under My Thumb is a scorcher of an opening track, sound good. Let Me Go has some great lead guitar, and then Let's Spend the Night Together is also a great track never appearing on a previously live recording.

So four songs out of ten is not a very good average, but there is a Beast of Burden b-side that ups this from a C+ to a B- almost.

I used to go back to those four tracks until I found the Hampton, VA 3LP boot in <<<Stereo>>> with killer sound.

 

This is late, but I've been listening to Black and Blue a lot lately. I didn't care for it years back, but recently re-added it to my collection and now like it a lot.

Anyway, I remember this ad in some comics at the time and googled to see if I could find it.

 

Whoa, that's a really cool ad.

 

The box set (pictured in post #456 is what I consider "bummer mono".

Here pictured (below) is the stereo mastering from that HBO Hampton, VA broadcast "Happy Birthday Keith". See the close up scan of the entire setlist. It's a pretty great list. In fact I made a 45min. cassette side of thre best stuff from this set. Even my non-Stones fan friends admitted that my tape was rather great.

Cooking versions of Let it Bleed (Ronnie smokes on slide), Honky Tonk is the best live version imo. Little T & A sounds wonderful, Black Limo is a lot of guitar blues weave sparkle, and all in all a great night for the band, and no need to listen to Still Life ever again once I got this 3LP deluxe color cover Stones live set. In some ways I like the mix here better than the Stones archive series download. This is that good.

 

Wow, Keith looks like Bono in that picture (the big one). Anyway, they still were the most exciting (and dangerous) rock and roll band by 1982.

 

^New wave hairdoo.

 

My favorite of all the Tattoo Boards is Dallas on Halloween. Jagger can be really funny sometimes. Was a lot of the crowd dressed up in costume?

 

man, charlie looks pretty out of it in this era -- think he had already started his jazz-cat heroin habit? Midlife crisis of a guy who never really liked rock and roll yet found himself playing it near age 40?

 

at the same time, the taste level is shockingly low at times. One boot is titled "Tight Dresses and Tampax" for his new lyrics to "Sweet Little Sixteen" -- New Barbarians territory. It makes concerts back then sound like they were total low-class bacchanals. Again, a long strange trip from the days of "Lady Jane"...

 

They WERE low-class bacchanals when "Lady Jane" was recorded.

Charlie was always uncomfortable with the press-engagement aspect of the Stones lifestyle. The music-playing aspect never seemed to bother him.

 

More like a million gold coins. I know Nick Kent said it happened, and Stephen Davis just passed it along, but it's pure ********. Keith supposedly "solo'd" for 20 minutes in that thing.

Yeah. That's the Stones. 20 minute guitar solo's are the norm.

Great write up on the lp, botley! I think the peeve of the intro and outro being included on a single album is pretty legit. I think I always listened to Hampton when I wanted to hear 81 anyway, but Still Life is a pretty energetic and cool album. It's gonna sound real nice on this sunny day.

 

Thanks to you all for your write-ups. I just revisited Still Life and will listen to Hampton 81 as soon as my two bottles of Czech beer are cold enough.

 

I like the live "Neighbors" quite a bit in the live Hampton, VA '81 setting. They take an average tune and it becomes a screamin' hot scorcher, Woody's lead guitar, Keith's rhythm with the sax is simply cookin'.

 

Now if you were really into the 1981 Tour, and craving more quality live material, being that Still Life was such a small dose, one would go (once more) for the King Biscuit recordings. The KBFH did not broadcast a full set from one show, but sent out '81 comps using Detroit and Lexington, etc. as Biscuit "Super Groups in Concert" hours. Here you'd find previously unheard live takes of the tour songs.

 

in action photo - the famous woods vs richards fight

 

What happened here? I seem to remember reading about it, but I forget.....

 

It must be played fairly loud, or you can't really fully hear the guitars quite right.