Best/worst Rolling Stones tours?

Memphis 78 was a hot show with a scorchin' Love in vain, and Sweet Little Sixteen was played at this stop.

Passaic, NJ 78 was good too, the Capitol Theater which holds 1000 people or something like that.

Thankfully lots of soundboards were made by the King Biscuit. Detroit has a good set that is on Wolfgang's Vault.

They were having a good time with a #1 album and #1 single, Keith was out on bail, and it looked like this might really be the last time.

 

Best: 1969- simply watch the "Gimme Shelter" dvd. Close 2nd: 1972. I was only 8 yrs old, but my older brother saw them at Madison Sq Garden. I was watching the '72 clips on You Tube- they were showing sings of sloppiness, and speeding the songs up, compared to '69 (probably the adrenline rush), but after that... geez...., I dont see how anyone could think the '75, 78, '81, 89, 94 etc,, Tours were superior...

"Get Yer Ya Yas Out" speaks for itself.

 

That about sums it up, and identifies one of the small factors that puts 1972 slightly but significantly behind 1969.

 

These tours are all different. 1969 was sloppy as hell, listen to Ya-Yas again.

They were playing tighter (in a good way) in 1994 than in 72. And they had more songs, a much longer set list.

In 73 I would say they sounded better than 72 as Mick Taylor was peaking with them.

So you think it was adrenline they were on in 1972 that made them speed things up a tad?

 

Yes, the tours were all different but that doesn't mean one can't express one's preference from among them. I think Taylor was better in 1972 than in 1973. He was good then too, but I think he played better earlier when he was still exploring the Exile and pre-Exile tunes. I think they sped things up in 1972 because they had honed the machine by then in the sense that Keith felt entirely confident in his open-G rhythm role.

 

Seen tHe ROLLInG StonES play live in
1973,1976,1999 & 2007.

My preference would be
1973,1999,1976 and lastly 2007
in that order.

 

Wow, some good and varied shows.

Now 73 was where they speeded up some tunes. But it was fine cause they were so good. I think the definitive Midnight Rambler comes from 1973.... blows Get Yer Ya-Ya's version out of the water. That's saying a lot.

 

hi jeff,

What do you think of LOVE you live LP 1978
I remember thinking it was great in 1978..not heard it in yonks ?

 

I think it is fantastic. And because you saw 1976, it is a good document for you I would guess. What makes the album great is that it is recorded and mixed really well. Song selection is nice, and performances are good. It also stays away from tunes included on other live albums for the most part. So it has a place of it's own. The Macombo Club side is a lot of fun and also recorded well. Just a great sounding live album that gets a bum rap because it was coming off of Black and Blue, and Only R n' R before that.

I love Keith's guitar sound on the Honky Tonk intro. And the audience clapping is in rhythm which gives it a great vibe.

 

Worst show was the 1978 Tour at the Greensboro Coliseum. Awful sound, sloppy performance, and they didn't have enough PA for the room. Rough start for the Stones w/ Ronnie. Plus somebody barfed on the floor right near where I was standing and folks kept stepping in it all night.... ick!

It's amazing how much better Ronnie Woods is during the Faces era. When he's forced to carry the load, he can be an awesome player.

 

1965, London, Ontario (my home town, I was 13 at the time)...Brian Jones era, but a power-outage at their concert sparked a riot and the concert ended abruptly. The Stones blamed the police for ordering the power to their instruments cut.

1972, Toronto, Ontario...Stevie Wonder opened for the Stones, who I thought played a great concert.

1975, Buffalo, New York...one of the worst concerts I've attended. The Stones were extremely late getting to the stage, and the performance was forgettable. We then had to endure the late night bus trip back home to London. :thumbsdn:

 

Excuse the blurred pic (damned camera phone) but can you see your hand in this one?

 

The Stones we're an average live band at best until 1973. They continued on a downward spiral to today where the band they call the Rolling Stones includes 15+ musicians. IMHO

 

Agreed - AC was great, as was Baltimore. They must like playing smaller, older arenas. As I mentioned earlier, Night 2 at the O2 in London was great too, even though that's a HUGE, new arena! Those were my three favorite BB tour shows by far...

 

I have the DVD of the Stones complete performance from the SARS show and thought they were horrible.
Keith barely touches his guitar for most of the show. When he gets to the mic to say a little thing for the people who have died from SARS he is clearly heavily intoxicated and just mumbles something about angels...

one of the biggest shows ever (and for a great cause) and the guy gets so bombed he probably doesn't even remember being there.

 

The Steel Wheels shows here in Sept of 1989 at CNE Stadium were excellent! (I saw the 2nd show on "labour day" Mon)

Brilliant and one hell of a party!

 

Based on recorded evidence (and it's hard to base a whole tour on a few soundboard recordings). I'd go in this order:

'72
'73
'69
'78
'75
'76
'89
'81

Have never heard a decent recording from the '70/'71 tours. I can't count the Jones era because there aren't ANY good live recordings, imo (except maybe that Hawaiian radio show).

I haven't heard much after '89. I don't like Chuck Leavel (sp?) very much. They trot him out on every single tour, and he seems to be mixed as loud (if not louder) than the guitars.

 

The SARS show is not a good performance. Clearly, they were not prepared. Not to mention that Justin joins them for "Miss You". But, don't judge them by that performance. The latter day Stones can be seen at their best on the original clips from the Saitama performance in 2006 (which was shown on television in Japan). The segments from the officially released DVD have been overdubbed and edited, and actually dilute all of the power of the performance. This is Jumping Jack Flash. Someday, someone will post Midnight Rambler, which is the best live version on tape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Xy7z3RWmk

 

Ditto....Excellent show. If you doubt they can still play? You need to see this one!

 

I do doubt they can still play. Why do they need 15 muscians with them? Lazy

 

That's a legitimate gripe, and most Stones fans would agree that it veers perilously close to Las Vegas, and the last thing the Stones need is a 4-piece horn section and three back up vocalists. Unfortunately, Mick has apparently decided that this works best, and I doubt we'll see any changes.

 

I always wonder about this myself. Besides the Stones, the Who have filled up the stage on occasion, the Moody Blues do it,etc. I'd rather just hear the band.

I assume that the band's are afraid that when they play big arenas just four or five guys on stage would sound and look too puny for the venue.
When they play the occasional random club gig they don't need all the other elephants and fire eaters. I guess everyone eventually succumbs to the traditions of "show business", if they are in the business long enough.

 

1969 US Tour...

It was the best, the Stones in their prime firing on all five cylinders...

and it was the worst,

ending with the Altamont debacle..., all Stones created...


cheers,

 

There is a BBC Recording from Leeds 1971, sadly the first two or three songs are cut, it starts with Dead Fowers. It is an A+ recording and performance.
that along with Brussels 73 and my favorite Handsome girls 78' show how great this band is, when they are on fire... When they suck, they suck better than anyone has ever sucked before.
My first show in Philly at JFK in 1981 was the greatest show ever and Oakland in 2006 was pretty awesome, if those are my bookends, so be it.

 

They want it to sound more like the record which is why the extra muscians. Nothing like hearing Rocks Off, Bitch, & All Down the Line with horns ripping it up just like the early 70s classic albums sounded.