Rolling Stones Begin Releasing Official Bootlegs - Six On Tap

I have dreamt about it, but I never thought it would happen. The Rolling Stones have opened their vaults and begun issuing bootleg concert recordings at extremely reasonable prices (under $10).

Last week, Google Music and the Stones began selling Brussels Affair (Live 1973), a recording from the Forest National in Belgium on October 17, 1973. The Stones' show that afternoon is one of the band's most famous bootlegs and has been described as one of the most incendiary performances of their half-century career. How can you go wrong? HOWEVER, this new album is NOT that bootleg. It's even better!

First, here's the pitch from Stones Archive:

The original bootlegs, sold under such titles as Europe 73, Bedspring Symphony and Brussels Affair, were cobbled together from assorted radio broadcasts, including the syndicated radio programme King Biscuit Flower Hour, and usually contained songs performed at other venues. The new edition, pulled exclusively from the two Brussels gigs, was taken from the original multi-track masters recorded by Andy Johns on the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Longtime Stones collaborator Bob Clearmountain applied the final mix.

The Stones actually played two shows that day. The afternoon show is the one that has been widely booted via King Biscuit, etc. But 12 of the 15 songs on this new live album are from the evening show! Before this release dropped last week, collectors had only six songs from the evening show, in extremely poor quality. (And I didn't even know about those six; I thought nothing circulated.)

What we have is a brand new Stones soundboard from 1973* - straight from the band's own two-track master tapes! (I'm pretty sure I busted a button on my trousers.) And the price is right: $9 for flac files and $7 for 256mp3s. Snippets of the songs can be heard here. (Of course, with minimal rooting around online, you can find it for $0. I found it in less time than it took me to type this parenthetical aside. More on that later)

* - Brown Sugar, Midnight Rambler, Street Fighting Man, and Mick Taylor's first solo in All Down The Line are from the much-booted first show. (Not the entire band on ADTL, though, only Taylor's first solo. He broke a string right at the start and there was no solo!) Everything else on the CD is brand new!

There is a problem, though. People in the United States cannot buy the flac files via the Stones, and Google (wanting to compete with iTunes and others) is selling only the mp3s worldwide. Fans don't know why this is the case. Plus I read that the mp3 version has microgaps between each track. The Stones reportedly will release five more shows over the next year. (Since they have done 1973, a 1972 show may not be among them, so I will accept the two complete El Macombo shows from March 4 and 5, 1977, instead.) Maybe they will get enough flack about the formats and that arrangement will change for the upcoming releases.

Q: So, how does the show sound?

A. It's the Stones. From 1973.

Q: ...

A: ...

Q: ...

A: 1973! The Fuckin Stones!

Longer A: This gig cooks like a motherfucker, but my initial impression is that it cannot touch the white-hot shows in Australia and New Zealand from February 1973, probably the best shows I have ever heard from the band. At that time, the set list was still the same as the infamous 1972 North American tour in support of Exile on Main Street and the band was a ferocious (yet exhilarating) machine. That this show does not match up to February 1973 is like saying $999 isn't quite the same as $1,000.

By late 1973, the band had recorded and released Goats Head Soup and there is a four-song block - Starfucker, Mr. D, Angie, Heartbreaker - from that album in this new show. For the most part, it doesn't matter one whit. The GHS songs are new and fresh, there is an immediacy to them, they have not yet disgenerated into camp. The fullness of the recording makes all of these songs tolerable to me (well, except for Angie). And the mix is stunningly clear, with plenty of separation. This show almost makes Ladies And Gentlemen sound like it was recorded with a hand-held cassette recorder.

Admission: I downloaded the Brussels show for nothing, but I am going to order the flac files as a show of support. For all the bitching I have done about how miserly the Stones have been when it comes to their musical history, paying $9 is just about the least I can do.

Pearl Jam and the Black Crowes are two bands that have allowed their fans to purchase copies of live shows, sometimes on the way out of the arena (!) or the next day. I have no idea if the Stones will offer more than these initial six shows, but I hope so. Putting old concerts online, with some no-frills artwork, cannot cost that much money. Files would be sold online only, no actual CDs. Yes, fans would share them or post them online, but fans have copied LPs, cassettes, and CDs for decades. It cannot be stopped. (However, in my downloading travels, I see next to no Crowes or Pearl Jams shows, so there may be some code of conduct at work here.)

Meanwhile, there are thousands of obsessed fans who cannot believe a show like this has been released. They would unconditionally support a project like this. Post a new show once a week, and sell flac shows for $10. It would be a license to print money.

Happy Birthday, Keef!

Keith Richards is 67!



&: Run Run Rudolph (December 1978)

Top 50 Rolling Stones Songs

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Jagger Explodes!

Plus, I hear there are a few other chaps on stage with him, helping with the delivery!

Ladies & Gentlemen -- tonight!

Ladies And Gentlemen ...

Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones -- the much-bootlegged concert film of the Stones' 1972 American Tour -- is finally being officially released on DVD, on October 12.

But first, there will be a one-night-only showing of the film in select theaters throughout North America: Next Thursday, September 16.

And I have two tickets to the showing in Etobicoke ... I feel like a kid who is going to his first circus!

(I considered watching the boot beforehand, but I think that might ruin some of the excitement. As a 1972 Tour Trainspotter, I know the set list, but the magical moments of brilliance and interplay should probably be as fresh as possible. So I'll stick with these clips: All Down The Line and Happy.)

NPR: 4 Exile Bonus Tracks Posted

Woo-hoo!

Plundered My Soul (4:00)
Dancing In The Light (4:24)
So Divine (Aladdin Story) (4:34)
Loving Cup (Alternate Version) (5:26)

Despite my reservations, this is exciting! The ending of this alternate Loving Cup makes me think it's a different take from the other bootlegged versions. Dancing In The Light is incredibly infectious. ... Of course, the vocals are too damn high on everything.

Exile on Main Street: Pussy Galore / Phish

In the summer of 1986, Pussy Galore recorded a version of Exile on Main Street. The three-day recording

was done as a sort of gag response to Sonic Youth's often-stated intent to cover the Beatles' White Album. [Guitarist] Neil [Hagerty] knew the Stones' "Exile" well and was given the task of interpreting the record and teaching it to the rest of us. Neil would present a song to the band, we would play it a few times, then lay it down. In this manner the entire album was recorded in sequence. By side three everyone had gotten into the swing of it and we were not yet sick of the process. Recorded with the "Pussy Galore Mobile Unit," a borrowed cassette 4-track, in the PG practice space, NYC ...

Only 550 cassette copies of the extremely lo-fi, trashy, hissy mess were made. I bought #426 at See Hear on the Lower East Side soon after moving to Brooklyn. Listen! Do not expect anything even approaching decent sound quality; this tape makes the original Exile (or Metal Machine Music, for that matter) sound like a mint Steely Dan album.

Phish played Exile on Main Street from start to finish during a Halloween concert last year at Festival 8 in Indio, California. Guitarist-singer Trey Anastasio:

The first thing I did was sit down and start learning, note for note, the two guitar players' licks. I really dug in. And lo and behold, there are incredible, distinct guitar lines. It's played with an attitude — that rock & roll attitude. But everybody's playing sloppy together. Sit down someday and try to play along with those drums. It's incredibly intricate. It comes off as sloppy, but it's not sloppy at all.

Also included are scans of the eight-page concert program. Phish lacks the raunch to do Exile's rockers justice, but the soulful, gospel-tinged songs are quite good. Listen (I and II)!

Rocks Off
Rip This Joint
Shake Your Hips
Casino Boogie
Tumbling Dice
Sweet Virginia
Torn And Frayed
Sweet Black Angel
Loving Cup
Happy
Turd On The Run
Ventilator Blues
I Just Want To See His Face
Let It Loose
All Down The Line
Stop Breaking Down
Shine A Light
Soul Survivor

"Exile On Main Street" Week

May 10-14 is "Exile on Main Street Week" on Jimmy Fallon's late night talk show.

He will have a musical guest play a song from Exile each night. Tonight is Green Day; then it's Keith Urban on Tuesday, Sheryl Crow on Wednesday, and Phish on Thursday. (I think there will be other musicians playing with the show's regular band.)

On Friday, Mick Jagger will introduce an excerpt from the new documentary "Stones in Exile" (the full 151-minute DVD will be released in June).

I will have a similar Exile-related post on Thursday.

Previously Unheard Version Of Stones' "All Down The Line" Available For Free

Update, 2:43 AM: Woo-hoo! Got it!

Could someone in the UK be a dear and grab this free mp3 of a previously unknown outtake of "All Down The Line" -- which kicks off Side 4 of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street -- and email it to me?

The track (4:09) is available for free from May 3-9, but not outside the UK, apparently. I'd be happy to upload it and post it here for everyone afterwards. ... I know I'll get it from somewhere eventually, but I want to hear it now! :>)

Thanks!

You can hear two different 30-second snips here. I don't think we yet know when this outtake was recorded, though I assume it was after the well-known acoustic outtake from 1969. ... There is an odd (for the Stones) bit of guitar at the :16 second mark.

Have I posted the mono mix for the 1972 ADTL single? This mix has some studio whooping at the start, and the piano from the great Nicky Hopkins and the gospelish background singers are higher in the mix. Some harmonica from Jagger (buried or missing from Exile) kicks in at about 3:00 and we get a few extra seconds of the song thanks to a longer fadeout. The more prominent piano gives it a lighter and slightly bouncy feel as opposed to the unrelenting locomotive of the Exile mix.

Stones: Plundered My Soul

UPDATE: Bits of six more songs: "Pass The Wine", "I Ain't Signifying", "Dancing In The Light", "So Divine (Aladdin Story)", "Following The River", and "Title 5". Going to have to take some time and compare these to any existing boots.

Alright, NOW I'm droolin'!

[unavailable]

Set to be released tomorrow, you can hear it today:

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This is pretty damn good! Since this is brand new to me, I have to regard this as a new Stones tune, not a tinkered-with (and to what extent?) Exile-era track. I'm at work, there is work to do, and I've listened to this three times in a row. (I may need to rethink some of this.)

Exile On Main Street - The Outtakes & The Price

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Rolling Stones Releasing Remastered Exile With Never-Even-Bootlegged Outtakes (!), So Why Am I Pissed Off?

On May 18, the Rolling Stones will release a remastered version of Exile on Main Street, aka The Greatest Rock And Roll Album of All Time*, with a second CD of ten previously unreleased outtakes from the "Exile era" (1969-72), and some video goodies. Several of the outtakes are completely new even to the obsessive collector, so why am I annoyed instead of being deliriously happy?

*: Don't waste your time - :>) .

Here's why:

The band has gone back and added guitars, vocals, and percussion to some of the nearly 40-year-old tracks, and Mick Jagger has written and sung brand new lyrics for an instrumental.

This is utter bullshit. (And I cannot believe that some Stones fans (judging by posts at the It's Only Rock & Roll discussion board) are cool with it, or taking a wait-and-listen attitude (which actually may not be a bad idea, but it would ruin my rant, so no go); though not everyone).

Some type of funny business was hinted at in the press release (my emphasis):

The unearthed tracks ... have undergone a unique evolution, while staying true to the essence of the 1972 album.

In the words of Lee Elia, my fuckin' ass.

Jesus!! WTF? The Stones finally decide to open its vault a wee bit -- none of the many previous re-releases (save the 40th anniversary edition of Get Yer Yas-Yas Out) have anything extra on them -- and they still found a way to fuck it up.

Jagger was roughly 26-28 years old when the band recorded the songs that eventually ended up on Exile. And the entire band was at the peak of their creativity. Assuming Mick worked on "enhancing" these old tracks last year, he was 64 or 65 years old -- with the last truly great song he wrote nothing more than a distant memory. His voice and mindset cannot possibly the same.

Almost all of the songs on 1981's Tattoo You were culled from various studio sessions dating back to 1972. The Stones either completely re-recorded the songs or worked with the old tapes. This is something different. These 10 tracks are not being presented as a brand new Stones album. They are being sold with the already-existing album in a manner that has been done a lot over the last decade or two, releasing demos or in-progress versions of songs either on the official album or considered for inclusion but dropped. It's a way of giving fans a deeper look at what the band was creating at that time (and an easy way to get them to spend money on another copy of something they already own).

It's not a perfect analogy, but ... what if Martin Scorcese released a new DVD of Taxi Driver, with some clips of a modern-day Robert De Niro acting out some scenes that were cut from the classic film. Sure, De Niro was 32 then, and is 66 now, but that shouldn't affect anyone's enjoyment of a totally-cool, behind-the-scenes experience, right?

The new Exile will be sold in three formats: (a) the remastered 18-track CD; (b) a deluxe edition, with the 10 bonus tracks; and (c) a super deluxe set that also includes a vinyl edition of the album, a documentary 30-minute* DVD with footage from Cocksucker Blues, Ladies and Gentlemen..., and Stones In Exile (a new film that includes footage from the recording sessions), as well as a 50-page collector's book with photos (for roughly $150).

*: A total 30 minutes? Wow!

(End Part I)

Off-Day Outtakes: Rolling Stones - Tattoo You

We'll do the same thing with this 1981 Stones album that we did with Some Girls last week.

Again, this may not be complete, but it's a good start. Further complicating the problem of completeness is that this set -- called Tattoo Too -- runs a bit fast, so the 9:39 version of "Slave" here is (I believe) identical to the 10:13 version on Rogue's Tattoo You Sessions. The two songs in italics are from the Rogue release.

There really ought to be a fan project to collect all of the songs for the various late 70s/early 80s albums because so many tracks circulate.

Notes: "Start Me Up" began as a reggae-ish song ("Never Stop") during the Black & Blue sessions. ... "Slave 1" is an instrumental with some amazingly crunchy guitars. This song may rank as the greatest Stones groove of all time. ... "Tops" and "Waiting On A Friend" date all the way back to 1972; guitarist Mick Taylor had to sue the band to get his share of royalties for his contributions to the album.

Disc 1
01  Start Me Up (Munich, 3-4/75)             4:23
02  Start Me Up (Paris, 10/77-3/78)          3:42
03  Hang Fire (Paris, 10/77-3/78)            6:18
04  Hang Fire (Paris, 10/77-3/78)            6:06
05  Hang Fire (Paris, 10/77-3/78)            2:24
06  Hang Fire (Paris, 10/77-3/78)            2:26
07  Slave (Rotterdam, 1-2/75)                6:58
08  Slave (Paris, 6-10/79)                   9:39
09  Slave (New York, 4-6/81)                 8:16
10  Slave                                    8:35
11  Little T&A (Nassau, 1-2/79)              3:40
12  Little T&A (Nassau, 1-2/79)              4:12
13  Black Limousine (Paris, 10/77-3/78)      3:15
14  Black Limousine (Paris, 10/77-3/78)      4:08
15  Black Limousine (Paris, 6-10/79)         3:35
  
Disc 2
01  Black Limousine (Paris, 6-10/79)         4:02
02  Black Limousine                          3:48
03  Neighbors (Nassau, 1-2/79)               3:22
04  Worried About You (Rotterdam, 1-2/75)    7:42
05  Worried About You (Paris, 6-10/79)       7:21
06  Tops (Los Angeles, 11/72)                4:38
07  Tops (Paris, 6-10/79)                    4:03
08  Heaven (Paris, 10/77-3/78)               5:14
09  Heaven (Paris, 10-11/80)                 5:22
10  No Use In Crying (Paris, 6-10/79)        3:33
11  No Use In Crying (Paris, 6-10/79)        4:27
12  No Use In Crying (Paris, 6-10/79)        4:26
13  No Use In Crying (Paris, 6-10/79)        4:24
14  Waiting On A Friend (Kingston, 11-12/72) 4:15 
15  Waiting On A Friend (Paris, 6-10/79)     4:32
16  Waiting On A Friend (Paris, 10/77-3/78)  3:33

Off-Day Outtakes: Rolling Stones - Some Girls

Some Girls is easily my second favourite Stones album, after Exile On Main Street.

A lot of Stones studio recordings from the late 70s circulate on a dizzying amount of overlapping collections, which are cobbled together with little rhyme or reason.

I have gathered the outtakes I have of the album's 10 songs. I'm hesitant to say this set is complete -- especially since I found a few late additions a couple of weekends ago (and some take #s are missing) -- but it's close.

Disc 1
Miss You II                     11:44
Miss You III                     7:27
Miss You IV                      9:24
When The Whip Comes Down I       9:55
When The Whip Comes Down II      7:23
When The Whip Comes Down III    10:31
Just My Imagination I or II      2:45
Just My Imagination III          7:12
Just My Imagination IV           6:51

Disc 2
Some Girls I                     6:29
Some Girls II                    5:14
Lies I                           3:41
Lies II                          4:14
Lies III                         3:49
Far Away Eyes I                  4:36
Far Away Eyes II                 5:33
Respectable I                    3:52
Respectable III                  3:49
Before They Make Me Run I        4:34
Before They Make Me Run IV       3:18
Beast Of Burden I                5:05
Shattered I                      3:23
Shattered II                     3:46
  
Bonus:
Miss You (8-Track/+ :52)         5:40
Far Away Eyes (Single/- :47)     3:37
Beast Of Burden (8-Track/+ :46)  5:11
Shattered (Single/- 1:08)        2:39

The last four are different edits of the LP tracks, which were either released as 45s or included on 8-track. I have noted the approximate differences in time.

Off-Day Outtakes: Rolling Stones

Place Pigalle - 1971-1981

Disc 1
01  Drift Away
02  Slow Down And Stop
03  Living In The Heart Of Love
04  Fast Talking
05  Separately
06  Waiting On A Friend
07  You Should Have Seen Her Ass
08  Save Me
09  Wind Call
10  Tops
11  I Got A Letter
12  Act Together
13  Slave
14  Do You Really Think I Care
15  Black Limousine
16  Everlasting Is My Love
17  I Need You
  
Disc 2
01  Everlasting My Love
02  No Spare Parts
03  Hang Fire
04  Black Limousine
05  Everlasting Is My Love
06  So Young
07  Some People Tell Me
08  When You're Gone
09  Munich Hilton
10  You Don't Have To Go
11  Shame Shame Shame
12  After Hours
13  Armpit Blues
14  You Win Again
15  Do You Get Enough
16  Sheep Dip Blues
17  Worried About You
  
Disc 3
01  Everything Is Turning To Gold
02  Fuji Jim
03  Light Up
04  What Gives You The Right
05  Los Trios Guitaros
06  Stay Where You Are
07  Dancing Girls
08  Broken Head Blues
09  Up Against The Wall
10  Broken Toe
11  Golden Caddy
12  Golden Caddy
13  Dancing Girls
14  Disco Muzic
15  Still In Love
16  The Way She Held Me Tight
17  It's A Lie
18  Never Make Me Cry
  
Disc 4
01  Piano Instrumental
02  Linda Lou
03  Sweet Home Chicago
04  Dancing Girls
05  Muck Spreading Dub
06  Petrol Gang
07  Never Let Her Go
08  Guitar Lesson
09  Never Make Me Cry
10  It's All Wrong
11  Never Too Into
12  It's Cold Down There
13  It's Cold Down There
14  Guess I Should Know
15  Heaven
16  Neighbours
17  Slave
18  Waiting On A Friend

Something Else #6 - Stones 1973

As the Red Sox enjoy the day in Toronto -- the final stop on their three-country road trip -- it's time for the first installment of the JoS Musical Off-Day.

I love the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour, but this soundboard recording of the band's Febraury 24, 1973, show at the Cricket Grounds in Perth, Australia, is a disc I play more than any '72 gig. The band is absolutely on fire (Mick Taylor, especially) and -- unlike the September and October 1973 shows -- there are no Goats Head Soup songs mucking up the proceedings.

Something Else #3 - What's All This?

As long as Led Zeppelin didn't wander off into 30-minute "improvisations" or (ugh) drum solos, their live stuff was often fantastic. Here's two songs in under five minutes from a January 9, 1970 show at the Royal Albert Hall: covers of Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" and "Somethin' Else".



This was going to be the first post in this non-baseball series (hence the name) before I wised up and rightly went with some '72 Stones. This clip (and much more from the 1970 gig) is on the 3-DVD LZ set released in 2003.

Here's Cochran himself doing both songs. He died in a traffic accident in 1960 at age 21.

Two more versions of "Somethin' Else": Keith Richards & Sid Vicious. Warning: Sid is wearing only a jockstrap.

Here's the "C'mon Everybody" Zep audio with Peanuts characters dancing -- is that a young Manny at the top of the screen doing the Mummy? ... Does the shrugging shoulders kid have a name?

Something Else #1 - Happy New Year!

Almost one year ago, I posted about the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album Exile on Main Street.

I've been thinking of posting some musical links every so often (mp3s probably), but I'm going to kick things off -- and say goodbye to 2007 -- with some video of the Stones from their 1972 US tour. (With any luck, this series will last longer than my idea for a '72 Stones blog.)

These two clips were filmed in Texas for the amazing Ladies and Gentlemen concert film:

Tumbling Dice (in which Jagger sings the correct "tasty" first line, something he did for only this tour, I think, before changing it forever to the inferior "crazy")



Chuck Berry's Bye Bye Johnny



Here's a live vocal of Brown Sugar from a 1971 Top of the Pops appearance (not only does the unknown sax player have to mime Bobby Keyes's near-perfect solo, but he has to stand down off the stage).



Finally, Street Fighting Man -- an encore from Madison Square Garden on July 25, 1972. The tour ended the following day -- Jagger's 29th birthday!



*******

And two posts from WFMU's Beware Of The Blog:

In November, the legendary New Jersey radio station held a Rudy Giuliani 9/11 Remix Contest. Some highlights: Tommy McKay's "Rudy Can't Fail To Mention September Eleventh", the TZA's "RudyXXX", Norelpref's "Sept Timbre", the opening of Gary Lambert's "Revolution No. 9/11", and the winner -- Mr. Fab's "Wake Me Up When September 11 Ends".

And some songs from a duo called The Death Killers:

Hardly anything is known about this cassette except that it's rectangular. The Death Killers is a brother/sister duo. A six year old vocalist and lyricist, who also named the band, and her thirteen (?) year old brother providing the music.

The WFMU blog is great -- where else are you going to find album cover art like this?

***

Check out webcams of New Year's Eve celebrations around the world tonight, including 16 (or maybe 25) different shots from Times Square. (I love how NYC-centric this site is! Not only do you have Times Square, but there's also a downtown shot from the Empire State Building, a shot of midtown looking (they say) north, and a camera in Little Italy.)

No Toronto -- but there is a feed from Niagara Falls.

Ingesting Your Ancestors

Back in April, I linked to a story in which Keith Richards claimed he snorted some of his father's ashes.

Publicists for the Stones quickly tried to quash the story, but NME now has some new quotes from Keef:

The cocaine bit was rubbish. I said I chopped him up like cocaine, not with. I pulled the lid off [my father's urn] and out comes a bit of dad on the dining room table. I'm going, 'I can't use the brush and dustpan for this'. What I found out is that ingesting your ancestors is a very respectable way of ... y'know, he went down a treat.

Did Keith Richards Snort His Father's Ashes?

Keith Richards, in a NME interview, published yesterday:

The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared, he didn't give a shit. It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive.

A Stones spokesman denies the claim:

It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke, and it is not true. File under April Fool's joke.

NME insists the remark was "no quip, but came about after much thinking" by Richards. Mark Beaumont, the interviewer:

He didn't offer the information, I had to ask him a couple of questions to get the information out of him. He didn't come straight out with that.

Keith is 20 years older than I am and will obviously outlive me. So I would like Richards to snort me. How do I go about making that official? (The rest of my ashes should go onto the Fenway outfield).

On the Stones site, Richards says he was merely "trying to say how tight Bert and I were. That tight!!! I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide."

Uh-huh. ... The scariest or most abnornal thing about all of this? In this AP link, it looks like Richards is growing a moustache. Noooooooooooooo!