The Rolling Stones may have released more live albums than any other rock artist or group. Nine quickly come to mind and I’m not including DVD concert sets. These albums have presented the good, the bad, and the ugly of The Rolling Stones career.
Got Live If You Want It was the first live (more of less) album by The Rolling Stones. Released in 1966, it was a commercial success reaching number six on the American charts. I think this was the first Rolling Stones album that I ever purchased, although it may have been Their Satanic Majesties Request. I have to admit that I loved it at the time. It was only later that I learned it had been pieced together and some tracks were from the studio with crowd noise dubbed in. Talk about spoiling my high school memories.
Today I find that Got Live If You Want It has many sloppy performances and poor sound quality even for 1966. It is, however, a historical document in that it features Brain Jones as the lead guitarist; there are not many live performances left that can say that.
My favorite tracks were “Not Fade Away” and “Fortune Teller” even though it was one of the faked studio songs. “Under My Thumb” and “The Last Time” are fine. “Get Off Of My Cloud” is off kilter speed wise. The production on “19th Nervous Breakdown” and “Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadows” is completely muddled and makes both songs almost unlistenable. In the last analysis, however, this is an album of my youth and so I still give it two thumbs up.
Get Yer Ya’s Ya’s Out is simply one of the best live albums ever released, except maybe it is too short. Mick Taylor is now the lead guitarist and he brought tightness to the Stones live sound. Taylor was a creative musician and master technician who could take just about any song and make it brilliant. Just listen to “Street Fighting Man” and you will get a good idea of Taylor’s style and influence.
Some highlights from this album (and there are really no poor performances) are a jet fueled “Carol” from the groups early days, “Live With Me" which features some superb bass playing from Bill Wyman, a real rocking version of “Honky Tonk Women” and one of the best renditions of “Sympathy For The Devil” ever recorded. “Midnight Rambler” makes its live debut and Taylor’s smooth bluesy guitar just propels this song along.
Article comments
1 - Rob
Judiciously put.
Only error, and cliche I find in this review is that Stones were at their peak for Ya-Ya's. Taylor had just barely hit the ground (albeit running) for that tour.
Because legal issues from former biz mgr Allen (ABKco) Klien precluded the release of a '72/'73 live album, we must hunt down 'bootleg' recordings from those tours to hear the Stones at their true peak performance. If you think the 8.5 minute Ya-Ya's Midnight Rambler is outstanding (you're right), wait 'til you get hold of the 13 minute '73 Europe versions: The Keith/Taylor interplay is Outrageous, with MT doing a blues opera on a wah-wah pedal; throw in the rest of the band and you're in for a Rock experience of Biblical proportions.
2 - Mat Brewster
The Rolling Stones may have released more live albums than any other rock artist or group.
The Grateful Dead have released a lot more than the Stones. The Dicks Picks series is into the thirties by my last count not to mention the Vault series, the boxed set and various compilations.
Pearl Jam have released entire tours to CD.
3 - El Bicho
Matt's right. Plus many other bands followed PJ's model and have had authorized bootlegs of entire tours. We're not talking audience recording, but straight from the soundboard, so at this point, the Stones aren't even in the conversation.