Thursday, January 18, 2007
Start Me Up
The first three seconds of this video seem like a skit on Saturday Night Live. I'm quite sure it wasn't any different in 1981 when this was released. Mick's outfit is totally ridiculous and the dance moves are worse. But as soon as the vocals start it all works, and I'm at a loss to really explain why.
Part of it is probably the pure theatrics of Mick's facial expression. He takes the piss by acting like an ass, but then committs to it so completely that the performance becomes bullet proof.
The rest of the band is basically along for the ride on this one. Keith and Ronnie are strangely affable on the backup vocals and actually contribute to a satisfying esprits de corps through their enthusiasm. The video cuts to the requisite shot of Charlie smirking and retiring on drums, and the whole surreal experience is completed by a bizarrely attired Bill in the background looking like he showed up for a court date. Seriously, this has to be the worst Rolling Stones outfit of all time - the pale blue business suit. I guess there is a reason that he gets so many head shots.
In all, one of the great Stones music videos. Marks for simplicity and a daring fashion risk taken by Mick. Not exactly representative of a gang of dudes who would scare you in a dark alley, but somehow still cool.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Considering Voodoo Lounge
Voodoo Lounge was released when I was 14 years old. It was the first Rolling Stones album I heard in its entirety. It even had a video that made the band look cool (if not larger than life.) Because it loomed so largely over my early days listening to the band I wanted to start a series of album reflections here.
The band had been inactive enough in the early nineties for the release of a new album to be considered major news. Released to radio on July 12, the lead single Love is Strong was considered such an event that CBC radio played the song following its regular morning news. So I heard the new single sitting in the kitchen with my mom.
My mother was intuitive enough to give me the new disc a week later for my birthday. At the time my Stones catalogue contained only the strange Made In the Shade compilation from the seventies and in my idiocy I had no way to contextualize the new material.
At the time, Rolling Stone magazine upheld their long tradition of bestowing the a new Stones record with a four star review and the suggestion that the new album was the best thing since Some Girls if not Tattoo You (sound familiar *cough* - A Bigger Bang!) It certainly has some game where Steel Wheels and Dirty Work didn't, but does it hold up nearly fifteen years later?
Yes, but not in every way. I still think that Love Is Strong into You Got Me Rocking is a fantastic one-two punch for the Stones. These along with Out of Tears and I Go Wild can be classified as the best among Voodoo's thirteen tracks. You Got Me Rocking stands out as the best rock song among these and the lyrics are hilarious. I remember that Maclean's magazine ran an interview with Jagger where they asked him if the lyric "I was a hooker losing her looks" was about his own noticeable aging. Jagger's response was "what kind of magazine is this anyways?"
Standing above all of these tracks, however, is Keith's Thru and Thru. This has got to be one of the toughest, most heartbreaking and dynamic songs ever recorded (by Keith or anyone else.) When it picks up the riff is outright menacing, but the lyric is still quite tender. There is an interesting live version of this on No Security but I'm afraid it doesn't stand up to the studio version. Keith's second contribution The Worst is a charming acoustic that I appreciated even at 14 for its sleepy sheepishness. Who else could have written this song?
Because of where it falls in my life, Voodoo Lounge stands out in the total Stones catalogue. It was a time when the Stones were particularly iconic in my imagination. I hadn't even started to explore their catalogue or history, but from where I am now it seems that starting at the present and working my way backwards was not such a bad way to get to know them.
Photo Credits For Mick and Keith Photos from 1994: Mark Seliger
The band had been inactive enough in the early nineties for the release of a new album to be considered major news. Released to radio on July 12, the lead single Love is Strong was considered such an event that CBC radio played the song following its regular morning news. So I heard the new single sitting in the kitchen with my mom. My mother was intuitive enough to give me the new disc a week later for my birthday. At the time my Stones catalogue contained only the strange Made In the Shade compilation from the seventies and in my idiocy I had no way to contextualize the new material.
At the time, Rolling Stone magazine upheld their long tradition of bestowing the a new Stones record with a four star review and the suggestion that the new album was the best thing since Some Girls if not Tattoo You (sound familiar *cough* - A Bigger Bang!) It certainly has some game where Steel Wheels and Dirty Work didn't, but does it hold up nearly fifteen years later?
Yes, but not in every way. I still think that Love Is Strong into You Got Me Rocking is a fantastic one-two punch for the Stones. These along with Out of Tears and I Go Wild can be classified as the best among Voodoo's thirteen tracks. You Got Me Rocking stands out as the best rock song among these and the lyrics are hilarious. I remember that Maclean's magazine ran an interview with Jagger where they asked him if the lyric "I was a hooker losing her looks" was about his own noticeable aging. Jagger's response was "what kind of magazine is this anyways?" 
Standing above all of these tracks, however, is Keith's Thru and Thru. This has got to be one of the toughest, most heartbreaking and dynamic songs ever recorded (by Keith or anyone else.) When it picks up the riff is outright menacing, but the lyric is still quite tender. There is an interesting live version of this on No Security but I'm afraid it doesn't stand up to the studio version. Keith's second contribution The Worst is a charming acoustic that I appreciated even at 14 for its sleepy sheepishness. Who else could have written this song?Because of where it falls in my life, Voodoo Lounge stands out in the total Stones catalogue. It was a time when the Stones were particularly iconic in my imagination. I hadn't even started to explore their catalogue or history, but from where I am now it seems that starting at the present and working my way backwards was not such a bad way to get to know them.
Photo Credits For Mick and Keith Photos from 1994: Mark Seliger
Monday, January 1, 2007
Bootleg Review: Tokyodome 2006!
When the Rolling Stones played the Tokyodome in March 2006, somewhere in the audience was the one millionth fan to see the band at this particular venue. This is the type of statistic that seems relatively meaningless except for its pure abstract shock value and in driving home the point that the Stones have played Tokyo an awful lot.
This recording is the first of two shows and unfortunately, is the less interesting setlist. But! It's still a good quality recording and a few things stand out. After a rousing Jumpin' Jack Flash, in the second slot, rarely played since the Bridges to Babylon tour, is Let's Spend the Night Together.
Chuck's piano drove earlier live versions of this but the 2006 version is more ragged and gritty due to the somewhat inconsistent anchoring guitar on the familiar riff. It really works in all this ragged glory.
The band sounds loose and upbeat and the recording suffers only from the fact that the backup vocals are nearly lost. Lisa gets a bit of help from the soundboard during her solo on Night Time is the Right Time but the backing parts in obvious vocal fills throughout the rest of the show are missing. This presents an interesting sort of sparseness and allows the marvel of open spaces amidst fifteen musicians to be revealed.
The only place this seems to hurt the band is when Keith sings Happy. Maybe somebody can help out with this, but on which tour did Mick stop singing the choruses on Happy? When I hear him singing behind Keith in the early seventies on Happy it sounds amazing. Now it sounds like Keef could use a little help on the vox. Not that he didn't sound almost identical thirty years ago when he took his turn on the mic, but I hear those recordings and can at least picture Mick caterwauling on stage behind him until the choruses.
The jewel of the entire performance is the inclusion of Sway. It was performed for the first time this tour and appeared on only a handful of setlists. It was not what I thought it would be because both guitars are considerably less distorted than on the Sticky Fingers recording. But isn't this what we all want? Versions of songs and not reproductions. Hearing it performed live is certainly a treat and Ronnie's solos put the definitive late-era stamp on this as a live number. I'd kill to hear Mick shoot for the high notes on this. Perhaps he's only willing to sing it now because he expects different things from himself as a singer? Who knows what sort of alchemy goes into choosing these setlists. A few minutes on the rollingstones.com message boards will confirm that it is a full time obsession for some to complain about inclusions and exclusions. For me the answer is simple: get an internet connection and you can hear the Stones do nearly any set from any era....
On a final note, I really like She's So Cold live. I know its not considered the coolest Stones song of all time, but it sounds like one riff where Keith and Ronnie have to communicate (telepathically or otherwise) to not totally lose track of the song. I wish they would play it more.
The setlist:
JJ Flash / Let's Spend The Night Together / She's So Cold / Oh No Not You Again / Sway / As Tears Go By / Tumblin' Dice / Rain Fall Down / Night Time Is The Right Time / This Place Is Empty / Happy / Miss You / Rough Justice / Get Off My Cloud / Honky Tonk Woman / Sympathy For the Devil / Paint It Black / Start Me Up / Brown Sugar / Can't Always Get What You Want / Satisfaction
This recording is the first of two shows and unfortunately, is the less interesting setlist. But! It's still a good quality recording and a few things stand out. After a rousing Jumpin' Jack Flash, in the second slot, rarely played since the Bridges to Babylon tour, is Let's Spend the Night Together.
Chuck's piano drove earlier live versions of this but the 2006 version is more ragged and gritty due to the somewhat inconsistent anchoring guitar on the familiar riff. It really works in all this ragged glory.
The band sounds loose and upbeat and the recording suffers only from the fact that the backup vocals are nearly lost. Lisa gets a bit of help from the soundboard during her solo on Night Time is the Right Time but the backing parts in obvious vocal fills throughout the rest of the show are missing. This presents an interesting sort of sparseness and allows the marvel of open spaces amidst fifteen musicians to be revealed.
The only place this seems to hurt the band is when Keith sings Happy. Maybe somebody can help out with this, but on which tour did Mick stop singing the choruses on Happy? When I hear him singing behind Keith in the early seventies on Happy it sounds amazing. Now it sounds like Keef could use a little help on the vox. Not that he didn't sound almost identical thirty years ago when he took his turn on the mic, but I hear those recordings and can at least picture Mick caterwauling on stage behind him until the choruses.
The jewel of the entire performance is the inclusion of Sway. It was performed for the first time this tour and appeared on only a handful of setlists. It was not what I thought it would be because both guitars are considerably less distorted than on the Sticky Fingers recording. But isn't this what we all want? Versions of songs and not reproductions. Hearing it performed live is certainly a treat and Ronnie's solos put the definitive late-era stamp on this as a live number. I'd kill to hear Mick shoot for the high notes on this. Perhaps he's only willing to sing it now because he expects different things from himself as a singer? Who knows what sort of alchemy goes into choosing these setlists. A few minutes on the rollingstones.com message boards will confirm that it is a full time obsession for some to complain about inclusions and exclusions. For me the answer is simple: get an internet connection and you can hear the Stones do nearly any set from any era....
On a final note, I really like She's So Cold live. I know its not considered the coolest Stones song of all time, but it sounds like one riff where Keith and Ronnie have to communicate (telepathically or otherwise) to not totally lose track of the song. I wish they would play it more.
The setlist:
JJ Flash / Let's Spend The Night Together / She's So Cold / Oh No Not You Again / Sway / As Tears Go By / Tumblin' Dice / Rain Fall Down / Night Time Is The Right Time / This Place Is Empty / Happy / Miss You / Rough Justice / Get Off My Cloud / Honky Tonk Woman / Sympathy For the Devil / Paint It Black / Start Me Up / Brown Sugar / Can't Always Get What You Want / Satisfaction
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
