Hard to believe, twenty years ago....

I was so excited about the "grand reunion" album coming out and a new tour cranking up. Atlanta tickets were sold out very quickly, but I wound up winning seats from a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant, and also got tickets to the show in Birmingham. All of this suddenly happening when two years before I figured the Stones were history.

I remember writing a review of the Steel Wheels album for the Georgia State student newspaper, where I was a grad student at the time.

In 1989, my feelings were, simply, that we're fortunate, as Stones fans, to get one more album and one more tour, and that'll probably be it. Maybe we'd fortunate to get something else sometime in the 90s, but, by all means, it'll wind down and stop. I saw a friend that summer, asked her about her interest in the tour, and her immediate comment was "no, I think they're going to be too old."

Little did we all know that there were many tours to come, and I'm happy to have seen them again, twice in 1994, once in 1997, once in 2005, and again in 2006.

Yes, we haven't had a lot to rave about in the area of studio recordings since and including Steel Wheels, although I've found things to like in all of 'em.

Bottom line, though: the very fact that all of us are still speculating about another album and another tour in 2009 or beyond is remarkable.

I was fortunate to meet Chuck in the mid 80s, and even then I was asking him about how long the Stones can continue.

His response: "Man, those guys will never quit. They're still just the same R&B band that they ever were."

Sometimes you just have to sit back and appreciate what you have been given, and for a die hard Stones fan such as myself, the past 20 years have been a gift.

How true---I was lucky because the Stones opened the tour in Philly, Pa. and i remember that they started that tour even before the album was released...No one cared--We were just happy to see and hear them again!
I loved the album and the tour...
You will really like the album better if you get the New Remaster of Steel Wheels....The album sounds more alive to me...Much better sounding then when it was 1st released...

Caught them at Alpine in 89. My first Stones show. I was just turning 16 when I saw that show - it was an amazing night and having tickets dead center and about 15 rows back was by far the closest to the stage that I ever got to see them. I dug the hell out of Steel Wheels when it came out, but I must admit I haven't listened to it in a while. Getting the remaster may a good idea.

Gomp---Funny i felt the same way...I loved the album and then got bored of it....I'd play it from time to time...But i have to tell you the new remaster has made me love it again...Much better sounding to me..A lot to hear in it...Even better then when it 1st was released.

Steel Wheels was a good album, I finally have to get the outtakes. The tour was one of their best ever, Keith and Ronnie worked together well, the whole band rocked and rolled.

I was 15 when the album came out, and totally raved to it.

Mongoose - Nice post one of my favorite Stones moments in time I was 23 single and it was very exciting to have them back. The excitement and hype has not been the same since that tour that tour was everywhere. Everyone was hyped up the media, young kids it was awesome.

Listening to the boots I have of the tour have taken away some of the luster of it I don't care to listen to it now but at the time it was great

"His response: "Man, those guys will never quit. They're still just the same R&B band that they ever were.""

Please, they stopped being an R&B band too many years ago. They, and The Who, should have packed it in after their 81-83 tours. Its a shame how these corporate whores have ruined their legacies.

Performance-wise, an absolute monster of a tour. However, sound-wise, I feel it has dated somewhat. I still feel that the shows are essential listening/viewing however.

Steel Wheels was my introduction to the 'modern-era' Rolling Stones and I like the album very much for sentimental reasons. Sad, Sad, Sad, Mixed Emotions and Almost Hear You Sigh are stellar songs as well.

I thought Steel Wheels was great at the time. Now, all sentimentality aside, I think it's a good, occasionally inspired album. It's more engaging and focused than Dirty Work, and the songs are much much better, but it hasn't aged well. Voodoo Lounge was, on balance, a much better album.

As for the tour - I saw the UK leg at Wembley in 1990 and absolutely loved it. It wasn't the first Stones corporate tour (that was the Still Life tour), and it wasn't the first Stones as circus act tour (that was the Black & Blue tour, with the inflatable dick), but it was the first slick, Stones as Big Business on Stage tour. Not that that really mattered. The band were tight, the performances flawless and very professional. At the time I preferred it to the Wembley shows I caught in 1982. Of course, now that I know that Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle was the blueprint for every ensuing Stones tour - give or take the B Stage - I'm thinking Still Life at Wembley was way better. Revisionism and bitterness in old age can play havoc on one's perceptions and principles. No backing vocalists, no extra guitarists, just the standard brass and keyboard back-up of yesteryear. Of course, they actually need all those musicians on stage with them now - to sweeten the croaks and extend the notes they can't hit, and to cover up the playing. Nothing wrong with that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-24 12:11 by Nikolai.

Steel Wheels for me marks the beginning of phase four of The Stones - after the Brian era, the Taylor years, and the Wood era. Seeing as they nearly broke up in 86/87 the album was a worthy statement of intent also saw the start of them touring again and setting the blueprint for the live show we are still seeing to this day.

It was a great "comeback" after Dirty Work. I for one really love Steel Wheels which also marked the return to touring.

Steel Wheels was a great record. I bought that and Hot Rocks at the same time - became a Stones fan in '89.

I love "Steel Wheels" and the subsequent tours. This period actually sparked my appreciation of the Stones in the first place. They made some great music and played some awesome shows over the past 20 years. Be thankful they're still around!

1989 was indeed the year in which I also became a Stones fan at 13. Loved Mixed Emotions and the video. Still love the album. Got The London Years for Christmas that year......it just grew from there.

I bought the cassette to listen to in the car because I wasn't going to be near a CD player for three whole days.

Having been 13 for the '81 shows -- too young and timid to fight the field crowd to get an actual glimpse of the band -- the '89 shows were the first time I got to really SEE the band onstage. I was totally blown away.

To me, they have never topped the Steel Wheels stage. I loved the tunes they broke out -- Paint It, Black, and 2,000 Light Years From Home. Guitar playing was absolutely fabulous. Then the At the Max film to follow. Holy cow. Pre-internet junkie days, that was as good as it gets!

Agree that the album sounds a bit sterile these days, but it had a wonderful variety of songs -- Continental Drift, Blinded By Love, Sad Sad Sad etc.

I bought the Mixed Emotions 45 just for Fancy Man.

Steel Wheels has been underrated by many over the years on this site in my opinion.

I remember being fired up about a new release from the band after such a long time, being disappointed with the single, Mixed Emotions, appalled at the opening track, Sad, Sad, Sad (Status Quo meets the Rolling Stones) and not finding anything to get excited about until Hearts for Sale.
The atmospheric opening of that number was, for me, the first sign of a return to form.

As TeaAtThree says, the album contains "a wonderful variety of songs", not least Slipping Away.

That year I saw the band at the huge Orange Bowl stadium in Miami and was a long way from my seat buying a T-shirt when I caught the first strains of Continental Drift. Like a greased ferret I shot back to my position, my heart pounding, as the music built to its climax.
Jets of fire shot upwards across the front of the stage and there they were with Start Me Up. What an entrance!
They even played some numbers from Steel Wheels. Those were the days.

WOW almost twenty years already.

I believe the Stones were to open up in another city besides Philly. But the old JFK stadium site had recently been condemned, after the Stones had originally been scheduled to play there. They were then booked to play Veterans Stadium, and due to other venue scheduling conflicts, the Stones shows in Philly were moved to the front of the line (at least thats what I remember).

I was unable to get tickets and, through a friend, worked the show as a security guard. Opening night was like a circus, many stars were in town for the tour's kick-off. My friend and I had one of the backstage entrances. It was pretty cool. Got to meet and talk to the guys from Living Colour, Max Weinberg (who couldn't have been nicer) and Scotty Ian - just to name a few. Unfortunately no Stones used our entrance/exit at anytime.

I was so excited. It was 6 years since Dirty Work, & 8 years since Tatoo You tour (I was at Harford 1981). I bought the cd the day it was released and listened to it with my then 14 yr old son. Loved it then & still love it now. High point was Almost Hear you sigh. I wished that they had done more songs from Dirty work as they never toured behind that record. Imagine One Hit followed by Mixed Emotions.

It's so very lonely, you're 2,000 Light Years from home

My first Stones show was Greensboro, NC, in 1975 (TOTA), and the next day the newspaper review made a comment along the lines of "the Stones proved last night that they are far from burnt out."

It was just the general thought back then....you played in a band until you were about 30 - 35, and that was it.

I'm 54, still playing with a few different bands around Atlanta, and I figure as long as the Stones, Plant, McCartney, Clapton, Dead, etc. can keep going, I'm going to keep on truckin'!

The SW Rough Mixes changed everything about that album for me.
Get "Sad Sad", "Terrifying", "Hold on to Hat" (the piano mix), "Hearts for Sale" and "Cant be seen" without Chris Kimsey's 80's flash-freeze mastering; add "Precious Love", "Fancy Man" and "Cook Cook", "Ready Yourself" and drop "Rock and a hard place" and "Blinded by Love".
The long "Mixed Emotions" with Bernard and Keith still sounding ragged.
Not sure about "Almost Hear You Sigh". I like Keith's version, but Jagger makes it a song.

A rebirth with rare pearls. Who would have bet a dime on this Group at the time. That clip from "Mixed emotions" is certainly one of the simplest they have released. What a great pleasure to see Keith playing with so much smile while Charlie is trying to keep up the pace and Mick somewhat vocalising on that superb song, which has only one drawback that is not being a slash live. Away the grotesque videos of Dirty Work and Undercover. Back to the roots. This was confirmed by the following shiny tour. A relief is what SW means to me. Even if Bill lost his faith to the detriment of numerous fans.

This album is for me the best they´ve done after "Tattoo You".
Also, the 1990 concert in Gothenburg was probably the best in Sweden - maybe apart from Stockholm 1995.
(I didn´t see any before 1982..., but those in 1982 weren´t very good)

What a great thread. I can't believe it's been 20 years. I remember seeing the press conference on MTV, when they came in on the train and Jagger had a boom box and played some of the new songs. I remember buying the CD the day it came out. I had to drive like a maniac on my lunch break to the record shop, buy it, and get back to work on time. I love that CD and the monitor mixes with Precious Love make it even better.

I also remember standing out in front of a drug store all night to buy tickets to the show in DC. I was first in line, only to find out at 9 AM that they had handed out lottery tickets the day before to prevent people camping out. I ended up something like 4Oth in line and got crap seats under the the first balcony overhang. The sound bounced around all night and you could hardly make out the songs. I was so disappointed, but the excitment of just seeing them perform live made up for it. And I remember driving into DC the day before and listening to the radio - the whole town was talking about the shows. I remember the DJ saying the 1st show was great, but the playfulness of Jagger and Richards that was so evident on the '81 tour was gone. I also remember him saying that Ron Wood's playing was stellar.

And of course I remember all the Steel Wheelchair type of jokes at the time. But I watch the Atlantic City show now and I'm stunned at how young they all look. It was such a fun time to be a fan. MTV gave the tour tons of coverage, there were so many magazine articles, and the Atlantic City show was broadcast for free, even if the 3-D didn't work very well.

Can someone please upload Shattered from the first show were
the electricity broke down? I always wanted to hear the
reaction of the crowd.

Quote
rootsman
This album is for me the best they´ve done after "Tattoo You".
Also, the 1990 concert in Gothenburg was probably the best in Sweden - maybe apart from Stockholm 1995.
(I didn´t see any before 1982..., but those in 1982 weren´t very good)

Rootsman, here´s something for you:[www.stonesvikings.com]

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

Mickjaggeroo, it's incredible the way you guys have documented every show from '70 with great photos.
It seems that they lugged their own PA and lights and rods with them, since Chip Monck is around. Plus you can see the same setup in all shows.
A couple things that I saw: Jagger looks like he is wearing a good bit of make up only for Helsinki.
What baffles me about the PA etc is this: they have the rows of Ampegs. It looks like Keith has a couple, then there is Bill with his on that side. On Taylor's side he looks to have his two amps, then there is what looks like a speaker cabinet towards left, flanked by two more Ampegs. Would those be back-ups? Why would they be perfectly well placed in same spot for every show if they are just backups? Looks like they are in use.

But the stage volume had to have been through the roof with those huge amps. Keith does state that starting in 69 they had to relearn how to play on stage since the volume went down but with big amps like that they are going to crank them. They amps are all miked. I wonder if soundman actually had to take them out of the PA at times. There is the Stockholm show where it looks like it could actually be a small crowd only.

My brother joked when we went to see them in T.O. that it should be called Steel Wheel Chairs, amazing that was almost 20 years ago.

Always found Steel Wheels had too many songs that seemed contrived, cookie cutter pop influenced crap IMO. They did have some good songs and some experimental songs on it too which made it interesting. Mick love of the 80's was so influential on that album and I did not like that at all. Sad Sad Sad.

Seeing them live in 89 I could not be more disappointed at the time. Vegas act? Too much back up. I was expecting the lean, mean and effective band from 81 with Ronnie and Keith singing back up..... and honestly as much as I love Ronnie I remember him playing like sh!t that night.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-26 04:55 by Markdog.

Markdog, I can see how you felt that way since you saw them in 81.

I was just happy to see the play for the first time in 89. Wished I would have saw them back in 81, though.

Seeing Bill Wyman perform with them makes it even more important to me.