It's Only Rock'N'Roll - I've always liked the version on Love You Live, it's very up. The Steel Wheels version was pretty good. Ever since then though it's lost the edge it had and has become more of a plodder and is just sounding really really tired and over with - like how Start Me Up has gotten to be ever since Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle - "yeah hell we'll play it but not very good". Was good, now is bad.
Miss You - How this went from the chunky mess of the Tattoo You tours to the work-out fitness themed fast snappy 89/90 version and then back to a less messy and slower version for Voodoo onwards is a mystery to me - it's never sounded good live. The LP version is slow and slinky. Why do they need to ruin it live? Bad.
Start Me Up - The version on Still Life is all riff and a bit rough. It's relatively close to the LP version. The 89/90 version is different all together - faster, leaner, even a bit more tuneful. A good change. But since then it's gotten really really sloppy and bad - like Tumbling Dice in 75/76. Was good but has gotten bad.
Street Fighting Man - When I heard that B-side on the JJF Flahspoint single I was floored. WHAT ARE THEY DOING!? How does one ruin this song? They ruined it. That version from the SW/UJ tour is PATHETIC. Before and after that? Kinay - I LOVE the version on Licks Live. The version from the MSG show is even better. So one little fart, otherwise they've always played this one with authority. Good.
Sympathy For The Devil - Like I need to say anything. Bad.
Yeah, SFTD on Ya-Ya's. I like the LYL version but not as much. That's it. Even since then they've just played it as a drum machine with two guitars going DOINKY DOINK DOINK...
Most of their live performances suffer in comparison with the studio versions in my humble opinion. Jumpin' Jack Flash, for example, has always sounded poor live compared with the single as far as I can see. On Ya-Yas it lacks the fire of the original and it's gone on to become an almost mechanical example of "stadium rock". However, it has to be said that Midnight Rambler is absolute dynamite live as is the original on Let it Bleed.
SFTD-Ya-ya's the best version. IORR-Love you Live,definetly the best version. Miss You-I actually like the Voodoo lounge and B2B tour live versions Start Me Up-The 1981 tours are great (except the version from Still Life,they ruined that one) Street Fighting Man-I also have that JJF single and I totally agree with you 100 per cent.