I've done plenty of research on Stones tours. Plenty of bootlegs out there, stories, live releases etc... here my top 5 since 69'

1. 78 Some girls Tour. Something about this tour interests me a lot. It was kind of short, loose, not as produced and pure rock n roll. Great playing by the band specially Charlie and Bill. Shame they don't have official live releases of these shows.

2. 73 European Tour. Musically these shows are scary. Mick Taylor kicked the bands asses.

3. 69 Tour The end of the 60's ended with Altamont, so they say. Great versions of Sympathy, Midnight Rambler and JJF. Love in Vain is just incredible.

4. 89 Steel Wheels tour. Last shows of the greatest rhythm section of all time.

5. 2002 Licks Tour. Although I hate Michael Cohl, the band did try to please all types of fans with the theater, arena , stadium format. They also played a lot of B Side and album track medleys at shows. Maybe the best set-lists ever.

Most Intense: 1969

Best Musically: 1973

Most fun: 1978

Funkiest: 1975

Most Varied Setlists: 2002

Most Disappointing: 2006



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-18 23:37 by 71Tele.

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71Tele
Most Intense: 1969

Best Musically: 1973

Most fun: 1978

Funkiest: 1975

Most Disappointing: 2006

+1 71 Tele and to add one category

Most uderrated 1981/82: Nice setlist, last tour with the basic band before the Stones Orchestra tours post 89 and the first tour in along time where Keef was clean..maybe not always sober but he was off smack and his playing was excellent......

Never liked the 78 and 81 tour. Still don't to this day. Loved 72 and 75. Loved everything from 89 on. Ticket prices at getting out of hand.

1) 1994

2) 2006

3) 1997

4) 1975

5) 2003

78 and 81 tied for dead last

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oldschool

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71Tele
Most Intense: 1969

Best Musically: 1973

Most fun: 1978

Funkiest: 1975

Most Disappointing: 2006

+1 71 Tele and to add one category

Most uderrated 1981/82: Nice setlist, last tour with the basic band before the Stones Orchestra tours post 89 and the first tour in along time where Keef was clean..maybe not always sober but he was off smack and his playing was excellent......

I would agree with this, though I thought at the time he was off the junk in '78. At least he wasn't catatonic in '78 like he was for large parts of '75-'76.

I still have a real fondness for 89/90, Steel Wheels and Urban Jungle.

Having last seen the Stones live in 1982 as a 16 year old, I didn't expect to see them again. With Mick and Keith at loggerheads for much of the mid 1980's and Charlie's problems surfacing, I thought that I would never see my heroes live again.

I wasn't particularly enamoured of Mick's 80's solo tours and could not secure tickets to Keith's solo tours. But I still loved them; played their music constantly and read everything about them that I could. I just never expected to see them live ever again.

The announcement of the US tour in 1989 had me raiding my savings and I managed to secure a ticket for the Foxoboro show on the 3rd October, my birthday. I set off from my home in England about 5 days before the show and man I had a ball!!

It remains some 20 years later a real happy memory of a really good time in my life.

There have been better shows since, but none of them have ever reached the excitement and sheer pleasure of seeing Mick, Keith, Charlie, Bill & Ronnie on stage again.

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71Tele
Most Intense: 1969

Best Musically: 1973

Most fun: 1978

Funkiest: 1975

Most Disappointing: 2006

Right on. Except you forgot to mention the overall best of the best...the one that signified the absolute peak of the Stones and presented perhaps the greatest live band in the history of Rock and Roll...the Rolling Stones 1972 U.S. tour.

I saw all tours since 1990. I think that 69 and 73 were very good tours.
From the last 20 years my ranking is:
1.BtB tour and no security
2.89/90
3.Licks
4.Voodoo
5.ABB

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71Tele
Most Intense: 1969

Best Musically: 1973

Most fun: 1978

Funkiest: 1975

Most Disappointing: 2006

I think America '72 was better than Europe '73, if by musically you also consider dynamics, feel, restraint, delicacy, etc. In '72, Mick Taylor didn't overplay and repeat himself too much, yet he had some of his greatest moments (Gimme Shelter, Love In Vain, Midnight Rambler). Not to mention Jagger had way more feel and restraint, although his snotty singing in '73 does have its moments.

Here's my toplist, based on bootlegs, films and books:

1. America '69

2. STP '72

3. Winter Tour '73

4. Europe '73

5. Europe '70

6. America '78

1970 was excellent musically, on average better than '69, but it's less interesting, indeed less "intense", as Tele71 wrote. It did have some wicked moments, such as SFTD, Stray Cat Blues and Brown Sugar (with a great coda).

why did the stones treat the 78 tour like it was nothing, best album since exile, comeback tour and it was treated almost like it didnt happen, at the time and ever since

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melillo
why did the stones treat the 78 tour like it was nothing, best album since exile, comeback tour and it was treated almost like it didnt happen, at the time and ever since

That's what I loved about '78, the almost casual nature of it. Instead of a big stage set-up and lots of sidemen, they went back to a simple stage with only a sign saying "THE ROLLING STONES" above them (as if we wouldn't know who they are!). It matched the punked-up and stripped-down nature of the Some Girls songs. Plus, the band really seemed to be having fun. I remember them chasing Linda Rondstadt around the stage in Tucson during Tumbling Dice.

1972 & 1973 the best period!

I'll rank the ones I went to:

#1 81-82 my only complaint was that they almost never changed the setlist but I loved this tour.

#2 1999 - No Secuirty nice to be out of the stadiums

#3 Licks

#4 Bridges to Babylon

#5 Steel Wheels - Great to have them back

#6 Voodoo Lounge

#7 A Bigger Bang

Going back to listen to:

1969 or 1972-1973 were awesome

Worst 1975-76

Top 10

1) 1981/1982
2) 1978
3) 1969/1970
4) 1994/1995
5) 1999 (No Security Tour not Bridges to Babylon Tour)
6) 1989/1990
7) 2005-2007
8) 1997/1998
9) 2002/2003
10) 1975/1976

Best stage was and remains Bridges To Babylon by far.

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carlostones10
Top 10

1) 1981/1982
2) 1978
3) 1969/1970
4) 1994/1995
5) 1999 (No Security Tour not Bridges to Babylon Tour)
6) 1989/1990
7) 2005-2007
8) 1997/1998
9) 2002/2003
10) 1975/1976

Really? 1969 3rd and 1972 and 1973 not worthy of mention? That's certainly interesting. Do you also think Bridges to Babylon is their best album and EOMS and Sticky Fingers are their worst?

1] 1967 European Tour

2] 1982 European Tour

3] 1998 Bridges to Babylon Tour

4] 2003 Licks Tour

5] 1973 European Tour


The worst without a doubt was the 1976 European Tour

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skipstone
Best stage was and remains Bridges To Babylon by far.

Loved that stage and tour...I saw multiple shows on all the post 89 tours and thought the Stones played their best on that tour after getting back together...personally I think it was the last tour when Keef and Ronnie were on their game.........

Ronnie had good and horrible nights during that tour, but Keith was wonderful, and although I hate to say it, he never played like that again.

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71Tele

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carlostones10
Top 10

1) 1981/1982
2) 1978
3) 1969/1970
4) 1994/1995
5) 1999 (No Security Tour not Bridges to Babylon Tour)
6) 1989/1990
7) 2005-2007
8) 1997/1998
9) 2002/2003
10) 1975/1976

Really? 1969 3rd and 1972 and 1973 not worthy of mention? That's certainly interesting. Do you also think Bridges to Babylon is their best album and EOMS and Sticky Fingers are their worst?

Yes, is my opinion. :-)

My fave post-1968 tours are
1) 1969-70 (definitely the best)
2) 1981-82
3) 1972-73
4) 1978
5) 1975-76
6) 1994-95
7) The rest

Brian Jones era tours are hard to evaluate because there were lots of smaller tours and there aren't that many bootlegs available. But 1965 British Tour (Got Live) was great. (And I put those American and European legs together)

Funny how these lists always start with the 1969 tour. Just because there is little film footage and few bootlegs were recorded is in no way indicative that the Brian Jones era tours should not be on the list.

1. Licks (Best consept ever! 43 different songs in three nights. GREAT!)
2. A Bigger Bang
3. Voodoo Lounge
4. Bridges to Babylon
5. 1975/76
6. 1978 - most fun and the rawest
7. 1973 European tour
8. 1969
9. Steel Wheels (The stage was the best ever!)
10. Urban Jungle (Worst stage ever!)
11. 1981/82



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-18 14:10 by Niklas.

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its good to be anywhere
Funny how these lists always start with the 1969 tour. Just because there is little film footage and few bootlegs were recorded is in no way indicative that the Brian Jones era tours should not be on the list.

Agree 1967 best tour ever, check out this one Brian playing the organ on Let's Spend and than the last few minutes of Satisfaction on this show, MSG's Satisfaction doesn't even come close!

Awesome youtube clip, behorez! Great sound and film content. The '67 tour is the lost Stones punk tour. That's when they were genuinely punky without trying like they did in '78 (although they certainly did well in '78 too).

Hmmmm I don't really see punk on the '67 tour, more like psychedelic blues. They are glammed out with their silk shirts and scarfs, and Brian in that hat! CLASSIC! That is a great clip, and that version of LSTNT is probably my favorite now! Where was it recorded? Fantastic! Paris? But sorry that organ does not sound good in Satisfaction! WHEW!

1. 1978
2. 1969
3. ...

I don't really know. 1973 was great indeed, then 2002/2003 was fun too... 1979 had fun, cool performances and it's still unknown

73
69
78
67
72
2002/3
75
65 tour of Europe

wow the STP tour is not very popular out here.

Will like to listen to some 67 tour music