The Last Stones Rock N Roll Tour--1978
Posted by:
bassplayer617
()
Date: December 20, 2004 01:15
I'm putting together a playlist on my new PC featuring the best of the shows from Handsome Girls (vol 1-4). I call this the last rock n roll tour (in the old style) by the Stones, as they didn't rely on background vocalists and extraneous musicians, other than the keyboard combo of Ian Stewart (RIP) and Ian McLagan, and just played their asses off (when they were sober enough to do so). No elaborate stagesets or lighting--it was just the band.
This tour has garnered some criticism, as the band was inconsistent to say the least. However, when they were ON, it was a guitar-driven show which proved to the punkers that the Stones hadn't lost their edge. Apart from '73 and '03, this has become my favorite tour.
Culling the best from these four CDs is sometimes difficult, as so much good stuff was captured on this collection, but after I sort through them all again I think I can come up with a live album that will blow your socks off. The Detroit and Houston shows are very good, with maybe a track or two from Lexington and Memphis.
The setlist was fairly consistent throughout the tour, with emphasis on tracks from the recently released "Some Girls". This is one of my favorite Stones albums, and the tracks were meant to be played live.
In the context of the times, I think this was the Stones striking back at the naysayers who were already writing them off. Keith was having his legal problems, and Ronnie was there to keep everyone together. This was before his own bad habits caught up with him, and he shines in most of these performances. The one thing that I noticed is that Keith and Ronnie are at equal volumes, left & right. They sound great together, and this is what Keith meant by the "ancient art of weaving".
This WAS the last rock n roll tour by the band, and it deserves the attention it is now getting.