I was there at the concert in 1971 at the roundhouse. This was my very first Stones concert and boy did they rock. This is what really turned me on to the Stones, I have been to concerts on ALL the tours ever since and none are as good as the one I saw at the roundhouse.

I still have a dead flower pressed in a book somewhere that Mick threw at the end of the concert

The switch from the Ampegs to the cleaner sounding Twin Reverbs have a lot to do with the more laid back sound.
Those Fender Twins, as great as they are just don't overdrive like a lot of other amps, especially those mean ass Ampegs!

The Marquee show is very sloppy, although it's nice to have on DVD.
The Coventry show I can't tell as the recording is so bad.
Leeds is very laid back but it is still a great show, it's good to have something a little different.
The Roundhouse bootleg is one of my favorites!!! They seem very inspired and well-oiled, as Keith might say.

I think it's really hard to get a good idea of what the tour was like as we only have these 4 shows to base our opinions on, whereas, the 69-70, and 72-73 period we have many more recordings in circulation.

BV -

What was your very first show in 1973?

I realize that "the 71 live Stones suck..." is an opinion but it really causes me to question the knowlege,sanity or just plain motives of anyone that would write such an ignorant statement!

I understand that '71 was definitely "laid back" relatively speaking but that's the charm, gives it more character than if it had essentially been a repeat of '69/'70 with a couple of new tunes thrown in. And, it definitely does suffer from the fact that only 4 (and incomplete, at that) shows are out.

I like Leeds and I LOVE what they did with Satisfaction, so cool to take a signature song and present it in a totally different way. You imagine then ever having the gumption to try something like that these last couple of tours?

As to what they were thinking...I have read quotes by both Mick and Keith about how much they loved the Otis Redding version of Satisfaction and how they thought it was so cool he covered it. To me, this sounds like their take on his, more R&B slant on the song--total departure and I think it works really well. Would I have wanted that to be the way they always did it from that point on? Of course not. But I am real glad they tried it--same with Stray Cat Blues.

That said, the '72, imo was the absolute zenith of the band (doesn't mean there wern't other GREAT periods, lol) and in that respect a vast improvement over '71 or anything else they did.

Does anyone know if there are multiple versions of the Coventry show floating around...I've got the VGP issue of that show, and the sound is terrible.

Quote
Glass Slide
I like Leeds and I LOVE what they did with Satisfaction, so cool to take a signature song and present it in a totally different way. You imagine then ever having the gumption to try something like that these last couple of tours?

agree with everything you said in the post, slideman...

but, they did try an ultra-cool bloozey version of 19NB on the last tour and abandoned it quickly for no discernible reason. one of the handful of true highlights from the entire tour, for my dollar. it's almost like they enjoy pissing me off....

Really? Most interesting re 19NB---where did they play it?

I'd be interested in checking that out.

madison square garden - you weren't there? they also did it at the toronto warmup gig...

i think BV is right, you really cant judge by a old recording.

Marquee Show recording actually SOUNDS without energy and boring, thats for sure, but how do we know how really was the show..maybe just the drums or something are low in the mix, or badly recorded.

Stephen Davis slags 71 pretty badly in his book "Old Gods . . ." for whatever that's worth. Definitely lots of extra-musical stuff going on related to having to leave the UK. One story has Jagger uncharacteristically throwing a chair through a window after getting the plug pulled at an impromptu jam somewhere.

There are a LOT of bum notes on Leeds, and the Rambler intro and rearranged Satisfaction are interesting as curios, but nothing really significant going on musically.

Really interesting about the guitar and amps, Mathjis. (The Armstrong is the clear-plastic one, no?) but I tend to like the combination of cleaner sound and laid back vibe.

And the unique arrangement of SCB is one for the "best of . . . ever" compiliations.

Quote
vudicus
The switch from the Ampegs to the cleaner sounding Twin Reverbs have a lot to do with the more laid back sound.
Those Fender Twins, as great as they are just don't overdrive like a lot of other amps, especially those mean ass Ampegs! ...

Interesting. I really like the heavy-weight guitar sound from the 1969 tour...in fact they have never sounded like that before or since. The change to Fenders explains the change in sound then.

I wonder if they used Ampegs in the next few early 70s tours? But still unable to get that 1969 sound again though......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-24 19:40 by WeLoveYou.

Going by photos, there are Fender amps there, but the ampegs are still there and are plugged in to for some of the shows.

They should have stuck with Vox Supremes though! ><





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-24 22:58 by His Majesty.

It's interesting to hear about equipment changes - BUT if the band's on form it won't matter which set-up they are using.

Regarding Keith and Smack - he started using it in '68, i think - and thru '69 and onwards. I can't believe it had a more detrimental effect on his playing in '71 than in '72-'73, or '69-70. If his playing is less good in '71 - it's probably due to other factors. But I don't think it's that bad!

Let It Rock at Leeds - definitive version - makes all '78 versions sound sloppy/amateurish.

'not up to the mark' ??? OK, then on that basis forget about 1975, 1976, 1978 1981-82 then! And certainly don't analyse equipment to find out why.

(Other Leeds songs I've heard are up to 'the mark'too)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-25 01:14 by Four Stone Walls.

It's impossible to judge how Rolling Stones sounded in 1971, generally, because of the recordings available. Only 3 out of 14 concerts available on recording (nevermind the poor Marquee TV show). The best of the lot is the poorest sounding one; Coventry. Hmmm...I think I wrote the exact same thing a few weeks ago...deja vu

Quote
Erik_Snow
It's impossible to judge how Rolling Stones sounded in 1971, generally, because of the recordings available. Only 3 out of 14 concerts available on recording (nevermind the poor Marquee TV show). The best of the lot is the poorest sounding one; Coventry. Hmmm...I think I wrote the exact same thing a few weeks ago...deja vu

Good points sometimes need repeating.

Yeah, just like the "good to be here, good to be anywhere" phrase

Quote
T&A
madison square garden - you weren't there? they also did it at the toronto warmup gig...

Holy moly!! A mind is a terrible thing to waste!!!

I was there---that was the show I saw with my sister (her first Stones show---not a bad way to break in) as I had given her the ticket as an X-Mas gift. And a damn fine gift at that! lol

T&A--you know I have never owned a tape of that show so its harder to recall, not thats a valid excuse or anything...

Yeah and the setlists were lousy too with Dead Flowers, Love In Vain, Bitch, Satisfaction, Brown Sugar. It must have been a real drag seeing them that year. (eye roll) As far as I know only Leeds and The Marquee are quality recordings. And there's nothing wrong with the Leeds show. It was the end of small venues. I would have loved to see them on this tour.

oh gosh this is just not possible

i mean, it was during the mick taylor perfectstones period after all


p

The Leeds show is a perfect flow!

"It just seems out of the Mick Taylor Live years with the band that 1971 stands out as the poorest"...

Totally agree.

If I were to put in order the best years out of the Mick Taylor Years i would go:
1969
1973
1972
1970
last 1971

I think that's what Esky is getting at....
Afterall, the band is at the top of their powers during this time.

But god help him slagging the Stones....

Outside of the Brussells 73 shows Leeds 71 is my favorite Stones boot!!! Bitch absolutely smokes!

You cats and chicks ever listen to the EP Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let it Rock?


If they sucked in 71, what can you say about 75 to the present....

JR

wish one of those 71 shows with wild horses and cyhmk would surface

Quote
stone-relics
You cats and chicks ever listen to the EP Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let it Rock?


If they sucked in 71, what can you say about 75 to the present....

JR

i think he means "sucked" compared to 1969, 1970, 1972 & 1973....
work it out man....

I think Taylor kept his level in '70.
Even on a Fender Amp I liked his sound. But the Marquee gig was not his best performance to me.

Quote
Zack

There are a LOT of bum notes on Leeds, and the Rambler intro and rearranged Satisfaction are interesting as curios, but nothing really significant going on musically.

Hmm... I have to agree that the Leeds show sounds lazy somehow, but with Midnight Rambler... I rate that as one of my favorite versions - great, great music and feel, much better than many of the later frantic ones, musically.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-03-26 11:22 by Greenblues.

Leeds is a great recording. That's why everybody loves it so much but I've said for years that it's not that great of a performance.

The best performance I've heard from this tour is Coventry. It's too bad that out of about 15 shows, we only have the four recordings. The Marquee performance was a joke.

I've read negative reviews about this tour. I don't think the Stones really cared. But Coventry was a hot show. Who knows how many other good performances they had. We don't have the audio documentation to find out.


I also think the "Live'r" show from Oakland '69 is way overrated. It's a nice audience recording considering it's from '69, but the performance is way overrated. They were much better later in the tour. Check out Detroit, New York 11/27, Baltimore, or Boston for much better performances.

The only reason everybody is so high on "Live'r" is because of it's historical significance, being the first Stones bootleg and all.

disagree - i think the second oakland show is the best performance of the entire tour....