Aside from the fact that there have been some cringe-worthy Keith moments, the band seems to be on an absolute roll right now. That Midnight Rambler was easily the best of the 50 & Counting tour/14 On Fire tour, and the Street Fighting Man was fantastic as well. Jagger seems to have some fire underneath his vocals for the first time in a while, and Ronnie sounds great. You can tell having Mick Taylor deliver that stunning solo during Midnight Rambler made Ronnie up his game, and he ended up pulling off a sick solo of his own. This is why we all want to see Taylor on more songs, if not the whole set. He seems to make Ronnie, Mick J, and Keith play with a passion they don't typically play with these days.

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StonedInTokyo
Looks to me like The Rolling Stones rocked Shanghai. Great photos!

They ROCKED Shanghai !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

I saw the band on opening night in L.A. last May. Mick Taylor on Midnight Rambler was definitely the highlight of the night, and most people around had no idea who he was. The duets were a pointless waste of precious Stones time. And yet they still won't let Taylor play on more songs. There's something cruel about all this.

Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 07:18 by 71Tele.

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71Tele


Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

He adds to the show enormously, and does seem to make Keith and Ronnie step up a gear when he's on, (and we've already seen how good the Taylor Wood show is when they play together without the Jagger/Richards influence).......

Bring Mick Taylor on for the full show......It would definately be amazing!

What a drag it is gettin' old

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71Tele

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

Keith was never really known for his solos, anyway.

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Aquamarine

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71Tele

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

Keith was never really known for his solos, anyway.

I think he was in '64 and '65. Somebody was picking those nimble solos and it sure wasn't Brian.

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24FPS

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Aquamarine

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71Tele

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

Keith was never really known for his solos, anyway.

I think he was in '64 and '65. Somebody was picking those nimble solos and it sure wasn't Brian.

IMO, Keith's best soloing days were on the 81/82 tour and the 89/90 tour, respectively. He was finally sober and playing really ferociously. Kind of playing with a sense of urgency that he had not played with before, and really hasn't played with since. This is of course just part of him getting old and arthritis taking it's toll. Listen to his solos on Sympathy for the Devil and Satisfaction from the Live at Tokyo '90 bootleg for proof. His solo on Let Me Go on the Leeds '82 bootleg is filthy as well.

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Deathgod
seats in the pit !

Never thought I'd find myself writing to this effect, but the seated pit actually worked great. What it essentially meant was that there wasn't the usual scrum to get to the rail at the front, and that all the usual jostling and pushing and shoving that goes on simply wasn't a feature of being there. We were in row 2 on Keith's side, but a few minutes before the show started we simply got up from our seats and stood at the rail in front of the seats of the row in front of us - namely row 1. As it happened, no-one turned up to claim those row 1 seats, so basically we spent the entire show on the rail without a crowd of people about 15 deep standing behind us and doing all the usual pushing and shoving, which can sometimes really irritate you and possibly even ruin an entire show for you - as we all know. Under this arrangement, you had your personal space, there was no crush, it worked great in practice.

An unusual setup for sure, and not one seen so far on this "tongue pit" arrangement (Shanghai I believe was the first since the O2 shows in November 2012), but in practice I have to say that it actually worked incredibly well.

I wouldn't go so far to say that I'd become a devotee of a seated pit, but it certainly contributed to a really nice atmosphere in that area, giving people plenty of personal space in which to move around and dance and enjoy the show. And it is important to say that the security got the balance absolutely right between insisting people kept to their seats and allowing some level of freedom of movement. I've been at many shows where security has by contrast done an absolutely appalling job, and a front of stage invasion has ruined the gig for a lot of people. The worst example was Rome on the ABB tour, that one I think has become infamous.

Given that the pit is small, I personally could actually live with a seated pit again if it came to it. Most of us aim for the pit because we're proximity freaks, proximity is everything. OK, if a pit is seated, you do of course stand a chance of not being in the first 2 or 3 rows when you buy your pit ticket. But having said that, given that the pit as a front of stage area is as small as it is, even if you ended up being seated 12 or 15 rows back - you've still got one hell of a view. In fact sometimes, especially if a stage is slightly on the high side relative to floor level, being just that little bit further back is better, in terms of the overall view it affords you.

Anyway, the Rolling Stones in Shanghai for myself and my travelling companion was simply THE show of our Stones careers to date, sheer bliss. We will always remember this show with tremendous affection. it will always occupy a very special place in our memories, regardless of how many times we might yet see this band.

On a scale of 1-10 for customer satisfaction ............. try about 5,000 !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Finally time to listen properly the clips.

Wow, that "Street Fighting Man" surely is a gas gas gas! The Glimmer Twins are really on fire - Keith does the minimum but no one else in the world can do with such a little effort so big sounding and significant guitar contribution. "Keeping that rhythmn DOWN DOWN DOWN..." But each chord hitting the target. No bullshitting. Then Jagger... I am impressed - he has not been able to deliver the song with so much edge and fire and passion and intent and whatever in it since the decadent 70's. I have never been a big fan of any modern day "Street Fighting Man", mostly to due with Jagger's autopilot way of singing it, trying to save his voice, and not get too carried away, holding his damn horses, but now he just lets it go... I love that 'punkish' way of delivering the words (reminds me of his 1978-82 vocals - the 'struggle cat' routine is kicked out), and also his 'show aspect' has more point than many of his routine-filled past versions. That natural energy. Incredible!

"Street Fighting Man" is their most daring song both lyrically and musically they ever have done. The band just don't get more 'dangerous', 'threatening' and provocative... their sharpest hit in that front. Makes me more and more wonder why they don't play it more often - in their politics of 'we show all the best sides of us' that corner is left unused. But probably the song not being a set regular have something to do with the song sounding this fresh this time. (I have some critical words to say but that is not allowed in this thread, so I spell it elsewhere.)

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 09:13 by Doxa.

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71Tele

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

Keith's solos on IORR and other songs are still good.

The Satisfaction and SFTD-solos are merely functioning as a meet and greet with the audience on the ramp. They're just percussive licks in-between the beat.

Taylor can add a lot, but to think that he would make the band better on every song is just silly, imo. With Silver Train and Sway in mind, we know it won't be as easy as that.

Had he (and the band) bothered to rehearse intensely for two months, it could have been another story, though.

One more thing: Taylor plays differently today, and his sound is not the same (the same goes for Ronnie and Keith). So, the effect of his playing won't be as "big" as it may have been back in the day.

Sorry to toss the torch in the cheering camp, but it is a valid point, imo.

And, I forgot: I love the Rolling Stones!

"Rambler".... Huh, I guess used my praisal vocabulary to previous gig already, so what can I say...

It starts to look like all the "Ramblers" of 50 AND COUNTING TOUR were just rehearsal, and now they nail it every night. It is simply better and better anything they have done onstage musically for the last 30 years or so. Real, authentic, timeless but here and now live music at its best. I couldn't believe in million years that they could be that awesome in this stage of events. Each version is unique, breaths differently in different stages of the song. But here comes my small observations of this version:

From the first dialogue seconds with Jagger's harp, Taylor indicates that 'today, people, you gonna hear some badass lead guitar'... The style he takes in the first verses is good old time British blues guitar at its purest and even best - a nod to God himself. But then, out of the blue, he takes us to total odd territory, probably the biggest 'Jimi Hendrix moment' a Stones live show has ever seen. It sounds that excursion seemed even to confuss teh band a bit, or even they wonder what the hell he did, and the following 'slow section' of the song is probably the lest profilic for some time. But then the motor starts running hard again, Taylor's little run in 9:27 or so like showing a sign that 'hey, what about going back to catching a world record in this song again', and the following section, starting around 9:32 or so, the band offers its most transcendental drive of the song since... I don't care. Jagger goes high on register... "Eeeevrybooodyyy Gooootta goooo", leaving his vocal-coached realm far behind and just lets the feel of the song go through his body and vocal chords. The rest is total ecstacy - the band sounding as great as they EVER have done. 'My' Stones just don't sound any better.

I praise just Taylor and Jagger here, since they offer so much outfront, but is the whole killing band there, lead by riffmaster, doing an excellent job.

Rock and roll just can't be any better - now or ever. Ugh.

- Doxa

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Doxa
It starts to look like all the "Ramblers" of 50 AND COUNTING TOUR were just rehearsal, and now they nail it every night.

And more I think of it, let me add, all those "Ramblers" during the modern age - usually offering a show highlight, and rare glimpse of the living and breathing 'greatest rock and roll band in the world' - starts to sound like keeping the song alive, warmed and unspoiled for these triumps to come.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 10:40 by Doxa.

Dead flower is great ! love the Keith back vocals
and Ronnie's solo is quite good
he's much more focused that it used to be on previous tours ...

and Midnight Rambler is still improving.
I can't wait to experience it live in Europe

Gimme Shelter was fantastic as well

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This is why we all want to see Taylor on more songs, if not the whole set. He seems to make Ronnie, Mick J, and Keith play with a passion they don't typically play with these days.

Taylor is no longer part of the Stones, we have to remember it every time? And invited as a special guest. Let's enjoy this is a miracle this!
Fortunately, the Stones are not Mick Taylor, were there before and after!

Keiths solos on satisfaction and SFD are functioning as meet and greet on the ramp - percussive licks between the beat


What a great analysis of Keiths playing by DP and Doxa - I don't hear his solos as embarrassing, just different and simplified and as Doxa says, there is no one who can make less into more - like Keith's simple but really effective solo on Respectable in Tokyo

I wish I also had seen them in 2008 in Denmark... Lucky girl!

(01:35)

Well, I said I wanted to hear it - and now the interesting set list on paper is becoming a blistering hot performance in real life. On fire indeed!

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EJM
Keiths solos on satisfaction and SFD are functioning as meet and greet on the ramp - percussive licks between the beat


What a great analysis of Keiths playing by DP and Doxa - I don't hear his solos as embarrassing, just different and simplified and as Doxa says, there is no one who can make less into more - like Keith's simple but really effective solo on Respectable in Tokyo

And no one criticizes the Respectable solo - simply because it's great

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Sam4741

IMO, Keith's best soloing days were on the 81/82 tour and the 89/90 tour, respectively. He was finally sober and playing really ferociously.

You're right about the "ferociously" part but dead wrong about the "finally sober" one.

Listening to the performances of Dead Flowers, Ruby Tuesday and Street Fighting Man in a row is so great! Hope they realize, people loved it and take more chances like this in their future shows. To those, who attended, how was the audience reacting to this sequence? The videos seem to indicate, it was a success?

Keith's backing vocals on Dead Flowers and Ruby Tuesday are very nice. It seems, everybody enjoys playing with each other. Did you see the Mick-Keith moment after Dead Flowers, where Mick happily smiles at Keith and he smiles back?

And I enjoy the deep voiced Mick Jagger parts in Dead Flowers. Somehow it'S so unusual to hear him sing in this range for longer parts, because he doesn't do it very often, but he's good at it and I like it. His voice gets a very warm sound this way.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 14:45 by StrawberriesBlueberries.

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StrawberriesBlueberries
Listening to the performances of Dead Flowers, Ruby Tuesday and Street Fighting Man in a row is so great! Hope they realize, people loved it and take more chances like this in their future shows. To those, who attended, how was the audience reacting to this sequence? The videos seem to indicate, it was a success?

Keith's backing vocals on Dead Flowers and Ruby Tuesday are very nice. It seems, everybody enjoys playing with each other. Did you see the Mick-Keith moment after Dead Flowers, where Mick happily smiles at Keith and he smiles back?

Sweet,isn't it? SFM and DF - pure joy
I don't think Keith's backing vocals were perfect - that's why Mick several times looked back at him - but still their duet was great. I liked this rendition very much. Mick sounded differently, much lower than usual - or am I wrong?

Neither Mick's or Keith's vocals were (are ever) perfect. That's one of the reasons we love'em so much!

No, you're not wrong, PM. Mick was deep down there - as he was for the first time on the Stripped version, but even more on this version.

Oops - already posted. Forget it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 14:51 by Green Lady.

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proudmary

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StrawberriesBlueberries
Listening to the performances of Dead Flowers, Ruby Tuesday and Street Fighting Man in a row is so great! Hope they realize, people loved it and take more chances like this in their future shows. To those, who attended, how was the audience reacting to this sequence? The videos seem to indicate, it was a success?

Keith's backing vocals on Dead Flowers and Ruby Tuesday are very nice. It seems, everybody enjoys playing with each other. Did you see the Mick-Keith moment after Dead Flowers, where Mick happily smiles at Keith and he smiles back?

Sweet,isn't it? SFM and DF - pure joy
I don't think Keith's backing vocals were perfect - that's why Mick several times looked back at him - but still their duet was great. I liked this rendition very much. Mick sounded differently, much lower than usual - or am I wrong?

I had just edited my post to add this remark about Mick's low/deep voice (is there a difference in English? I'm a bit confused, because "low" can also mean "quiet"?), before I read your post. I noticed this aspect of his voice, too. I also don't think Keith's backing vocals were perfect, but they were nice. As much as I like Keith, I don't always like his backing vocals in recent times. But this time he adapted them to the song and Mick's singing. I don't know, if Keith should be too perfect, because his imperfection, sloppiness and roughness are very much part of his charm, I think. Walking on a thin line between brilliant and horrible, sometimes altogether in the same moment and impossible to explain. The problem is, when he crosses the line towards 'horrible' too much.

I'm not sure, why Mick turns around to Keith. I wondered that, too. But I have often seen him do this in in these situations, where Keith comes in with singing. Not sure, it has something to do with the quality of Keith's singing. Could also be some kind of sign or controlling reflex to ensure, Keith doesn't forget to sing and to indicate the beginning of the chorus (similar like his "Come on" during other songs as a sign for a change in playing).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 15:19 by StrawberriesBlueberries.

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StrawberriesBlueberries

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proudmary

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StrawberriesBlueberries
Listening to the performances of Dead Flowers, Ruby Tuesday and Street Fighting Man in a row is so great! Hope they realize, people loved it and take more chances like this in their future shows. To those, who attended, how was the audience reacting to this sequence? The videos seem to indicate, it was a success?

Keith's backing vocals on Dead Flowers and Ruby Tuesday are very nice. It seems, everybody enjoys playing with each other. Did you see the Mick-Keith moment after Dead Flowers, where Mick happily smiles at Keith and he smiles back?

Sweet,isn't it? SFM and DF - pure joy
I don't think Keith's backing vocals were perfect - that's why Mick several times looked back at him - but still their duet was great. I liked this rendition very much. Mick sounded differently, much lower than usual - or am I wrong?

I had just edited my post to add this remark about Mick's low/deep voice (is there a difference in English? I'm a bit confused, because "low" can also mean "quiet"?), before I read your post. I noticed this aspect of his voice, too. I also don't think Keith's backing vocals were perfect, but they were nice. As much as I like Keith, I don't always like his backing vocals in recent times. But this time he adapted them to the song and Mick's singing. I don't know, if Keith should be too perfect, because his imperfection, sloppiness and roughness are very much part of his charm, I think. Walking on a thin line between brilliant and horrible, sometimes altogether in the same moment and impossible to explain. The problem is, when he crosses the line towards 'horrible' too much.

I'm not sure, why Mick turns around to Keith. I wondered that, too. But I have often seen him do this in in these situations, where Keith comes in with singing. Not sure, it has something to do with the quality of Keith's singing. Could also be some kind of sign or controlling reflex to ensure, Keith doesn't forget to sing and to indicate the beginning of the chorus (similar like his "Come on" during other songs as a sign for a change in playing).

I remember as Charlie said in an interview that when he's wrong Mick never misses it and always immediately turns to him. And Keith did a couple of mistakes -maybe that's why they were laughing at the end
I agree with you that such a low register makes Mick sounds warmer-I didn't feel his usual "country song" mockery

I'm not sure, why Mick turns around to Keith. I wondered that, too. But I have often seen him do this in in these situations, where Keith comes in with singing. Not sure, it has something to do with the quality of Keith's singing.

usually - yes,it has. If you noticed when Keith did his vocals perfectly on Memory Hotel in Boston - Mick did not turn around once.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-14 15:53 by proudmary.

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DandelionPowderman

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71Tele

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Brstonesfan
Has Keith been able to play one inspiring solo? I do not like the shiny jacket
he is wearing. Really looks like an old mans windbreaker.

Maybe Keith's solos haven't been great, but his rhythm playing is sounding better than it has in years, in my opinion. I think playing with Taylor is bringing out the best in Keith and Ronnie. Just wish the three were onstage together for the whole show. I think it would be amazing.

Keith's solos on IORR and other songs are still good.

The Satisfaction and SFTD-solos are merely functioning as a meet and greet with the audience on the ramp. They're just percussive licks in-between the beat.

Taylor can add a lot, but to think that he would make the band better on every song is just silly, imo. With Silver Train and Sway in mind, we know it won't be as easy as that.

Had he (and the band) bothered to rehearse intensely for two months, it could have been another story, though.

One more thing: Taylor plays differently today, and his sound is not the same (the same goes for Ronnie and Keith). So, the effect of his playing won't be as "big" as it may have been back in the day.

Sorry to toss the torch in the cheering camp, but it is a valid point, imo.

And, I forgot: I love the Rolling Stones!

Because he had to play within the template of the band on Sway. But on this Rambler he's going really loose and takes the song to another level. He surely could do the same on, for instance, SFM. What a finale that song would get, you just can't imagine. Taylor's playing is different, but he's much better and more self assured than during the American tour (except for some great moments). He surely has practised a lot, like LuxuryStones had advised him.

That deeper voice of Mick's was also very noticeable when he came in with "oh don't do that" on Midnight Rambler.