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GJV
What I don't like about the recent versions is that Keith and Ron only are playing guitar on the chorus and -so it seems- are standing and waiting in the back, doing nothing the rest of the song, until Keith is trying to do a not so great solo.
I don't remember it was always played like this.
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DandelionPowdermanQuote
GJV
What I don't like about the recent versions is that Keith and Ron only are playing guitar on the chorus and -so it seems- are standing and waiting in the back, doing nothing the rest of the song, until Keith is trying to do a not so great solo.
I don't remember it was always played like this.
That's only a description of what's happening before the first chorus. After that, Keith alternates between playing some of the bass lines and some of the Ya Ya's riffs - inconsistently..
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DandelionPowdermanQuote
GJV
What I don't like about the recent versions is that Keith and Ron only are playing guitar on the chorus and -so it seems- are standing and waiting in the back, doing nothing the rest of the song, until Keith is trying to do a not so great solo.
I don't remember it was always played like this.
That's only a description of what's happening before the first chorus. After that, Keith alternates between playing some of the bass lines and some of the Ya Ya's riffs - inconsistently..
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crumbling_mice
It's simple, they systematically ruined it. It peaked on Ya Ya's and was acceptable on Love you Live, but since then it has gradually lost any of its dangerousness and today we find it mid set, kicked off with a jaded drum loop, Chuck plinking and plonking and injecting more cheese than a cheesy cheese shop in Bavaria.
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audun-eg
On 89-90, and 94-95 tour, the bassdrum is also pre-programmed as the percussions are. On Flashpoint they mixed that out with only Charlie's four on the floor bassdrum beat audible, but you can certainly hear it in videoclips and other recordings from those tours.
Would be cool if he played it like he did on record. That's an intricate drum pattern. I think he did it on Hyde Park '69.
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crumbling_mice
It's simple, they systematically ruined it. It peaked on Ya Ya's and was acceptable on Love you Live, but since then it has gradually lost any of its dangerousness and today we find it mid set, kicked off with a jaded drum loop, Chuck plinking and plonking and injecting more cheese than a cheesy cheese shop in Bavaria. The key guitar riff has just about gone, those beautiful hammer ons and offs that syncopated it beautifully are now replaced with an occasional power chord from Keith and Ronnie half heartedly trying to mimic the original riff - usually mixed so low down its almost inaudible.
Jagger no longer sneers his words, he isn't goading us with the phrasing any more, just a monologue, everything is mixed with different levels from the early live versions...it might be named Sympathy for the Levels these days. It's about as satanic and menacing as the Birdy Song!
It's their song, they can do what they want with it and it will always go down well at live shows and I admit, I was at Glastonbury and I enjoyed it, but it's almost a different song these days. As someone pointed out, kind of karaoke/pantomime. But to be honest, how many of the songs these days retain that rare 'Stones' feel and sound ....not many. Things have evolved, it was always going to happen and we should enjoy what we can while we can, but any comparisons to earlier performances should be avoided as they are likely to disappoint.
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HMS
I like recent versions better than the earlier versions of the 60s & 70s. It´a show-highlight and no way it´s a bathroom-break-song. Listen for example to the great version on SAL, if somebody wants to leave for a bathroom-break he must be seriously ill. And there were even a couple of better versions in 2012-16. Havana is extraordinary, a real treat.
Never heard or seen a weak version.
But Mick´s cloak is awful, somebody should burn it.
No one here has ever accused you of having a brain.
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DandelionPowderman
My favourite versions are still the original and the Rock'n'Roll Circus-version
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StonedRambler
I have a different opinion than most of you. I think the post-2012 Sympathy versions are the best since the 70s - if Keef has a good night and plays a solid solo, which is not always the case. But if he does it's fantastic.
What's really great about the post-2012 versions is how it builds up more and more over the song. It creates a magical mystic atmosphere. First you hear just the drumloop, then Charlie kicks in, then Chuck, then the backing vocals. It gets bigger and bigger until it explodes in the chorus. I mean it REALLY explodes. Keiths guitar is sooo fckn' loud and every time he hits this H-chords it's like the start of a rocket. You can't hear that on Havana Moon 'cause the guitars are mixed low but just listen to any recent Sympathy version on youtube and you will know what I mean. Someone complained that Keith and Ronnie do not play during the verses and they are not relevant. Well, actually guitars aren't really relevant for Sympathy - in the studio version the only guitar is the one that plays the solo. But due to the retention during the verses, the chorus sounds really big and explosive.
IMHO on the '89 till 2003 versions the song already reached its highest energy level during the first chorus. And it didn't build up too much from that. But hey are great anyway, because of the stage show. Mick is standing on a seperate stage which quite high. So he was like god singing from above.
I think that was necessary because they did not have screens as big as we have not, so they needed a big production. Today it's less show, it's more about the music and that gives it a more intimate atmosphere.
I think the reason why most people prefer several different Sympathy versions from the past is that they grew up with them.
Some people who heard the Ya-Yas version first were absolutely blown away by it and were quite disappointed when they heard the original studio version.
Some people had their first Stones show during the '89 tour. And of course Symphaty was one of the highlights. So they have great memories of it. So no version in the future can keep up to the version they heard first.
As we grow older, we are not as excited about some things anymore as when we were young. And so we love to think about our memories, and the more we think about them, the greater they get. That's the reason.
I bet some kids which hear Sympathy at the current concerts will remember that for the rest of their lives. No Sympathy version they hear in the future will be as good as their first-time experience.
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crumbling_mice
It's simple, they systematically ruined it. It peaked on Ya Ya's and was acceptable on Love you Live, but since then it has gradually lost any of its dangerousness and today we find it mid set, kicked off with a jaded drum loop, Chuck plinking and plonking and injecting more cheese than a cheesy cheese shop in Bavaria.
That is fantastic!!!!!!!!!
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mtaylor
60'ies an 70'ies is a rock band version. Later on is A Las Vegas band version
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mtaylor
60'ies an 70'ies is a rock band version. Later on is A Las Vegas band version
The Love Y Live version is all bells and whistles to me. They push the original to the extreme without adding any musical creativity. That never really changed, till date, imo.
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mtaylor
60'ies an 70'ies is a rock band version. Later on is A Las Vegas band version
The Love Y Live version is all bells and whistles to me. They push the original to the extreme without adding any musical creativity. That never really changed, till date, imo.
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liddas
Devil rests in peace since 1975 (was it played at all in 1976?).
Only fond memory I have of a modern versions takes me back to Werchter 2007. Devil was the encore. Took the chance to start walking towards the rear of the venue so that I could be closer to the exit.
At the very end of the field there were was a beautiful young black girl - 20 years old or so - dancing, all alone, with her eyes closed. Her moves were so sensual that somehow there and then that stupid Devil loop started making sense!!!
C
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TheflyingDutchmanQuote
mtaylor
60'ies an 70'ies is a rock band version. Later on is A Las Vegas band version
The Love Y Live version is all bells and whistles to me. They push the original to the extreme without adding any musical creativity. That never really changed, till date, imo.
I think they did. I even prefer the 1975 versions and thats thanks to Mick who sang it better ( he is underrated on that tour) and thanks to Ollie and also Billy.
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HonkeyTonkFlash
At least the 1975-76 versions still had fire and life to them, even if they tended to lean lean towards the chaotic. Steel Wheels versions and some Voodoo Lounge versions still had plenty of life to them, and there was the thrill of hearing them revive a classic not heard in years. Alas, I feel it was a mistake to trot it out on virtually every tour since then and let it become as worn out as it is now.
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HonkeyTonkFlash
At least the 1975-76 versions still had fire and life to them, even if they tended to lean lean towards the chaotic. Steel Wheels versions and some Voodoo Lounge versions still had plenty of life to them, and there was the thrill of hearing them revive a classic not heard in years. Alas, I feel it was a mistake to trot it out on virtually every tour since then and let it become as worn out as it is now.