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keefriff99

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stevecardi
Thanks for all the responses!
I might be biased in favor of 1989/1990 since I'm one of the few fans that genuinely loves the Steel Wheels album, the two tours' killer stages, and the fact their playing had a tightness to it that we hadn't heard from them since the Taylor years.
But on the VL tour, there was something rough and arrogant about the Stones: a sense of danger had returned to their sound they didn't have in 1989/1990 (or, for that matter, 1981/1982). But it wasn't the 1960s/1970s menacing Stones; it was something new entirely.

Or, stated in another way:

1989/1990 = "We're back and we're better than ever!"

1994/1995 = "Try to string us up! I dare you (I double dare you!): we ain't dead yet, and we're still better than everyone else!"

Everything about the Voodoo Lounge marketing was darker and more menacing.

The liner note photos, the RS cover shoot with the masks, the fantastic Love Is Strong video, Mick in the Baron Samedi outfit for Sympathy, the way Keith dressed...there was a playful edge and darkness to their aesthetic during that period which was really fantastic.

It was all posturing, but they really did come off as badass. That period is what got me hooked on the Stones when I was a teen. The Love is Strong video and their performance at the VMAs reeled me in and I was hooked for life.

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stevecardi
1994/1995 = "Try to string us up! I dare you (I double dare you!): we ain't dead yet, and we're still better than everyone else!"

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Rocky Dijon
You could do the same comparison with "Miss You." The difference is too much of the time, the arrangements became driven by keyboards and not guitar. There are exceptions, some glorious, but overall Keith and Ronnie played around Chuck adding decorative work to his keyboard melodies. That, to me, was what ruined a lot of performances for me. "Miss You" is a song I have no interest in after 1990. And yes, I love the original.

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geordiestone
There were blow up dolls on the VL tour. I remember a huge Elvis Presley at Wembley. And on occasions they played SW songs such as Rock And a Hard Place and Slipping Away.

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JMARKO
Arguably the two worst tours of the modern era. Interesting to have a thread comparing them.

I think they got progressively better since starting back in 89. But I think they truly hit their stride in 97/98. The three MSG shows in 98 took them to a new place, and that lasted about 10 years.

The first two tours are dominated by additional instruments/vocals, and a lack of focus on guitars in the mix.

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Monsoon Ragoon
1989/90 was a horror trip. Stones on autopilot from start till the end. They played too well-rehearsed, too close to the studio takes, too much keyboards, too predictable setlists. Even the interesting songs like One Hit or Play With Fire sounded strange in their 80s sound and were dropped eventually. The only good thing about 1989/90 are 2000 Light Years and Factory Girl. - 1994/95 and 1997/98 were far better, but still the 2nd/3rd worst (or 3rd/2nd, I'm not sure) world tour. They sounded like the Stones again 1999 onwards, incl. more interesting setlists. They need arena shows sometimes.

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Jah Paul

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stevecardi
1994/1995 = "Try to string us up! I dare you (I double dare you!): we ain't dead yet, and we're still better than everyone else!"

I remember one review of the VL tour where the author alluded to this...citing how the opening line of Not Fade Away ("I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be!") set the tone for the evening.

Really enjoyed the Voodoo Lounge show I saw at the Rose Bowl (much more than Steel Wheels) - they were loud and rockin' all night.

Edit:
Can't believe I actually found that review online...it was by the L.A. Times' Robert Hilburn for the San Diego show, just prior to when I saw them at the Rose Bowl.

"I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be," Jagger declared teasingly in the first line of "Not Fade Away," the 1964 hit that opened the two-hour set. The still lean, athletic singer delivered the lyric with such biting authority that he mocked the idea that this is a band living on borrowed time. His words, in effect, were a vow that the Stones can still entertain and excite.

[articles.latimes.com]

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HonkeyTonkFlash
My impression was that given their new habit of trying to replicate their studio albums, some of the Steel Wheels shows were a bit stiff; technically perfect but lacking some soul. By 1994 it seemed to me that they had gotten comfortable enough with their new methods to put some more feeling back into their playing...but that's just my opinion.

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Monsoon Ragoon
1989/90 was a horror trip. Stones on autopilot from start till the end. They played too well-rehearsed, too close to the studio takes, too much keyboards, too predictable setlists. Even the interesting songs like One Hit or Play With Fire sounded strange in their 80s sound and were dropped eventually. The only good thing about 1989/90 are 2000 Light Years and Factory Girl. - 1994/95 and 1997/98 were far better, but still the 2nd/3rd worst (or 3rd/2nd, I'm not sure) world tour. They sounded like the Stones again 1999 onwards, incl. more interesting setlists. They need arena shows sometimes.

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DandelionPowderman

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Monsoon Ragoon
1989/90 was a horror trip. Stones on autopilot from start till the end. They played too well-rehearsed, too close to the studio takes, too much keyboards, too predictable setlists. Even the interesting songs like One Hit or Play With Fire sounded strange in their 80s sound and were dropped eventually. The only good thing about 1989/90 are 2000 Light Years and Factory Girl. - 1994/95 and 1997/98 were far better, but still the 2nd/3rd worst (or 3rd/2nd, I'm not sure) world tour. They sounded like the Stones again 1999 onwards, incl. more interesting setlists. They need arena shows sometimes.

You must have had extremely bad luck, because this is not how the show I attended was. Nothing like it.

It rocked, and I have the tape to prove it

SFTD, Paint It, Black, Harlem Shuffle, ALL the warhorses, Sad Sad Sad, Mixed Emotions, 2000 LYFH (as you mentioned), Ruby Tuesday, Midnight Rambler and Street Fighting Man were all excellent.

We didn't have the internet back then, so nobody were thinking about whether the setlist was predictable or not.

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Monsoon Ragoon

I was in fact very enthusiastic back then at 13 in West Berlin. But only because it was the first time. I don't like 1989/90, although "horror trip" might be the wrong description. Many people will agree that it was the worst tour. The continuation of the Jagger Tour 1988 with better musicians.

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ErwinH

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Monsoon Ragoon

I was in fact very enthusiastic back then at 13 in West Berlin. But only because it was the first time. I don't like 1989/90, although "horror trip" might be the wrong description. Many people will agree that it was the worst tour. The continuation of the Jagger Tour 1988 with better musicians.

I was also at the Berlin concert. Urban Jungle was the 1st Stones-tour for me, in Berlin I was really impressed by the huge Steel Wheels stage.
It was a great day, that afternoon we ran into Charlie, at Unter den Linden :-)

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Spud

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HonkeyTonkFlash
My impression was that given their new habit of trying to replicate their studio albums, some of the Steel Wheels shows were a bit stiff; technically perfect but lacking some soul. By 1994 it seemed to me that they had gotten comfortable enough with their new methods to put some more feeling back into their playing...but that's just my opinion.