Nope, it doesn't. After about 30 listenings, this album truly is their best since Undercover (which I love). It has the best guitar and especialy drum sound since Some Girls, and it absolutely is the rawest, roughest album they made in a long long time. What isn't right now? The Stones ignore the entire album on tour. This album should be played live in its entirety in the club and arena circuit. The Stones shouldn't play those horrible half sold out with a gigantic stage playing the worn out hot rocks numbers over and over again. They should play sweaty clubs and rock hard, play at least ten tracks of the new album. I don't need Tumbling Dice, Satisfaction and Honky Tonk Women. I want Driving Too Fast, Look What the Cat Dragged In and She Saw Me Coming!

Mathijs

half sold out????

Mathijs - I TOTALL AGREE WITH YOU. If they really think this album is the 'bomb' they say it is - prove it. The setlist is a big effing yawn right now. Get off your arses and play the damn album. 3 songs a night don't cut it - and they are among the worst songs on the album to boot!

Yeah, agree - as Ronnie said in an interview, the songs really lend themselves to be played live!
Good to see that you like the new album too, seems like they haven't lost all of their creativity in studio after all, hm? Sounds great even with only two or three guitars instead of 100 overdubs.


Belgrade-Bucharest-Budapest-Brno

I do agree the hot rocks set list is pretty boring. i think every tour there's been a couple of rare songs that i heard live for the first time. this tour it's the same old warhorses. plus no significant changes yet. I'll still enjoy seeing them tomorrow, but how many times can i stand to hear miss u!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed! The album cries out to be played live. If it isn't their greatest album ever (I thimnk it's far from that), it sure is one of their greatest album when it comes to life potential.

----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

It would be great hearing ABB in a club setting. Similar to Mick's classic Webster Hall gig...all he played was most of Wandering Spirit, and a couple of Stones songs as an encore! He had a hot band and the music was really fresh! ABB would lend itself well to a gig like that!

Ross

Sigh...I remember the days when setlists contained mostly new songs. They really need to play more selections from the new album rather than flog the warhorses. Old age as some have pointed out is no excuse

Mathijs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This album should be played
> live in its entirety in the club and arena
> circuit. The Stones shouldn't play those horrible
> half sold out with a gigantic stage playing the
> worn out hot rocks numbers over and over again.
> They should play sweaty clubs and rock hard, play
> at least ten tracks of the new album. I don't need
> Tumbling Dice, Satisfaction and Honky Tonk Women.
> I want Driving Too Fast, Look What the Cat Dragged
> In and She Saw Me Coming!

Totaly agree....although I think that the new album has even the potential to be played in stadiums....as they do have such an awesome stagedesign, the new songs would fit in well..even on the big stage.
Keith said that they rehearsed 12 songs of ABB to be played live.
But I am afraid they just play 3 songs each night....but still hoping, that, if after 3-4 months, they will put more new songs in the setlist.
Maybe..if the album sells well worldwide, they will get enough selfconfidence to risk more and play more of the new tunes.
My dream. An evening with the Rolling Stones in a 200o capacity club, with a setlist of 21 songs:
Song 1 to songs 16: The whole Bigger Bang album
Song 16-21 the warehorses...not necessary, but as a kind of compromise.

Their best album since Undercover is DirtyWorkSteelWheelsVoodooLoungeBridgesto BabylonABiggerBang.

The song which sounds most Undercover-ish is Look What the Cat Dragged In, which is, appropriately, the worst track on the disc.


The guitars do sound nice on Underdcover, wow. Whipped cream on a dog turd, one might say.


K

'Don’t forget, if you’re on your bike, wear white'

Mathijs Wrote:
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> Nope, it doesn't. After about 30 listenings, this
> album truly is their best since Undercover (which
> I love)......... Mathijs

BEST STONES ALBUM SINCE "UNDERCOVER" IS......"TALK IS CHEAP"

The album's great, but Mathijs is right. They need to play 7 tracks from it each night: They almost owe it to music in general.

JumpingKentFlash

Mathijs you`re right, but are they to big, to play a tour only with club gigs?
I`m afraid that`s the problem with the rolling stones nowadays, when they only do club and arena gigs, the people will say that they`re over and that kind of things.

In an Interview in the italian edition of Rolling Stone, Mick says that in Europe they're going to play 6 - 7 tracks of the new album, so let's see.

By the way, great review by Mathijs!

"got to be worked on
don't have no bark nor bite..."

Joni Mitchell's last concerts...she just did her new album & took off. So sad that she lost her voice...such an amazing talent...in so many ways...I hope one day the history books catch on...she's really right there with the best of em...I know I haven't fully got my arms around her talent...but I know I will...I can see it...just have to read it the right way (you huge music fans know what I mean...sometimes you can see that something is special b/c you know music...but you haven't quite picked it all up yet...but knowing it's there keeps you looking). Took me awhile to finally really understand jazz (really got into it in my very early 20s...but when I really got it...man...you just understand music so much better...) and Ravi...but the tough ones is what you cut REALLY cut your teeth on...but I know I'm still learning...and that is one of the great beauties of music.

I'd like the idea of doing all the songs of the album on the tour.
With one exception though, the controversial Sweet Neo Con.
That song is rather good, but way too political IMO.

Mathijs,

How can you say it is the best album since in 22 years when your 3 part review essentially gave it a 6 out of a possible 10?

If the Stones played 7-10 songs off this new album, the vast majority of concert goers wouldn't shell out $180-$450 bucks to see them perform in a stadium.

While it may work for the 1,000-2,000 hard core Stones fans that troll these sights such as ourselves, it simply wouldnt work for most concert goers. Just as if they played Winter, Moonight Mile, and Sway, only about 30% of the stadium would know the songs.

Here,here Mathijis!

Drop these four from the Detroit setlist (for example):

You Got Me Rocking
Tumbling Dice
Miss You
Honky Tonk Women

Add in their place:

She Saw Me Coming
Let Me Down Slow
Driving Too Fast or Rain Fall Down
Look What the Cat Dragged In

With 8 new tunes played, the band would have covered half the songs on ABB (RJ, BOH, ONNNYA,Infamy were played) and about 40% of a show would be new tunes. Mick said they want to be a functioning band, that would require playing more than 4 songs from a 16 song CD.

Also, the warhorses I target for dropping, could be rotated in at the expense of other warhorses from night to night.

And perhaps a few other new ones rotated in for the new ones cited here and there.

The setlist would be interesting and a bit surprising, hardcore fans would be pleased and casual fans would have fun while being exposed to new material.

I know this is a place where people are more than average interested in the Stones, but please, wake up, it'æs real life and not dream shows they are performing. I have seen all the stadium shows on this tour and they have all been fully sold out. So a lot of people could enjoy the Stones standards and greatest hits while we did not get that many ultra-rare tracks so far.

It's just normal people who go to the shows. Not you and me. Our neighbor next door. Our friends. Still great lovers of the Stones and still really apprieciating the Stones, but even the new songs makes the crowd silent, except may be Rough Justice is really a crowd pleaser.

I have been too busy on travel lately and could not listen much to the new album, but a couple of days ago I had 4 full hours in my car and I could actually listen it all through many times. No need to skip tracks. Every rack has got value for me. But that does not mean "normal" people will stand half a dozen of them at a show.

I take it this means you have to see another show, even if it have to be a stadium? PS. I hear they are booking Olympia next summer again.

Bjornulf

Also, the 2 shows I attended featured 4 ABB songs (& the "Night Time" cover, a highlight), 2 weeks prior to release date. bv's right, many in the audience want what they know, & the Stones seem to be trying to strike a balance. This is not like '78, when SG was all over the radio. No significant airplay in the US in 2005. I was surprised at how the RS re-invigorate warhorses that surely weren't on my 'dream' setlist, making the concerts exciting, & satisfying. I also hope, & assume (?) more ABB tracks will be added post-release, & in arenas.

Nobody made them play stadiums where they feel obliged to keep the average joes happy. Why couldn't they (as I've suggested before) advertise that they'd be mainly playing their new material thus keeping away the casual fan and giving untold pleasure to the hardcore fan. There would easily be enough of these to fill arenas & they could have had an arena-only tour (+ club shows). They wouldn't make so much dosh but on the other hand they wouldn't need to squander so much on a huge stage design or employ hundreds to build it; anyway as is often asked here how much bloody money do they need?

The band would then get to have more fun playing their new stuff and not feel stale flogging the same old warhorses every night & we'd go home ecstatic after a genuine 2005 show.

The Stones could cut down on rehearsals too (I'm trying to sell the idea to Mick's internet guide if he's reading this!) as they'd only need to learn 16 songs plus maybe a couple of oldies for the encores.

bv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

Every rack has got value for me.
> But that does not mean "normal" people will stand
> half a dozen of them at a show.
>

I must disagree. "Normal" people did stand half a dozen or more new songs 'till '82. Now of course not all the people in the crow know the songs from ABB as good as we do but if they're good songs people will like it a lot. And i think, as people on this board do, that most songs from ABB will be great to hear live. If you put out a cd eight years after your last cd and you are around 40 plus years and you are known as the greatest rock and roll band in the world you want to let people see and hear that you still the best with still great new material!!!!!!


PS. I hear they are booking Olympia next summer again.
>
> Bjornulf



That would be awesome!!!!! If the play club shows in Europe they will surely play one in Holland, and that's great news for me because i live in Holland :-)

Cheers,
Wuudy

i've said it before and i'll say it again...the stones need the challenge of playing more new material...both for themselves and the fans...its too comfortable playing the same songs (great songs)...over and over...might do 'em some good and light a fire under their asses....everybody would benefit...best to all