There has been a few guys (a.k.a. Mathijis) say the 1981 Tour of the Americas is one of the band's best, well pal - I reckon it's one of the band's WORST!!!!

How boring is it ???? Terrible tour. How repetitive is it??

The new release soundboards just confirm it - just like the 2005 Bigger Bang Tour .....

I have been getting these in the last year or so, and they are boring......
Yawwwwwnnnnn

Mind you - they play ALOT better than the crap from ABB Tour - but - it's still embarrassing.....Now we hear the proof !!!!!

Mathijis & others - please explain why the 1981/82 Tour is the Stones GREATEST!!!! Fair dinkum - you guys must be drunk!

Crap Tour....it comes nowhere near the great Heights of 1969 - 1973....idiots.

Esky

1982 is ever worse.........

I don't like the 1981/82 tour much either, but there's some very good moments (Like Let It Bleed). ABB is better. WAY better.

JumpingKentFlash

It's not the best but not the worst. 1969/1973 are the best tours for sure but '81 and '78 are great IMO, the guys are on fire, listen to Charlie and Bill !! Keith backing vocals are great, Stu on piano...

perhaps it's the beginning of the end ????

But what I think - why do people think the 1981 Tour is the greatest??>? Fair dinkum....ok, but a yaaaawwwwwnnnnn.....!

Esky:I don't think it's necessary to call people'names if you disagree with them.
There must be a kind of etiquette to adress the people on this board.
Having said that I agree with you .I have attended shows in France in 1982 and I have found the settlist boring(I didn't like the covers like Going to a go go etc..)and the Stones pretty uninspired.
Still life reflects perfectly my feelings.There is no energy in this Live album.

And of course I prefer '81 to '05.. I'm talking about performance, not set-lists.
But what's the most important ?? The performance !

Esky, please let other people have differing opinions without calling them idiots.

i love 81/82 for the glorious raunch, and ohhhh those backing vocals!
can't get enough. :E


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith

Frig me the prozac posse are off again!!!

If 1981 is the beginning of the end then 24 sodding years aint bad eh.....

I found Mick's "singing" (actually barking) quite annoying on that tour, and that sax player squaking where there should be guitar solos (or at least Bobby Keys tastful tenor) just killed it for me.

I think '81/'82 is my least favorite tour. Under My Thumb was an incredible opener, but it went south from there, imo.

Ross

Some concerts of 81/82 are really good. Particularly "Under my Thumb", "Black Limousine" and "Beast of Burden" are great versions and unmatched today. On the other side I dislike the deep vocal mix of Mick Jagger. Sometimes it is difficult to recognize him as the same man who sings on the studio tracks. The guitar work of Ron Wood is much better than he does during the ÁBB tour. Not so good as 75/76, but quite good, and we all would enjoy if he would do his guitar work on this level during the 05 tour.

Thank you Ross. Agree - the Sax in 81 was horrible. Many say Ernie Watts was great. IMO he is right down there with Leavell and co. He NEVER shut up!
I didn't dig 81 too much myself. It was the frst time Jagger was string to come off as repetitive and a bit stale at times. High points (and I THINK this might be what Mathijs digs) is the twin guitar attack. Some of the very best weaving was crocheted on that tour. Ron and keith had a good sound going. IMO 78 was even better but in 81 the sound was superior, and the Stones were supposeldy more rpofessional. But 81 had lousy covertunes and plus they were promoting one of my least fave albums (TY)
So minus - Jagger's outfits, his pseudo pforfessionalism, Ernie Watts, the one and only tour I thought Charlie';s drumming was too metronomical
Plus - Dual guitars, Keith boots, Stu and Mac!!!, BU vox still Keith and Ron
And SUPER PLUS - BILLY WYMAN!!!!!

81 was the last of the great pure rock'n'roll tours. Been a lounge act since '89. The weave disappeared on stage after 81 as well. If you don't "get it" then....well, you just don't get it and you never will.

After the 1982 shows (three of them) I swore I would never go to another Stones gig again. They weren't even up to garage band standard.

I personally consider the make-or-break Steel Wheels tour to be the saving of them.

I am curious LOGIE - do you think the post 89 tours were better or worse than 81?

I've never liked this tour much either. There are two major changes from the tours before, (including the 1978 tour) Charlie almost stopped playing the bass drum. He became more of a pop drummer during the '81/'82 tours, and in my opinion kind of boring (sorry Charlie!) And the second thing is of cource Jaggers vocals. I wonder what he think's when listening to it now...It's too bad though, because the guitars sound's good, and it's a cool comilation of songs. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the tours in the early '80's are just not swinging.

The 1981 shows were terrific since they rode on the strength of their last truly excellent lp "Tattoo You". Now if I could only get my hands on "Executive Action" (both Dallas shows), I will be in heaven.

Charles Baudelaire
1821-1867

I agree w/ WITH SSSOUL. Sloppy and lettin' it all hang out. to me, enjoyable.

ChelseaDrugstore Wrote:
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> Plus - Dual guitars, Keith boots, Stu and Mac!!!,
> BU vox still Keith and Ron
> And SUPER PLUS - BILLY WYMAN!!!!!

Those are definitely the reasons '81 rocked! It was great...it was The Stones...but due to your aforementioned negatives I would still rank the shows I attended on that tour near the bottom of the shows I have seen since 72 (my first and still favorite!).

Of course, Chelsea, it's probably because we probably just "don't get it"

Ross

Ross Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Of course, Chelsea, it's probably because we
> probably just "don't get it"
>

...and you never will. don't forget that part...

They have really been on a down slide since 1973 but with many many ups. I watched the Knebworth 1976n and then Hampton 1981 and although they say the first sucks in comparison I have to disagree. They were sloppy but rocking in 1976. Rocking still in 1981 but Ronnie plays really bad, often not at all, Keith plays good but he hammers and riffs a little too much (no not nagging) with the same sound. Plain 50s rock style.

ABB tour 2005 is SO SO SO GREAT!, i love it!

yes, the weave was at its height, the setlist was much longer than the 78 tour, the 81 tour was the last tour (until this one) where the guitars were overdriven and upfront, and it was the last tour they were looser/sloppier because they started using the giant band and studio tempo matching countoffs for most everything ever since. also the KR and RW backing vox prominant for the last time, and their last tour before the video screens.

that said, the sax was weak and so were the covers, singles (go-go), and live release. the live album SL was/is horrible! like flashpoint after it, it didn't pick the best songs and sounds really flat. but i occasionally like watching the film LSTNT.

if you've gotten the idea that '81 is idealized by so many guitarists/fans like Mathjis, it is simply because of the looseness, the overdriven amps, the lack of a big band. i don't think he or many others ever said it was the best ever, as 1 listen to brussels proves. but in certain respects it was the last gasp of these guitar factors for guitarists/guitar fans.

I'm starting to think there's a big difference here between having been at these shows and listening to them now. I wasn't at them, and I can barely stand to listen to the soundboards. It's an interesting set list - and criticizing them for not varying it is beside the point, this was before the internet - but the soundboards sound terrible. Agree on mick's unpleasant vocals, and the guitars are very very clumsy. But it all must be worse on the soundboard recordings, which lay everything out too clearly, esp mick's vocals, and also have a LOT of noise (hum) from the guitar amps. keith (and ron?) was still using pedals, so between songs it's just painful with all the buzz.

I got the audience recording from MSG and it's better to listen to, although still a pretty sorry garage band, IMO. Not sure where they were going with the 50s vibe... I guess it was a current fascination of keith's. Anyway, I would recommend audience recordings to those who dislike the soundboards. Remember, soundboards are often not made for listening, they're made to correct the sound in the venue. I should probably get the pay per view show for comparison.

So I hear that this tour got great reviews after poor reviews in '78. As I've discussed before, I much prefer '78... and my main point is that I think it must have something do with the recordings. If there was improved live sound in '81-82, it doesn't come across on the soundboards, but maybe overall the experience was better for those attending.

Is there any information as to why the band started bringing back old songs like "UMT," "LIB," and "Time is on My Side"? Doing so prefigures the current era, although they still played a lot from the new album.

cc

interesting perception that they "started bringing back old songs" on the 81 tour - i always felt they started that in 69.


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith

Charles Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The 1981 shows were terrific since they rode on
> the strength of their last truly excellent lp
> "Tattoo You". Now if I could only get my hands on
> "Executive Action" (both Dallas shows), I will be
> in heaven.
>
> Charles Baudelaire
> 1821-1867


Both Dallas shows from 1981 (10-31 and 11-1) are available now on Rocks Off torrent tracker.

[rollingstones.kicks-ass.org]

Ross

Like which in '69? Did they have any "old songs" in '69? The only candidate I can think of is "I'm Free," which I guessed they were trying to adapt for the current Woodstock moment. Which they unfortunately learned had already passed.

The 70s tours are all current songs alongside songs which never or rarely left the rotation, like "Satisfaction" and "Street Fighting Man."

cc

There are some things I don't like so much about the 1981 tour, but the most important thing was simply outstanding: THE RHYTHM SECTION!

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

>> Did they have any "old songs" in '69? <<

Carol, Little Queenie, I'm Free, Satisfaction, Under My Thumb ...
(okay, they'd never recorded LQ, but they'd sure played it in their old days) -
dusting off those old numbers was a very striking thing to do in 69, really.
"is everybody having a good time while we rip your hides off?" :E


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-11-25 21:00 by with sssoul.