I really wanted to write an overblown appraisal of this, a most magnificent of live records...but i'll keep it (fairly) brief...

Yesterday I put this on over the stereo, stuck the headphones in and just sat back, closed my eyes and intently listened to what was going on and it was something of an epiphany.

From Jumpin' Jack Flash it is just clear this band is something ELSE- MT and Keith 'weave' (or better still- mesh) their guitar sound perfectly throughout the whole album- on JJF its a blast of two guitar rhythm with MT adding little runs now and again to keep things interesting.
Keith's guitar sounds like a scyth...a razorblade...he's chugging out nasty chords with a ferocity (yet simplicity) I cant say anyone matches...Rambler and Stray Cat Blues are perfect examples of that almost threatening sound. And as a bonus he is better at playing Chuck Berry than Chuck Berry- i adore how him and MT make those songs groove like something else, swapping lead and rhythm freely..then Keith goes into a fantastic load of double stops and bends..

Taylor plays with all the feel and soul of a bluesman twice his age- for a guy still in his teens he is simply gobsmacking.. that thick slide sound in Love in Vain...the chucka-chucka rhythm and stunning blues rock lead on Rambler- his tone in the middle is drool-worthy. That awesome lead in SFTD....heavenly heavenly fluidity especially after Keiths nasty angular lead beforehand. More cracking rhythm work in Live With Me and that cool soloing in SFM. The way he and Keith fit together like a jigsaw puzzle is amazing...Rambler all the way.

Bill's basslines are incredible! Simple yet intricate...he keeps the band rooted yet swings like only he knows how..over headphones its "BOOM BOOM BA BOOM" SFTD is a good one for this. Live With ME

Charlie is my darling, i cant imagine the Stones with anyone else. His timing is incredible...his simple yet completely brilliant work on drums anchor this band no doubt, i love his use of the hi-hat on Rambler when all he is doing is holding it down with a hi-hat, snare and bass drum beat yet it sounds like a million things are going on there. He knows how to use that snare all right..off beats here and there...loads of lovely accents with his sticks, that may not be heard normally but with headphones..wow!

Jagger is no longer the teenies pin up, well- not like he was, he's a full blown rock god of a singer..never outshining the band, yet at the same way bringing it all together and somehow making it better! I can do without some of Plant or Daltrey's screeching..Jagger is classy, confident and polished. I can only imagine what he was like to watch back then. His singing on SFM, JJF, Rambler is exemplary..and i love his harmonies with Keith.. SFM..its great to here that sort of "Casino Boogie" esque Keef backing Mick up!

And who can forget Ian Stewart, who adds a bit of awesome barrel house piano to Honky Tonk Woman, to propel it along with that groovy swing.

Well thats all, im glad i can talk about it openly on this forum- ive been waiting some time :-)

To bad we don't have any "offical" live recordings of the 1972 or 1973 tours
to compare with. Would hope Jagger & Richards would release something that "they" culled from their vaults. But they will both have to die (probably)
and then their "kids" will release whatever and make all that money......

Here's hoping Martin Scor.. get's to dig thru their "collection" and add's some
"gems" to his documentary...

MLC

MCDDTLC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's hoping Martin Scor.. get's to dig thru
> their "collection" and add's some
> "gems" to his documentary...
>
> MLC


If he did, it would be a 10 sec snippet.

Excellent write up. I know how it feels when out of the blue one gets the urge to tell it from the mountain how great the band is. And what better album to review than Yay-Ya's?

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

I know...a 73 recording that has been tweked a little in the studio. Maybe just boosted the vocals, and EQ.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Nice job cb. You've inspired me to give it a listen and to take a break from ABB for the rest of the afternoon.

If you really want to be blown away, put on the 7.5 ips Reel to Reel tape...It will rattle your fillings out. My Klipsch simply LOVE that tape....Mofi LP is second best official release.

Enjoy the GREATEST rock'n'roll record, EVER. Sgt Pepper, pshaw...that aint even rock, much less rock and roll..

JR

stone-relics Wrote:
> Sgt Pepper, pshaw...that aint even rock, much less
> rock and roll..

It isn't trying to be!

Yeah, you are right...I guess I misread the catagory...Greatest Albums, versus Greatest rock'n'roll albums...But if its rock'n'roll, I say Ya Yas.

JR

hey casinoboogie, it's always nice to find a fan in the midst of the rapture...
i can relate...i have ya-ya's permanently on my stereo cd (good jbl system with 8 speakers in my car) and there must be hundreds of times i won't put it into 'drive' until i can cue up "carol"...it's always, always, always, always this incredible rush...(must be careful or i will speed up along with the band on that one!)...oh i won't even start about the richards/taylor leads on sftd etc...great and glorius rock and roll record for sure and certain bro...great to see you lost in the power...
and yes it's a total shame and huge loss that we haven't received a 72/73 live cd...how effin nuts is that when you think about it???

As I said before....Its the greatest Rock and Roll record, ever. Nothing is even close. I wish everyone could hear it on high speed reel to reel....its breath taking, toad strangling, filling spitting, boogie.

I simply LOVE this record.

JR

I won't listen to Ya Ya's on reel to reel because I get so tired of picking up all the strangled toads.

Immortal, for the ages... My desert island pick. I prefer it even over Exile.

Great review, casinoboogie!

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

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-05-11 11:25 by Greg.

pure guitar interplay and weaving with taylor and keith. the record is great because of the selection of the songs which allows keith and MT to interchange between rhythm and solo.

Even I have to agree.....


;-)

What I love of it is its subtle, timeless beauty.

It is not the kind of disc you can play to a non believer to introduce him to the stones magic. At a first listen the typical reaction would be - and normally is - of disapointment. Not hard to understand: the tempo is relaxed, no flashy solos, the sound is quite uniform from start to finish, Jagger does more or less what he does on record ...

I can remember years ago when I took my first guitar lessons and I asked the teacher how I could learn Keith's solo in Devil. "Sure you want to learn this? It is so easy" he told me "anyway give me a tape and next week I'll show you". Well, the following week his consideration had completely changed: "This is a GREAT solo! What a timing!"

C

i can really see why people find it a challenge over the whole 69/72 debate...i used to say 1972! all the time..but now its not so easy..sure in 72 you had Taylor acting all Jimmy Page on us with monster soloing...mainly all over the place, and MJ going the whole nine yards with the stage act and so on...but 1969 has that laid back, subtle feel...there is texturization going on..its not so "in your face"

im just glad we can choose any period and show how great it is..in its own different way

Yessir, absolutely a favorite, live or otherwise !

I saw the band in '69 and have listened to YY's since its release and as time goes on my appreciation for that recording and the '69 tour in general (amazingly) continues to grow. The clear vision, the slower tempos, the control, the slight holding back, the song selection, the arrangements...all those choices made a confident and impressive statement. And it was all very sexy. But mainly it was those guitars. I think it was Keith at his best. There are enough recordings available to follow the evolving dynamics of the band from Colorado to Altamont. It's very exciting because it is happening right before your ears. It has always been my favorite tour, but I think now that arguably it was their best.

It's that guitar driven version of SFTD that I'd most like them to revisit today.

With much of the other stuff I'm equally fond of many of the more recent re-workings...but that SFTD is how it should be played live.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-05-11 19:07 by Spud.

<<It's that guitar driven version of SFTD that I'd most like them to revisit today.>>

No other song from the '69 tour epitomizes the band's then changing dynamic with its new lead guitarist than SFTD. Early in the tour and with only one known exception, the song was a solo vehicle for its originator, Keith. His performance on 11/8, 2nd was particularly strong. At some point (possibly Detroit) Taylor took a permanent solo spot and the song surged and the dynamic of the band changed. IMO the YY's version is one of the great live performances in RnR history.

As for playing that type of version today...It doesn't exist.

One of the greatest recordings is "Stray Cat Blues" on Ya Ya's. Talk about two guitars building, working together, creating an orchestra.
On the "It's no hanging matter" or the "Betcha mama don't know.." which is the same chord the two guitars are hammering on the single note in unison but halfway through the bar Taylor's guitar always takes off in flight. This is one of the best passages I know of the Stones.
And then of course Keith's guitar BEHIND Taylor's solo. I have samples those crunchy staccato chords he plays back there.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Also Taylor's solo on Stray Cat Blues is one of the least know greatest wickest,killer,bluesier solo of all time.

Keith never got that same tone on SFTD from Ya Ya's on any other of the live shows I have heard from 1969.

I'ts no doubt about the fact that Ya Yas is their best official live record so far. Though Ya Yas is a great record and probably is considered one of the best live records in rock'n roll history, it could have been done even better... First, it's too short. I've read somewhere that Jagger originally wanted it as a doubble live album with one side capturing Ike and Tina Turners support act. Also there are great songs like Satisfaction that did not make it on the record.I bet Decca has something to do with this.
Second, all the overdubbings do (IMO) take some of that cool live feeling away from it. Keith singing back up on Street Fighting Man, really... I want to focus on his guitar playing, not his singing. You know, it's a song were you want to be thinking that his pulling out the best on the guitar, and not having the time , or capasity to sing perfect on top of Jagger
To me Ya Yas is not a great record because it's brilliant put together,but because there are some live versions on it, that are so well played and arranged that thei're even better than the originals!

The singing of Jagger in '69 is just perfect, fits perfectly to the laid back playing of the band. I just put on one of my favourite vinyl boots from this period, 'oakland Sixty-nine' (1969/11/9, second show), on beautiful yellow vinyl,exc sound. No overdubs needed!

pmk251 writes:
"the song was a solo vehicle for its originator, Keith."

Watch One on One, the movie of the making of the song. Keith had nothing to do with the origin of SFTD, Mick brought ot to the group, you even see him early on showing the chord changes etc to everyone else. The song did go thru many changes to get to the versions we know today, and Keith played his part in changing things, but the song did not originate with him.

My only complaint would be that it does not fully represent the song selection of the '69 tour. Other than that I don't have enough superlatives for this record. I learned to play guitar by wearing out the LP through repeated listens trying to cop the solos. On top of that it ranks as my favorite Stones record, live or otherwise. The interplay between Richards and Taylor was at its best (IMO) and some of my favorite "moments within a song" are here are well For example, listen to Keith and Bill's interplay just beore the first gutiar break at :52 just after Mick sings "...drink you off my mind" Keith hits the G chord with a resounding "thunk" then mutes it and Bill fills in the gap with the root note followed by Micks guitar burst. A wonderfully subtle moment and one that kills me everytime I hear it. Also give a listen to the middle section of"Midnight Rambler" during the middle section jam, especially starting at 3:45. The ever so slight delay between Keith, Bill, Charlie and Mick is a classic illustration of the "pulse" of the Stones rhythm that makes them sound like no one else. Another example of this is the verse of Street Fightin' Man" at about 2:06. Damn, how do you replicate that sound and feel? In over 30 years of listening to music I have never heard it's equal other than from them but never quite like this after '69. Finally what can be said of Keith's playing on 'Oh, Carol"? The way he switches between lead and rhythm so effortlessly without dropping the beat and the grand a-ronk-a-ronk sound he gets when playing the Berry style alone has secured him a place in rock and roll guitar heaven. Ahhhhhhh!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-05-12 00:01 by ChrisM.

S.T.P Wrote:
. Though Ya Yas is a great record and probably is considered one of
> the best live records in rock'n roll history, it could have been done even better... First, it's too short.

I agree Ya Ya's is the stones at their best. the only way to make it better is if they would re issue it adding Satisfaction and and IKe and Tina set

Recently, someone offered up the so-called "legendary Apple acetate" of this LP on "Hot Stuff", and arguably it's even better than the final released version. It includes the later-deleted Keith lead overdubs on "JJF", and the song order is different.

In all honesty, though, I'd prefer listening to a high-quality boot than this "pseudo-live" album.