For most of their 30-plus year career,the Rolling Stones have
\nhad problems translating their power in the studio to live
\nrecordings. They always tend to go into “hyperdrive,” speeding up
\nthe performances and leaving the listener tired, confused and
\nunsatisfied.<\/p>\n
Their 1996 release
\nStripped<\/i>, however, features some of the best live work this
\nband has ever done – if only it were really a live album.<\/p>\n
Mick Jagger and crew find themselves captured on stage in
\nHolland and France,banging out some old favorites as well as some
\nsongs I’m not accustomed hearing the band perform. However, a good
\nportion of the album is taken from rehearsals at other locations on
\nthe tour – and this is what leaves me quite disappointed.<\/p>\n
The foursome (c’mon, guys, why don’t you recognize Darryl Jones
\nand make him a full-fledged member of the band?) open up with a
\npowerful acoustic version of “Street Fighting Man,” a song which
\nhas never sounded more relaxed or powerful. The guitar work of
\nKeith Richards and Ron Wood is at its crispest since
\nTattoo You<\/i>, and the acoustic setting of the album may be
\nexactly the atmosphere the Stones have been looking for throughout
\nthe ’80s. Their cover of “Like A Rolling Stone” is energetic and a
\ndefinite change for the Stones – maybe they should turn to covers a
\nlittle more often.<\/p>\n
But as the recording turns to the rehearsals, you find out you
\nmiss the tension of the live crowd waiting for Jagger et al. to
\nplow new ground. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful
\nversion of “Wild Horses” by the Stones – pity it wasn’t in front of
\nthe crowd. Richards also gets a chance to shine on “Slipping Away,”
\nfurther proof that maybe Keef should have been given a shot as lead
\nthroat more often.<\/p>\n
And it’s not that I object to including material from the
\nrehearsals – but when
\nStripped<\/i> is touted as a live album, I expect to hear the
\ncrowd roaring in the background more often than not. Then again,
\nremember that the Stones always seem to tense up and speed up in
\nfront of an audience – while this album has a relaxed, refreshing
\nfeeling.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite tracks here is “Sweet Virginia,” a song which
\noffers more proof that the Rolling Stones are far from washed up
\ndespite three decades in the business. Charlie Watts provides a
\nsolid backbeat, as usual, while producer Don Was adds in a touch of
\norgan to keep things lively.<\/p>\n
So is
\nStripped<\/i> a good album or not? In one sense, I guess it is –
\nJagger and crew have never sounded better on stage, even without an
\naudience in front of them. But in another sense, someone thinking
\nthis is another live album – if I count right, the sixth in their
\ncareer – will be somewhat disappointed.<\/p>\n
This disc is also an enhanced CD, though my promotional copy,
\nfor some reason,didn’t have these features. So, at least you’ll
\nhave something to look forward to discovering on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5665],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-35696","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-rolling-stones","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35696"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35696"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}