My First Album - The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You

 

If I’m completely honest the actual accuracy of which album was the first I ever bought with my own money is pretty hazy…we’re talking 30 odd years here!!! It could well be something by the Police or maybe even Adam And The Ants. I can say with absolute conviction though that I definitely did buy Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones with my own dosh. I can even remember the sticker on the front that said £3.50. You try buying a brand new vinyl album for £3.50 nowadays…I tell you it can’t be done!!!

Let me just give you a little background as to why I chose this album to buy in my tender years (I would have been 11, maybe 12 when I got it). All credit must go to my dear old dad. You see, my dad has been a huge influence on my listening habits. As a child the house was full of music. In the early 70’s Sunday mornings would play host to my dad’s record collection and I remember a lot of old soul and funky stuff being played. In the car we would have some prime original ska like Prince Buster or the Skatalites that I would request on every journey. My dad, however, always had two abiding passions; the blues and The Rolling Stones and had done since he was a teenager. Even now in his 60’s if a new Stones album comes out he’s right there and he’s out most weeks to check out whichever obscure blues artist is passing through town. For a man known as the “white sheep of the family” by his wayward brothers due to his outward respectability he sure has a black man’s music taste!!!

So as a kid I was exposed to some of the best music ever created and when I entered the record department that day (it would have been Woolworths or W.H Smith) and saw a Rolling Stones album I suddenly had access myself to this treasure chest of awesomeness…plus I knew my dad would be proud as hell!!! I was immediately struck by the cover…Jagger on the front and Keef on the back both covered in tribal artwork. My young mind couldn’t grasp that they hadn’t actually had their faces tattooed for the cover, my knowledge of graphic design would come later. Either way this looked like a badass album!!! At this point I wasn’t aware that bands may have purple patches and wasn’t aware that the previous album was, by all accounts a sack of shit!!! Nor was I aware that “Tattoo You” was a bit of a stop gap album cobbled together from various unreleased bits and bobs dating back nearly 10 years at that point. All I was aware of was that it rocked and was righteous!!!

The album kicked off with “Start Me Up”. Come on people, you have to admit this is one the all time classic Stones riffs!!! As soon as it kicks in the spine starts to tingle and those erogenous zones go all a quiver!! Even as a young boy I knew that when Jagger sings “you’d make a dead man cum”…it had to be some pretty hot shit he was singing about…I didn’t even know what it meant but to make a dead guy do anything is pretty incredible right? “Hang Fire”, “Little T & A” and “Neighbours” all rocked hard and fast. “Slave” was a down and dirty funky fuck of a song and “Black Limousine” brought the blues. Flip this sucker over and the Stones give us their mellow side. Now we already knew from tracks like “Angie”, “Fool To Cry” and “Wild Horses” that they could tug at the heart strings like no-one else and they proved that here. “Waiting On A Friend” even proved to be a big hit with Jagger and Richards making out like they’re best buds in the video!!!

It doesn’t matter whether this album is rated as one of the Stones best albums or not…maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. In the cold light of day it sure as hell ain’t no “Exile On Mainstream” but it was my first and like your first fuck it stays memorable and special. In fact I may go and put it on now and get my groove on to that riff…you know…”Start Me Up”!!!


--Ollie

Ripple Theater – The Rolling Stones – Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones

If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, you know this film.  Shot over four nights in Texas during the Exile on Mainstreet tour in 1972, Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones was originally released in cinemas for limited engagements in 1974.  Since then, the film has remained largely unseen, never released on DVD.  A problem that has finally been rectified with this, the official DVD release of this Rolling Stones classic.

While not held in the same esteem as Give me Shelter, or as wondrously sought after as Cocksucker Blues, Ladies and Gentlemen is a real treasure, revealing the Stones at the absolute peak of their early ‘70’s prowess.  With a wealth of great material to choose from, and the inclusion of several deeper catalog cuts, these shows pull back the curtain on a band on a terror, tearing it up and having a blast doing so; shedding light on the Stones in the midst of all their ‘70’s power and excess.   Simply put, you just won’t find the Stones looking or sounding any better on film than they do here.

Director Rollin Binzer spent over a year editing footage for the film.  It was a tough time for the band; they couldn’t get into three countries because of their drug bust, they’d survived the death of Brian Jones and the trouble at Altamont. Binzer distilled the backstage action away and left only the best of four performances (two matinees and two evening shows) from the band’s June ’72 swing through Houston and Fort Worth, Texas.  What was left behind was pure rock and roll, showing the Stones doing what made them the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.

1972 was also and interesting time for the band and for rock music in general.  Bolan, Bowie, Iggy, and Eno had flamboyantly burst onto the scene, and it shows. Jagger, in particular is riotously glammed out, with purple sequins around his eyes, a pinkie ring and a spangled, Ossie Clark jumpsuits or decked out with scarves and sachets.  At one time Keith Richards appears wearing what can only be described as a scarf-cape.  Certainly an unusual appearance for the band, and one that works in direct contrast to their set of muscular, rootsy rock and roll.   But haven’t said that, the band rarely looked better.  Jagger as always is a dynamite, captivating frontman, a force of motion, while Richards looks stunningly healthy, energetic and definitely into the music.  Even Charlie Watts, the normally stoic backbeat of the band shows signs of animation and life.  This is a band having fun, and it shows.

After the blast off of “Brown Sugar”, “Bitch”, and “Gimme Shelter,” the Stones jump into an inspired version of “Dead Flowers,” bringing to light the incredible work of Mick Taylor.  While a totally subdued stage presence (I don’t think either he or Bill Wyman move one inch the entire DVD) Taylor was a brilliant guitarist and his solos and slide leads bring a depth and earthiness to the Stones that they never had before or since.  In my opinion, he’s the best pure guitarist the band ever had and it shows.  His performances on each track with his work on “Love in Vain,” worthy of leaving the audience breathless.

At the same time, you can almost get an inkling for why Taylor left the band.  With Jagger and Richards being the dynamic creative and visual force of the band, there really was little room for Taylor to stretch out.  His stage presence seems to suggest more than shyness, but simply there not being enough room in the band for three pillars.  Rarely do Jagger or Richards so much as look his way.  Instead he stays in the background (not even the front of the stage) working his magic slowly and deliberately on his slide.

“Happy” jumps in with more passion and force than I’d ever imagined it, with Richards doing a fantastic job taking over lead vocal with some terrific harmonizing with Jagger.  Horns blaring, Charlie Watts smiling, Jagger preening; what more could you want?

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” is epic followed immediately by “All Down the Line” with some of Taylor’s most ear-catching slide work.  “Midnight Rambler,” here is perfect as are the concluding frenzy of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and “Street Fighting Man.”  Definitely a shot of the Stones a their peak.

But just as interesting as the concert film are the bonus features, or more specifically, one bonus features;  a three song rehearsal for the tour filmed in Switzerland.  Gone are the flashy jumpsuits and sequins, in it’s place are five musicians gathered in a circle working out the kinks on “Shake Your Hips,” “Tumbling Dice,” and the rootsy “Bluesberry Jam.”  Jack Daniels bottles open on the piano, drink glasses scattered about, Keith Richards playing while sitting on an amp, Mick Jagger without the flamboyant dances, standing stationary marveling at the musicians, Charlie Watt’s eyes closed in near ecstasy as the band locks onto the groove.  This is a rare peak at the band behind closed doors and well worth the addition.

If you’re a new Stones fan or an old one, this is concert footage you’ll certainly love.  And to make it even better, we got one copy of the DVD to giveaway for free to the first waverider who drops us a line asking for it.  Either leave a comment or send an email to our contact address and we’ll get the Stones heading out your way.

--Racer

Buy here: Ladies & Gentlemen The Rolling Stones
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones [Blu-ray]
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones- Deluxe Edition 3DVD Numbered Box Set

Ripple News - Rolling Stones Legendary Concert Finally Available on DVD and Blu-ray

Ladies and Gentlemen…The Rolling Stones is finally coming to DVD on October 12th.  The DVD features Rolling Stones concert footage, shot over four nights in Texas during the Exile on Main Street tour in 1972, which was recently released in cinemas around the country for a one-day, one-time engagement. The DVD also includes previously unreleased rehearsal footage and interviews with Mick Jagger from 1972 and 2010.

This is probably the most sought after Rolling Stones concert performance and it has been fully restored and remastered from the original film print and multitrack audio masters. Ladies & Gentlemen follows the highly successful CD reissue of Exile On Main Street (Universal Music Group) in May of this year and the Stones In Exile DVD (Eagle Rock Entertainment) on June 22, 2010.  The October 12 releases will be followed shortly after by a deluxe edition box set with additional bonus material and memorabilia.

Filmed in Texas in 1972 over four nights of the Exile On Main Street US tour, Ladies & Gentlemen was premiered at the Ziegfield Theatre in New York on April 15, 1974 and released into selected cinemas across the USA shortly afterwards. Bonus features on this release include tour rehearsal footage from Montreux, plus two interviews with Mick Jagger; one from a 1972 Old Grey Whistle Test show, and one filmed in 2010.

The line-up for this show comprised Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitars), Charlie Watts (drums), Bill Wyman (bass), Mick Taylor (guitars) with Bobby Keys (saxophones), Jim Price (horns) and Nicky Hopkins (piano).  Ladies & Gentlemen was billed at the time as “…the most powerful rock film ever made” and is considered by many fans to be the finest Rolling Stones performance ever captured on film.  This is simply unmissable!

Track Listing:
1.)   Brown Sugar
2.)  Bitch
3.)  Gimme Shelter
4.)  Dead Flowers
5.)  Happy
6.)  Tumbling Dice
7.)  Love In Vain
8.)  Sweet Virginia
9.)  You Can’t Always Get What You Want
10.) All Down The Line
11.) Midnight Rambler
12.) Bye Bye Johnny
13.) Rip This Joint
14.) Jumpin’ Jack Flash
15.) Street Fighting Man

Buy here: Ladies & Gentlemen The Rolling Stones
Buy here: Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones [Blu-ray]