I realized recently that unless they really get their act together, the Rolling Stones will only have released one album of new material for the entire first decade of the 21st century. That has not stopped them from re-releasing and remastering old material, which brings us to the 40th anniversary edition of "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out," the best live Stones record ever released, and maybe one of the best live albums ever, too.
Since this is a reissue of something classic, it naturally comes with an inflated price and several "bonus" features all totaling around $50 for something only a die-hard would buy, but if they're a die-hard, then they already have it. It also comes with the original review of the album by Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone magazine (that way you can find out if the album's good before you... buy it...?). It's all a little underwhelming for $50 in my opinion, and I was sure I would just ignore it.
Enter iTunes, where for $5.00 you can legally own the 5 previously un-released tracks of the Stones' headlining concerts in Madison Square Garden (for more money, you can get cuts from opening acts B.B. King and Ike & Tina, but for the purposes of this blog, we'll be focusing on the music of whatstheirnames). That's 10% of the price for 100% of the value (no offense to Ike & Tina. Well, maybe to Ike, but not Tina).
Eager not to spend too much, I snatched up the 5 tracks and immediately started wondering how I should listen to them, presently and going forward. Do I listen to them as stand alone tracks, as a separate set bundled together, or do I integrate them into a complete 15-track "Ya-Ya's" playlist, which may include juggling of the original track listing and consequently result in my having to make a Garage Band version with proper fades, so that I can complete the illusion that I am actually listening to this as it was performed 4 decades ago. Psychosis is time consuming.
This brings up one of the questions I've had since first listening to "Ya-Ya's" and watching the unofficial companion film, "GIMME SHELTER," a documentary/concert film shot of the same shows.
Fact: The Stones played 2 nights at Madison Square Garden
Fact: None of the song versions on "Ya-Ya's" appear on "GIMME SHELTER." That is to say that the version of, say, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is different on the album from the one in the movie.
Questions: did they do this on purpose, or were they required to accommodate some legal clearances? Do the rights to the MUSIC belong to the record company, so they released other versions to the film company? Or vice versa? Who got to pick first? How did they decide "this one for that, and that one for this?" And was there studio trickery involved with the mixing of both? The "SHELTER" version of "Satisfaction" has a rambling improvised ending with Jagger going on about not giving us any bullshit well after the song's official lyrics complete. That version is not the version of "Satisfaction" which has just been released...
...sort of. You can hear his "We've got to find it!" bits at the end of the newly released track, which sounds similar to that of the movie version. Why didn't they just release the full rambling version from the movie... which now might not be as full as I thought because the film version skips one of the lyrics, and I always assumed this was true to the performance, but now this newly-released cut has all three stanzas...
And if the truth IS that they had to pick different versions for the album from the movie, then why could they include the Jagger-to-crowd banter as it was on both?
Like I said, it's time consuming. A quick study of Wikipedia listed the possible set list of this 1969 tour, and I've been going with that. It's altered a little from the album version, and I can't tell if the differences jar me because A) the album's pretty great as it was when it was released, so any change is always gonna freak me out; B) it doesn't work as well that way, period; or C) I just haven't spent enough time cross fading the levels to make me believe it.
I think the truth is A. The semi-reliable source claims "Sympathy for the Devil" came in the #3 spot, but that just seems weird. It's a strong rave-up of a song, and it seems odd to go from "Carol" into that and then cool things down with "Stray Cat" and the blues set. This might explain why the newly-released tracks weren't offered as an incorporation into the classic album... it was classic for a reason. They worked hard to get it right, they did, and no money-grubbing re-issue is gonna mess with that document.
Of the music it self, the new old tracks are mostly good, but I suppose I can see why they were left off. "Prodigal Son" is that jambly version you get on the "SHELTER" DVD (sort of: it's not EXACTLY that version... you know what I mean), and it's far from the best thing they did on the night. "You Gotta Move" is good, but far from electric or essential. The aforementioned "Satisfaction" is enjoyable if for no other reason to realize that they've HAD to play that freaking song since its release, and any weird cache of anti-pop-establishment cool anyone may have given them for not playing it -- 'cause, hey, it's not on the album of the concert, right? -- is blown.
The gem of these new old songs however is shared between "Under My Thumb" and "I'm Free." I've always liked "Thumb," and the band has always seemed to play it great live. Nearly every version of that song is just plain good, and this one is no exception in that regard, but what I wasn't expecting was how well it flows into "I'm Free" as they do here in a medley. I don't know where the line dividing "derivative" or "inspired connection" is with these songs. Basically, the guitar bits done for the chorus in "Thumb" sound exactly like those of the lead in "I'm Free," and as I play it over and over I wonder if the band just discovered this themselves and thought, "Well, crap, those songs are almost the same damn thing!"
Whatever the case, it works great, and the only reason I can think for leaving these off of the original release is due to space issues. They might have had space to give to one, but that meant losing the other, which would be a shame. I've never been a big lover of "I'm Free," but this version is absolutely excellent, with a lyrical guitar solo and a propulsive, faster-than-the-studio-cut beat. The studio version feels flat by comparison; the mark of a great live performance. In the little searching I did, I can't even find a stand-alone live version of "I'm Free" quite like the one released here, and I'm too giddy to objectively consider its greatness. Listen to it for yourself with "Thumb" and you'll see. There's something uplifting in this misogynistic double-header.
Which brings me to the final thesis on "Ya-Ya's" and the band itself. It's worth noting that the lineup for these concerts included no horns, back-up singers or acoustic guitars (sorta... I guess the two extra bluesy tracks are acoustic, but you get my point), with Ian Stewart as the only "non-band member" band member helping out on the keys. This was probably the last time the Stones played major tours in such a way, and it fuels their creativity as well as their rock artistry. Got a song like "Sympathy" that featured bongos on the album? Too bad. We don't have bongos on tour. What do we do? The low-techness of this performance seemed to focus their energies and harness their concentration. Richards and newly-christened Taylor had to find their electric interplay, creating a weird kind of double-lead guitar sound where you can't tell who's who anymore. The result is a unified sound on an album that demands your attention.
IF YOU GET ALL THE NEW OLD SONGS: the set list appears to be found here.
IF YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD ONE SONG: You're cheating yourself, but get "Under My Thumb." Here's a version that's kinda like the one included, but slower. The new cut is more like the one in "SHELTER."
IF YOU CAN AFFORD ONE MORE: get "I'm Free" and listen to them back to back all night.
Eager not to spend too much, I snatched up the 5 tracks and immediately started wondering how I should listen to them, presently and going forward. Do I listen to them as stand alone tracks, as a separate set bundled together, or do I integrate them into a complete 15-track "Ya-Ya's" playlist, which may include juggling of the original track listing and consequently result in my having to make a Garage Band version with proper fades, so that I can complete the illusion that I am actually listening to this as it was performed 4 decades ago. Psychosis is time consuming.
This brings up one of the questions I've had since first listening to "Ya-Ya's" and watching the unofficial companion film, "GIMME SHELTER," a documentary/concert film shot of the same shows.
Fact: The Stones played 2 nights at Madison Square Garden
Fact: None of the song versions on "Ya-Ya's" appear on "GIMME SHELTER." That is to say that the version of, say, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is different on the album from the one in the movie.
Questions: did they do this on purpose, or were they required to accommodate some legal clearances? Do the rights to the MUSIC belong to the record company, so they released other versions to the film company? Or vice versa? Who got to pick first? How did they decide "this one for that, and that one for this?" And was there studio trickery involved with the mixing of both? The "SHELTER" version of "Satisfaction" has a rambling improvised ending with Jagger going on about not giving us any bullshit well after the song's official lyrics complete. That version is not the version of "Satisfaction" which has just been released...
...sort of. You can hear his "We've got to find it!" bits at the end of the newly released track, which sounds similar to that of the movie version. Why didn't they just release the full rambling version from the movie... which now might not be as full as I thought because the film version skips one of the lyrics, and I always assumed this was true to the performance, but now this newly-released cut has all three stanzas...
And if the truth IS that they had to pick different versions for the album from the movie, then why could they include the Jagger-to-crowd banter as it was on both?
Like I said, it's time consuming. A quick study of Wikipedia listed the possible set list of this 1969 tour, and I've been going with that. It's altered a little from the album version, and I can't tell if the differences jar me because A) the album's pretty great as it was when it was released, so any change is always gonna freak me out; B) it doesn't work as well that way, period; or C) I just haven't spent enough time cross fading the levels to make me believe it.
I think the truth is A. The semi-reliable source claims "Sympathy for the Devil" came in the #3 spot, but that just seems weird. It's a strong rave-up of a song, and it seems odd to go from "Carol" into that and then cool things down with "Stray Cat" and the blues set. This might explain why the newly-released tracks weren't offered as an incorporation into the classic album... it was classic for a reason. They worked hard to get it right, they did, and no money-grubbing re-issue is gonna mess with that document.
Of the music it self, the new old tracks are mostly good, but I suppose I can see why they were left off. "Prodigal Son" is that jambly version you get on the "SHELTER" DVD (sort of: it's not EXACTLY that version... you know what I mean), and it's far from the best thing they did on the night. "You Gotta Move" is good, but far from electric or essential. The aforementioned "Satisfaction" is enjoyable if for no other reason to realize that they've HAD to play that freaking song since its release, and any weird cache of anti-pop-establishment cool anyone may have given them for not playing it -- 'cause, hey, it's not on the album of the concert, right? -- is blown.
The gem of these new old songs however is shared between "Under My Thumb" and "I'm Free." I've always liked "Thumb," and the band has always seemed to play it great live. Nearly every version of that song is just plain good, and this one is no exception in that regard, but what I wasn't expecting was how well it flows into "I'm Free" as they do here in a medley. I don't know where the line dividing "derivative" or "inspired connection" is with these songs. Basically, the guitar bits done for the chorus in "Thumb" sound exactly like those of the lead in "I'm Free," and as I play it over and over I wonder if the band just discovered this themselves and thought, "Well, crap, those songs are almost the same damn thing!"
Whatever the case, it works great, and the only reason I can think for leaving these off of the original release is due to space issues. They might have had space to give to one, but that meant losing the other, which would be a shame. I've never been a big lover of "I'm Free," but this version is absolutely excellent, with a lyrical guitar solo and a propulsive, faster-than-the-studio-cut beat. The studio version feels flat by comparison; the mark of a great live performance. In the little searching I did, I can't even find a stand-alone live version of "I'm Free" quite like the one released here, and I'm too giddy to objectively consider its greatness. Listen to it for yourself with "Thumb" and you'll see. There's something uplifting in this misogynistic double-header.
Which brings me to the final thesis on "Ya-Ya's" and the band itself. It's worth noting that the lineup for these concerts included no horns, back-up singers or acoustic guitars (sorta... I guess the two extra bluesy tracks are acoustic, but you get my point), with Ian Stewart as the only "non-band member" band member helping out on the keys. This was probably the last time the Stones played major tours in such a way, and it fuels their creativity as well as their rock artistry. Got a song like "Sympathy" that featured bongos on the album? Too bad. We don't have bongos on tour. What do we do? The low-techness of this performance seemed to focus their energies and harness their concentration. Richards and newly-christened Taylor had to find their electric interplay, creating a weird kind of double-lead guitar sound where you can't tell who's who anymore. The result is a unified sound on an album that demands your attention.
IF YOU GET ALL THE NEW OLD SONGS: the set list appears to be found here.
IF YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD ONE SONG: You're cheating yourself, but get "Under My Thumb." Here's a version that's kinda like the one included, but slower. The new cut is more like the one in "SHELTER."
IF YOU CAN AFFORD ONE MORE: get "I'm Free" and listen to them back to back all night.
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