Thank you it's wonderful, even better than previous tours. Mick Taylor's sound is amazing and the 2 guitars are in perfect harmony, he should never have left 😢 Keith and Mick we love you, please call him back ! RIP Charlie we miss you so 💙
What a great early '70s "sound quality" concert from the Rolling Stones. Mick Taylor was such a perfect addition to the band, after Brian Jones passed away. Cheers.
Cara, que maravilha!!! Que trabalho fantástico. Voce não imagina como é bom ouvir essa turne magica dessa epoca de ouro dos Stones lendo as notas. As notas são incríveis. Atraves delas que podemos viajar por aqueles tempos tentando entender a atmosfera de cada show. Parabéns!!! Traduzi todas as notas para o meu portugues e guardei em pdf para te-las sempre a mão. Abc. Man, how amazing!!! What a fantastic job. You can't imagine how good it is to hear this magical tour from this golden age of the Stones reading the notes. The grades are amazing. Through them we can travel through those times trying to understand the atmosphere of each show. Congratulations!!! I translated all the notes into my Portuguese and saved them in pdf to always have them at hand. ABC.
Notes Pt. 2 Notes on 1973 European Tour from Wikipedia The tour followed the release of the group's album Goats Head Soup on 31 August. It began at the Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria on 1 September. It then saw, in large halls to mid-sized arenas, West Germany, England (including four shows at the Empire Pool in London), Scotland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Belgium, finishing on 19 October with the band's fourth entry into and thirteenth show in West Germany, at the Deutschlandhalle in West Berlin, which would turn out to be Mick Taylor's last live performance with the Stones as a member of the band. Altogether 42 shows were played in 22 cities, with two shows in a day a commonplace. This was the Stones' first trip to Europe since the European Tour 1970, and was part of parallel three-year cycles of touring the United States and Europe. Without all the ballyhoo, media attention, and jet set hangers-on of the group's 1972 American Tour, the 1973 European Tour was seen as having less drama - the biggest pending issue was the resolution of Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's 25 June drugs and weapons bust, which hung over them until a 24 October £205 fine from the Great Marlborough Street Magistrates Court resolved it - while showcasing consistently good musicianship. Songs like "Brown Sugar" and "Gimme Shelter" were well received and Billy Preston's organ and clavinet added a contemporary and funky edge to the "classic" Stones sound, although the tour's relatively conventional delineation between rhythm (primarily Richards) and lead guitar (primarily Taylor) parts were later criticized by Richards. By the time of the group's following Tour of the Americas '75, Ron Wood would be in the band and Richards' preferred interweaved approach would be restored. No live album was released from the tour, although a recording of the first 17 October show in Brussels was headed towards official release but pulled back for legal reasons. As Brussels Affair (and some other names such as "Bedspring Symphony - A Box Lunch and Meat Whistle"), it has been a popular bootleg in superb stereo sound, and is often considered a 'lost classic' of bigger importance than some of the official Stones' live albums. The album also included recordings from September 9, 1973 (Empire Pool, Wembley, London). These recordings were broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour (KBFH). Another broadcast included three soundboard mono recordings from Newcastle, two from Empire Pool, Wembley and one from Rotterdam. In November 2011, the Rolling Stones launched a web enterprise, www.StonesArchive.com and released the second 17 October Brussels show with two tracks from the first Brussels show as Brussels Affair (Live 1973) worldwide as a digital download in FLAC or MP3 format and as a box set. The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonica Keith Richards - rhythm guitar, vocals Mick Taylor - lead guitar Bill Wyman - bass guitar Charlie Watts - drums Additional Musicians: Billy Preston - piano, organ, clavinet, backing vocals Steve Madaio - trumpet, flugelhorn Bobby Keys - saxophone (until 30 September 1973) Trevor Lawrence - saxophone Manuel Kellough - percussion (some dates) Marshall Chess - trumpet on "Street Fighting Man" (some dates) Bobby Keys left the tour after the Frankfurt dates. In his memoir, he states that he left to clean up from drink and drugs to save his life. Opening Acts: Opening for the tour's shows was Billy Preston and for him, Kracker, the first band ever to be signed to Rolling Stones Records. Part of the opening show by Preston was released on Preston's 1974 album release Live European Tour, which featured Mick Taylor. The standard set list for the tour was: 1. "Brown Sugar" 2. "Gimme Shelter" 3. "Happy" 4. "Tumbling Dice" 5. "Star Star" 6. "Dancing with Mr D" 7. "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" (not on all shows) 8. "Angie" 9. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" 10. "Midnight Rambler" 11. "Honky Tonk Women" 12. "All Down the Line" 13. "Rip This Joint" 14. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" 15. "Street Fighting Man" This set list was pretty stable once established, however, during the first few shows Goats Head Soup tracks "100 Years Ago" (Vienna and Mannheim) and "Silver Train" (Vienna, Cologne, London 1st) got a trying out, as did "Bitch" and "Sweet Virginia" in Vienna. All of the pre-Goats selections had been played on the 1972 American Tour as well, and pretty much in this order. Completely absent was anything from before 1968 in the Stones' catalog. Indeed, on 18 August, before the tour began, Jagger had been quoted, "The only thing I don't really enjoy about playing live is having to perform the old numbers, even though that's what a lotta people wanna hear us do." 1st September - 19th October: THE ROLLING STONES. European Tour. Line-up: MJ (voc, harm)/KR (gtr, voc)/MT (gtr)/BW (bass)/CW (dr)/ Billy Preston (p, org, clavinet)/Trevor Lawrence (sax, perc)/Steve Madaio (tp, tb, perc)/Bobby Keys (sax, perc; probably only until October 13)/STU (p; sometimes, on selected tracks) Note: At some shows Marshall Chess was invited to join the band for the last song to play some tambourine or trumpet. Also Manuel Kellough sometimes guested on congas. 730901A 1st September: Vienna, Austria, Stadthalle (Brown Sugar/Bitch/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/100 Years Ago/ Star Star/Angie/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/ Dancing With Mr. D./Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Honky Tonk Women/ All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: With special guest Manuel Kellough (congas) on Brown Sugar. Notes on Vienna show by photographer Manolo Gioppo, who also took the crowd picture of the Vienna show included here. In the night the show was delayed, not started al 19.30, the people in the arena very tired to wait, start to shout and to toot; Preston started at (maybe) 21.00 o´clock or after….The stadium was not full, maybe three-fourths ( 7.000 fans ? ), it seemed a very personal concert!! 730903A 3rd September: Mannheim, West-Germany, Eisstadion (Brown Sugar/Bitch/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/100 Years Ago/Star Star/Angie/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/ Band introduction/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: A short silent private film of this show exists. Flip notes: Star Star-Jagger screws up lyrics; Angie-Horns really bad; Sweet VA-loud audience at beginning; MR-No harp at beginning; ADTL-Jagger not with band at one point?; JJF-Jagger screws up last verse, goes to chorus too soon, Short version?; SFM-MT uses wah-wah pedal, Horns deafening, bad at end. 730904A 4th September: Cologne, West-Germany, Sporthalle (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Band introduction/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: A private super 8 recording of the following tracks exists: - Brown Sugar (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Gimme Shelter (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Happy (MJ/KR) - Star Star (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Midnight Rambler (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Honky Tonk Women (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Rip This Joint (MJ/KR) -incomplete - Jumpin' Jack Flash (MJ/KR) -incomplete
Notes Pt. 10 Corrections: September 2023 I changed the performance date of Gimme Shelter to London 09-09 from Brussels 10-17 1st show because the sax part at the beginning sounds like Bobby Keys, who wasn't present in Brussels. October 2023 Now have audience tape to confirm GS is 1973-09-09. But now have to change attribution for Tumbling Dice to TBD as this is not the version from 09-09.
Notes Pt. 5 730919A 19th September: Birmingham, England, Odeon Theatre (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Notes on 1973-09-19 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews The set list reflects a further rethinking of the set list by the Stones. Various songs from Goats Head Soup appear in the set list before the band settled on four: “Star Star,” “Dancing With Mr. D.,” “Angie,” and “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” to appear in most of the shows. The third of the four was dropped for the September 13 show in Newcastle and would be employed only sporadically, appearing in at least five shows in Europe. The short introduction leads to the opening “Brown Sugar” followed by the apocalyptic “Gimme Shelter,” one of the greatest rock songs ever written. The heavy mood is alleviated by “Happy” and Jagger says, “Thank you Keith” at the end. “Tumbling Dice” from the previous album Exile On Main Street is performed before Mick says, “Hello Birmingham…good for you. We’re gonna do a few new songs for you from our new record” before playing all the new stuff as one subset in the set list. The final “sad song” of the set is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which contains a saxophone solo that foreshadows Ernie’s Watt’s interpretation of the melody almost ten years later. There is a small cut and fade before “Honky Tonk Women.” Birmingham is a tight performance and the audience in the Odeon didn’t know it at the time, but would be Mick Taylor’s penultimate show in England with The Rolling Stones and, unless the tape for the evening show appears, the final live document in the archives. 730919B 19th September: Birmingham, England, Odeon Theatre (2nd show) Flip note: Was there a Madrid gig on Sept. 22nd? I came across a photo allegedly from the concert. 730923A 23rd September: Innsbruck, Austria, Olympiahalle Notes by R. Benedickt at Tiroler Tageszeitung 1973-09-25 Influenced by high-cost promotion, one would expect another comeback from the faltering Rolling Stones. However, what the 8,500 paying fans in Innsbruck's Olympic Stadium were offered was nothing more than Mick Jagger's personal show. Much to the dismay of the fans, even this meager offering was limited to barely 45 minutes. Compared to Billy Preston's opening act, their appearance on stage seemed to be little more than snide remarks by the whole group, from Jagger's transvestite-like face to the jeweled remaining Stones. I am of course referring to the four other band members who might as well be sitting in the nose-bleed seats, they are so worthless on stage. No one would be missed - Charlie Watts sits behind his drums like a serious businessman behind his desk, a pillar of salt is a good comparison for Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman is like a little lost lamb, and Keith Richards, who has looked like he is half asleep for the last ten years, barely managed to move his legs in the short time that he surfaced in the limelight. The Rolling Stones' progressiveness has seen its final days. Apparently this is no secret to lead singer Mick Jagger, since he has beefed up the entertainment aspect of the show. Not a bad idea, when "you can't always get what you want" - Innsbruck being the perfect example. Neither fans nor tour-managers were satisfied with the show. 800 standing-room-only seats were left empty, and one million Schillings was the final number when the accountants closed their books. Management and stadium administration were compensated for the lack of sales, however, in that not a single window or piece of equipment was in the least bit damaged. The 38 crowd-control police and Stones-security crew were also left twiddling their thumbs--it was a calm night in Innsbruck. Picture Caption: The enthusiasm was held in check. Only a few - mostly Italian fans - let their tempers get out of control. The light show left the best impression at the Innsbruck Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) on Sunday evening. As you can see in the picture, the Stones were mostly seen as part of their role as lighting objects. Notes by Wolfgang Morscher at STONES.at The Rolling Stones Innsbruck 1973 show is one of the least documented Rolling Stones shows since the seventies. Besides this page here, there is no other documentation known ! This page is the result of many hours of research. Venue: Olympiahalle Innsbruck Attendance: 8500 (800 tickets minus to sellout) Opening Act: Billy Preston Setlist: Brown Sugar /Gimme Shelter /Happy /Tumbling Dice /Starfucker /Dancing With Mr. D Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) /Angie /You Can't Always Get What You Want /Midnight Rambler Honky Tonk Woman /All Down The Line /Rip This Joint /Jumping Jack Flash /Street Fighting Man Notes by Unknown Author from Neue Tiroler Zeitung 1973-09-25 Billy Preston, playing good ol' soul and rock, warmed up the crowd. With piano, electric keyboards, synthesizer, organ, and drums the four black artists did their job of setting the mood. The "Stones" kicked off the show with "Brown Sugar" and "Gimme Shelter." Bathed in a flood of colored lights, Mick Jagger dances with his microphone, then struts almost impudently across the stage, yet still remaining sovereign over the masses. Casually, he leans over a speaker and, enjoying the dramatic tension, waits for the fans to swell with excitement, then drives them wild as he disappears into a cloud of smoke while singing "Midnight Rambler," contorting his body and snapping his belt on the floor. As would be expected, all of this is perfectly highlighted by an amazing light show. The other band members--drummer Charlie Watts, Billy Wyman on bass, and the two guitarists, Keith Richards and Mick Taylor--hang back and let Jagger work his magic. Then every so often a blazing spotlight pulls Taylor or Richards out of the shadows for a solo jam. As the show comes to a close with "Street Fighting Man," Mick Jagger's "thank yous" cue the house lights to come up, turning away any further plea for an encore. rah 730925A 25th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 730926A 26th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 730926B 26th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: Brass had bad moments in Angie & ADTL; MT changes things up in BS & Happy?!?; Happy- Was Jagger being sarcastic when he thanks Keith afterwards?; YCAGWYW-with sax solo; MR-cool jam in the middle, Keith fired up; JJF-band not quite together coming into last verse?; SFM-MT holds on to the last note way past everybody else. Notes on 1973-09-26 2nd show by Unknown at GIGinjapan.com Of course, the performance should not be bad Europe 73. On that day, Mick Taylor had a feeling that he couldn’t get through the phrase when he started playing solo at the opening “Brown Sugar”, but at the next “Gimme Shelter”, the Taylor clause unique to Europe 73 exploded at once. Furthermore, he constructed a wonderful phrase in “Dancing With Mr. D”. The Taylor on this tour is really special. In addition, Mick’s powerful shout is used throughout the live performance, which is one of the charms of this tour. [Flip note: I disagree.] Also, in Cologne 20 days ago, a pattern was attempted in “Honky Tonk Women” where members were introduced by being guided by the intro played by Keith, but on this day, Charlie’s rhythm was started instead of member introduction. It is very rare that an intro like the remnants of Cologne was tried to start the song. It seemed like a live intro that looked great on stage, but it never took hold. Notes on 1973-09-26 2nd show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews Switzerland first - The Swiss press have never given the band an easy ride, preferring the Beatles instead, Mick, Keith and Co. would be hard fought to impress their European hosts, no matter what they did. Three shows were poised for performance on the 25th and 26th of September - One show on the first night, a matinee and a late show on the second. By all accounts, because of the press’ attempts to dissuade the paying public from turning up, none of the shows actually sold out and were described as “the Stones worst performing shows” hardly a balm to the band who were close to kicking out Bobby Keys for his bad behaviour and were feeling the drag from Mick Taylor who had taken to staying at a different hotel to the rest of the band as his drug problems were taking their toll. Notes Pt. 6 coming soon
Notes Pt. 8 731006A 6th October: Gothenburg, Sweden, Scandinavium (1st show) 731006B 6th October: Gothenburg, Sweden, Scandinavium (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: MR-Jagger experiments with bellowing vocals, fast ending; ADTL- Out of control, Bizarre MT solo, bass out of tune in middle; RTJ-Fast; JJF-Fast; SFM-Jagger out of tune at beginning?, Fast? 731007A 7th October: Copenhagen, Denmark, Brondby-Hallen (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 731007B 7th October: Copenhagen, Denmark, Brondby-Hallen (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 731009A 9th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle, incl. (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line) 731010A 10th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 731011A 11th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Notes by RICCAR99 from HotWacks on Essen show on the 11th. Jagger is also in perfect shape just six days before the famous Brussels concerts and his vocals are clearer than in the VGP disc. Immediately after the opening number Keith plays suddenly the ending notes of Brown Sugar, however after that mistake comes a complete great Rock n Roll show as if nothing happened. Gimme Shelter is crispy, Keith in Star Star is in perfect shape, Bobby Keys was still playing before being kicked off the tour due to the famous champagne bath. Maybe that is the reason why Keith’s chorus sound strangely full of tension; however, in Midnight Rambler the tension comes from Billy Preston’s playing and seems to rise occasionally. 731013A 13th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Soundboard recording was made. Brown Sugar was filmed by Dutch VPRO TV. Also there's about 12 minutes of silent private film of one of the Rotterdam-shows in existence. Manuel Kellough guested at least on one of the shows on congas. 731014A 14th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Soundboard recording was made. 731014B 14th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D. [re-startedl/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/ Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 731015A 15th October: Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis Merksem (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 731017A 17th October: Brussels, Belgium, Forest National (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Soundboard recording was made by Andy Johns with the Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Unit. Most of it was aired on US FM (see 740929A and subsequent shows). Partly released in November 2011 (see 111117A). 731017B 17th October: Brussels, Belgium, Forest National (2nd show), incl. (Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D/Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash) Note: Soundboard recording was made by Andy Johns with the Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Unit. Partly released officially in 2011 (see 111117A). Notes from dangerousminds.net, by Bart Bealmear. In support of their new record, Goat’s Head Soup, the Stones launched the 1973 European trek on September 1st in Vienna. Though significantly less dramatic than their infamous 1972 U.S. tour, the outing still had its moments. Take this one, in which saxophonist Bobby Keys quits the band right before the first of two scheduled performances that were to take place in Brussels, Belgium, on October 17th. In his autobiography, Life, Richards describes the scene: “No sign of Bobby at the band assembly that day, and finally I was asked if I knew where my buddy was-there had been no reply from his hotel room. So I went to his room and said, Bob, we gotta go, we gotta go right now. He’s got a cigar, bathtub full of champagne and this French chick in [the tub] with him. And he said, fuck off. So be it.” [Flip note: One account claims Keys was actually fired after playing badly and nodding off onstage at least once due to heroin use. But Keith may not have known Keys had been fired because that’s the way things were going with the group at the moment since Keith’s drug use had isolated him from the others. Jagger was in charge. He may have fired Keys and not bothered to tell Keith to avoid an argument. So when Keith showed up looking for him, Keys may have thought Keith knew all about it, which explains the expletive.] The Stones had booked the shows in Brussels due to its proximity to France, as they were banned from entering the country after behaving badly while recording Exile on Main St. in Villefranche-sur-Mer. The Brussels gigs took place at the Forest National arena. With a live album in mind, the Stones recorded both Brussels performances. Though the live LP idea was eventually scrapped, the public did eventually get to hear portions of the Belgian recordings via the syndicated radio program, The King Biscuit Flower Hour, in both stereo and FM quadraphonic 4-track. Naturally, the KBFH broadcast was subsequently bootlegged. On the Brussels recordings, the Stones-augmented by keyboardist Billy Preston, as well a horn section-are in fine form, for sure, but the absolute highlight of the tapes is the version of “Street Fighting Man,” the final song played during each of their sets that day. From the get-go, the energy of the band is palpable. Keith, especially, stands out, as he doesn’t seem to be playing his guitar as much as stabbing the thing, but it’s when Mick Taylor steps on his wah-wah pedal (in place of the shehnai) that this rendition starts to become spectacular. As the number continues, Bill Wyman’s bass swoops, the horns squeak and squawk, and the tempo increases and increases until the music ceases to be just that, morphing into a riotous, stunning wave of sound. 731019A 19th October: Berlin, West-Germany, Deutschlandhalle (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: Very Good Show; Star Star-great Keith solo; YCAGWYW-great MT solo parts with wah-wah pedal; MR- great MT solo parts, Hendrix influenced at one point?; JJF-MT uses wah-wah; SFM-MT uses wah-wah, end fades out, unfortunate fade out on unique ending. 1973-10-19 Berlin was Mick Taylor’s last show with the Stones.
Notes Pt. 9 Notes from website The Unknown Stones, author unknown. Edited by Flip. Taylor’s onstage debut as a Rolling Stone, at the age of 20, was the free concert in Hyde Park, London on 5 July 1969. An estimated quarter of a million people attended for a show that turned into a tribute to Brian Jones, who had died two days before the concert. The Rolling Stones’ 1971 release Sticky Fingers included “Sway” and “Moonlight Mile” which Taylor and Jagger had completed in Richards’ absence. At the time Jagger stated: “We made [tracks] with just Mick Taylor, which are very good and everyone loves, where Keith wasn’t there for whatever reasons … It’s me and [Mick Taylor] playing off each other - another feeling completely, because he’s following my vocal lines and then extemporizing on them during the solos.” However, Taylor was only credited as co-author of one track, “Ventilator Blues”, from the album Exile on Main St. (1972). After the 1973 European tour, Richards’s drug problems had worsened and began affecting the ability of the band to function as a whole. In November 1973, when the band was to begin work on the LP It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll at Musicland Studios in Munich, Taylor missed some of the sessions while he underwent surgery for acute sinusitis. Not much was achieved during the first 10 days at Musicland. Most of the actual recordings were made in January at Musicland and in April 1974 in Jagger’s estate in the English county of Hampshire dubbed “Stargroves”. When Taylor resumed work with the band, he found it difficult to get along with Richards. At one point during the Munich sessions, Richards confronted him and said, “Oi! Taylor! You’re playing too fuckin’ loud. I mean, you’re really good live, man, but you’re fucking useless in the studio. Lay out, play later, whatever.” Richards erased some of the tapes where Taylor had recorded guitar parts to some of the songs for It’s Only Rock n’ Roll. Taylor was, however, present at all the sessions in April at Stargroves, where the LP was finished and most of the overdubs were recorded In December 1974, Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones. The bandmates were at a party in London when Taylor told Jagger he was quitting and walked out. Taylor’s decision came as a shock to many. The Rolling Stones were due to start recording a new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice. When interviewed by Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone in 1995, Jagger stated that Taylor never explained why he had left, and surmised that “[Taylor] wanted to have a solo career. I think he found it difficult to get on with Keith.” In the same interview Jagger said of Taylor’s contribution to the band: “I think he had a big contribution. He made it very musical. He was a very fluent, melodic player, which we never had, and we don’t have now. Neither Keith nor Ronnie Wood plays that kind of style. It was very good for me working with him … Mick Taylor would play very fluid lines against my vocals. He was exciting, and he was very pretty, and it gave me something to follow, to bang off. Some people think that’s the best version of the band that existed”. Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Jagger said: “I obviously can’t say if I think Mick Taylor was the best, because it sort of trashes the period the band is in now.” Charlie Watts stated: “I think we chose the right man for the job at that time just as Ronnie was the right man for the job later on. I still think Mick is great. I haven’t heard or seen him play in a few years. But certainly what came out of playing with him are musically some of the best things we’ve ever done”. Another statement in Guitar World in October 2002 made by Richards said “Mick Taylor and I worked really well together … He had some lovely energy. Sweetly sophisticated playing, way beyond his years. Lovely sense of melody. I never understood why he left the Stones, Nor does he, I think … I had no desire to see him go.” Taylor later admitted in the 2012 documentary Crossfire Hurricane that he had become addicted to heroin and hoped to protect his family from the drug culture surrounding the band by leaving. In an essay about the Rolling Stones, printed after Taylor’s resignation, music critic Robert Palmer of The New York Times wrote that “Taylor is the most accomplished technician who ever served as a Stone. A blues guitarist with a jazzman’s flair for melodic invention, Taylor was never a rock and roller and never a showman.” To resume, Mick Taylor was a virtuoso and simply too good for the Stones. Keith Richards couldn’t stand to be on the second position behind a youngster who outplayed him on the guitar.
Dunno why they dropped 100 Yerars Ago after 2 shows... I like Silver Train too, but I read a Mick Taylor interview from the era and he said the band thought it sounded too much like All Down the Line.
Notes Pt. 7 731002A 2nd October: Hamburg, West-Germany, Ernst-Merck-Halle (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Notes on 1973-10-02 1st show by Jonathan Perry at Collector’s Music Reviews As far as I can tell, “Hamburg” marks only the first time that this particular show has been released on silver disc (only one other release, a no label CD-R, “Afternoon in Hamburg,” is known to exist). Although the fidelity leaves something to be desired, especially in contrast to other high quality soundboards of, say, the Brussels and Wembley shows, the band’s top-notch performance punches through the mediocrity of the tape. This is the first of two shows the Stones played that day, and while the second concert has been fairly widely circulated, it’s a wonder why this matinee took so long to surface. The set list for both shows that day was essentially the same, but during the afternoon the boys substitute a stealthy (and far more scarce, as it wasn’t played nearly as much) “Dancing With Mr. D” for “Heartbreaker,” which made an appearance during the evening show. Two other strongly performed “Soup” selections bookend “Mr. D,” including the ribald Chuck Berry-esque groupie-grope workout, “Star Star” (uncensored title: “Starfucker”), and, from the other end of the spectrum, the big breakup ballad, “Angie.” From there, the Stones dive right back into the back-to-back stage showpieces of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Midnight Rambler,” both of which greatly benefit from the extended dramatic treatments of this era. Since we don’t get to see frontman Mick Jagger’s visual inhabitation of those numbers on disc, the epic splendor of those songs, in no small part, has to do with lead guitarist Mick Taylor’s effortlessly sublime solo work. Here, he and fellow guitarist Keith Richards sound locked in from the start, and their darkly magical guitar interplay is on magnificent display, starting with an epic reading of the second song of the night, “Gimme Shelter.” Richards sketches the song’s architectural skeleton and provides its musculature: its heart, guts, and soul. Taylor’s cerebral, surgically precise playing, meanwhile - all connecting-tissue filigrees, sensory accents, and intricately routed solos - sends the lifeblood pumping through its circulatory system. Jagger’s voice here is fairly distant and echo-y in the hall, although relatively front and center in the mix (he consistently sang with gusto on this tour, as if to match the decibel level being wrought by the band). But longtime Stones boot listeners (like me) who reasonably expect, and are used to listening through, the inherent sonic limitations imposed by an audience recording won’t likely to be too terribly put off by them here, given the tour, the tracks, and the sheer dynamism of this concert. And as sometimes happens (with me, at least) while listening to a solid, if not spectacular, audience tape, once you tune your ears and perspective to the audio spectrum and dynamics on display, the recording increasingly sounds “normal.” This show’s sound seemed to become better as it progressed (and better from the outset on repeated spins). But I know that what really happened was that my ears adjusted, while my sonic and visual imagination - in other words, the way I sensed the Stones actually must have sounded that night - augmented and enhanced the recording. Ahh, if only to have been there back then, I thought as I listened. For me, having that thought cross my mind is always a good litmus test of a whether an unofficial recording, imperfections and all, is worth hearing or having. If the drawback in audio quality sounds too much like a heartbreaker (or a deal-breaker), you may prefer to sit this number out. Me, I’m happy to have this rare chance to dance with Mr. D. 731002B 2nd October: Hamburg, West-Germany, Ernst-Merck-Halle (2nd Show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: Poor sound quality; Happy-False start, Keith starts over; Heartbreaker-Ending confused???; ADTL-Jagger misses 2nd verse; RTJ-Jagger confused at beginning?; SFM-Ends prematurely. 731004B 4th October: Aarhus, Denmark, Vejlby-Risskov Hallen (1st show) 731004C 4th October: Aarhus, Denmark, Vejlby-Risskov Hallen (2nd show) Note: One of both Stones-shows was partly filmed by a fan on super 8 (unverified).
Rolling Stones 1973 European Tour 50th Anniversary Special 0:00 Introduction 0:23 Brown Sugar (1973-09-09 London) 3:41 Gimme Shelter (1973-09-09 London) 9:24 Happy (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 12:38 Tumbling Dice (TBD) 17:47 Dancing With Mr. D (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 22:18 Heartbreaker (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 27:29 Angie (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 32:00 You Can't Always Get What You Want (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 43:01 Midnight Rambler (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 56:01 Honky Tonk Women (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 59:08 All Down The Line (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 1:02:46 Rip This Joint (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 1:04:50 Jumpin' Jack Flash (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show) 1:08:08 Street Fighting Man (1973-09-09 London) 1:13:09 Sweet Virginia (1973-09-01 Vienna) 1:17:52 Bitch (1973-09-01 Vienna) 1:22:17 100 Years Ago (1973-09-01 Vienna) 1:27:09 Silver Train (1973-09-01 Vienna) (Bootlegger bumps around some during intro) These are the original bootleg tracks, not the released version, so some audio blemishes may remain. All non-Vienna tracks are From Headin’ For An Overload, the 2 CD set of the original KBFH broadcasts. There is some controversy around the correct attribution of some of the performances. One source says Disc 1 is Brussels and Disc 2 is London, but the source I trust most, dbboots.com, has the credits listed above. Picture captions contain all the relevant information I have on that photo and refer only to the photo and not to the song in progress. Some 76 Keith photos may have slipped in. If you compare the London pics to the Berlin SFM pics, it looks like Jagger lost considerable weight on tour. Many, many thanks to the wonderful photographers whose brilliant work made this video possible. Mick Taylor is doing some amazing stuff with his wah-wah pedal here, in addition to his usual virtuosity. I’m starting to understand why some folks are obsessed with this tour and this show in particular. What he’s doing isn’t loud and flashy unless called for, it’s subtle and oh so tasty. One thing I noticed about a couple of tunes was that he was playing his standard part, but with a much thinner guitar tone. And he seems to be using a straight fuzz/distortion pedal at one point. Flip notes: If it’s 73, this must be Europe. The Stones had started their 3 year touring cycle in 1969. The last Euro tour was 1970, so off we go. Charlie was hoping to make some money on this one, as you can read below, so he must not have been encouraged if he’d seen the house was only three-quarters filled on their opening night. And they were only doing one show in Vienna, anyway! But maybe that was the point. Their usual practice had been to start a tour in a location away from major media centers so they could have a chance to tinker with the song selection and order. Was it the 69 or 72 tour opener that was called by one writer, “a contemptuous rehearsal”? So, tonight Vienna’s Stadthalle was their laboratory for musical experimentation. No oldies, that was too boring for everyone concerned, Jagger having recently stated that he was tired of rock and roll. Jumpin’ Jack Flash would be the oldest tune performed. They’d just released Goat’s Head Soup, a record that Jagger had advertised as their “beautiful music” album, which contained their worldwide hit “Angie”. “Angie” would be featured prominently on the tour, its success coming in spite of criticism that the band had gone soft. It would be the only “beautiful music” tune from Goat’s Head Soup that would be performed live. Can You Hear The Music, Winter, Coming Down Again, all were forgotten in favor of Star Star, Heartbreaker, and the rockier 100 Years Ago and Silver Train at a few gigs. The song lineup was actually only a variation on their 1972 American tour song list that had worked so well, a bonus being that they wouldn’t have to rehearse a lot of new tunes. And that was probably becoming a consideration, since Keith had gone deeper down the coke/heroin rabbit hole than ever before. Mick Taylor was following him in, too, so a limited repertoire was probably the safest bet all around. Jagger was heavily into coke, alcohol and marijuana, but drew the line at heroin. At this point, the three Stones musical drivers were on separate trips with no firm destination ahead. Charlie, Bill and Stu were still rock solid as always, but they must have been a little uncomfortable with Jagger’s escalating egotism, Keith’s isolation and growing unreliability and Mick Taylor’s obvious alienation from the rest of them. Jagger and Richards had been fighting for years, their relationship poisoned by Jagger’s affair with Keith’s paramour Anita Pallenberg. But now Taylor was becoming a victim of their eternal battles. Keith was afraid Taylor might take his place. Jagger seems to have wanted Taylor to know his place, to not ask for songwriting credits when he was still new to the big time. And Taylor could possibly take Keith’s place as his songwriting partner if he chose to “fire” Keith. They were all caught in a drug and alcohol induced miasma of hurt feelings and dashed expectations. Time for the tour to begin! But they were missing a crew member. Nicky Hopkins had been everyone’s favorite keyboard player for years. He’d played with them in the studio since 68 and toured with them in 72 and the Pacific tour earlier in the year. What happened? I don’t have any info to back this up, but I’d speculate he skipped the tour for health reasons. Nicky had massive stomach troubles from heavy drinking (and coke use?) anyway, so another Stones tour with 24 hour drinking and drugging would not have been a wise choice. Turns out Bobby Keys, everybody’s favorite rock and roll tenor sax player, perhaps should have done the same, having to drop out of the tour due to his drug/drinking problems. Whether he actually quit or was fired is a subject of some controversy which is discussed in the notes below. Notes on 1973 European Tour from The Rolling Stones Chronicle. Mick Jagger on the 73 tour: “I know when I've given a lousy performance and I know when I'm great. I've worked myself into a state where I know I'd never ever give a very, very bad performance, but concerts vary and I think it's amusing that most writers can never really distinguish between a mediocre gig and a great one. Like those Wembley concerts, where I just wasn't on form - almost everyone said how great I was when I knew I wasn't doing my best. I mean, the first show there was horrible! But then there were concerts like the first show at Birmingham - were you there? - now that was a great one, because the audience just stayed rigid in their seats and I found myself playing to the air which was beautiful in a way. I perform for anyone who's putting out some kind of reaction, and if there's no perceivable reaction I'll perform to the air. And that's sometimes when my finest moments happen.” Keith Richards on the 73 tour: “Right now, I'm sticking pretty much to playing rhythm onstage. It depends on the number actually, but since Brian died, I've had to pay more attention to rhythm guitar anyway. I move more now simply because back when we were playing old halls I had to stand next to Charlie's drums in order to catch the beat, the sound was always so bad. I like numbers to be organized - my thing is organization, I suppose - kicking the number off, pacing it and ending it. Either I fuck it up completely or it really comes together.” Charlie Watts on the 73 tour: “It's hardly a financially successful operation. The last time we toured Europe we actually lost money. Can you imagine that? Having to slave around playing all these places and then finding out you've lost money. This might just be the first European tour we make any money on, though I don't know. Really, I'll be the last one of all to know about it.”
A lot of misinformation about Nicky Hopkins. He had a lifelong health battle with Crohn's Disease that ended his life prematurely a the age of 50. All his life he faced multiple surgical procedures and long periods of hospitalization and disability causing him to give up jobs with the Stones, The Who, The Kinks and others.
Sad, I miss Love In Vain, but thanks again. Also, if Mick is concerned about getting asses off their seats, why play "100 Years Ago", instead of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"? BIG mistake, not to play that live. PS, wasn't this around the time when Nicky joined The Quicksilver Messenger Service in San Fran ?
The Midnight Rambler from the Brussels show is the holy grail of all things Midnight Rambler with Taylor and Keith weaving their guitar tapestry all through the song. This sounds like the completely unedited version, nice.
Notes Pt. 6 730928A 28th September: Munich, West-Germany, Olympiahalle (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: Jagger bellowing a lot but trying not to?; TD-Keith out of tune? Notes on 1973-09-28 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews This show occurs almost right in the middle of their European tour which began on September 1st and ended on October 19th in West Berlin. Munich is one of thirteen unique concerts in West Germany. The band were joined by Billy Preston on organ and clavinet, Bobby Keys and Trevor Lawrence on saxophone, Jim Price on trumpet and trombone, and Steve Madio on trumpet and flugelhorn. Keys was actually dismissed from the tour sometime after Munich for falling asleep onstage due to an addiction to heroin. Touring for Goat Head’s Soup, some of the early shows contain five songs from the new album with “100 Years Ago” and “Silver Train” making appearances. For many shows four songs are included. But by Munich, with “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” being dropped, the number is reduced to three all played consecutively. Nothing before 1968 is found in any of the shows. The Munich afternoon show is a very brisk, tight performance before a relatively mellow audience. “Brown Sugar” begins with Jagger yelling “yeah, motherfucker” in the song’s build up and includes Keys playing the sax solo. Before one knows what is happening they are playing the inexorable opening notes of “Gimme Shelter.” The first four songs are played at a break neck pace and the band don’t’ take a breath until after “Tumbling Dice.” Jagger was pushing “Dancing With Mr. D,” the sequel to “Sympathy For The Devil,” to be their next hit and sounds sinister in this recording. He tries to wake up the audience before “Angie” by shouting, “Sweet time…hello hello hello, all right!” This version of the song contains a nice organ solo by Preston giving the song a holy glow. “We’re gonna do one more slow song for you to make you cry. Whoo! It sure is echo-ey in here” Jagger says before “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Like all versions on this tour this is a nine-minute long track of epic proportions. Taylor plays a solo before giving way to Keys on the alto sax. He reiterates the main theme of the song before leading it through various jazz interpretations of the same melody. “Midnight Rambler” is eleven minutes long and is a showcase for Taylor, for whom this tour would be both his showcase and swansong. The intensity of that song is broken with “Honky Tonk Women.” The following song “All Down The Line” brings the show back to the quick pace is lost during the slow songs and features the horn section punctuating the joyful melody in the middle of the track and “Rip This Joint” goes by in a blur. The band rush through the final two songs and Jagger even briefly loses his place in the first verse of “Jumping Jack Flash.” The final song of the set is “Street Fighting Man” which gives the horn section another chance to make their presence known as the songs teams to its finale. The Stones didn’t give encores during this time and after a terse “good night” the band leave the stage. The entire performance clocks in at around seventy minutes. 730928B 28th September: Munich, West-Germany, Olympiahalle (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: At least parts of the show have been filmed by German ARD TV and were aired on October, the 20th in ‘Kätschap’, incl. - Brown Sugar (MJ/KR) - Gimme Shelter (MJ/KR) -part only - Street Fighting Man (MJ/KR) -part only 730930A 30th September: Frankfurt, West-Germany, Festhalle (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 730930B 30th September: Frankfurt, West-Germany, Festhalle (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes Pt. 4 Notes on 1973-09-08 Wembley shows by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music reviews The tape cut in right before the first verse of “Brown Sugar.” Mick Taylor takes the lead in “Gimme Shelter” and add in a longer guitar solo at the end. It is so ferocious and terrifying that even Jagger gets out of the way and lets him go. Taylor again delivers an excellent and emotional solo on “Angie,” emphasizing themes in the music the original studio track only hinted at. “Dancing With Mr. D” sounds particularly nasty, but “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” loses some steam compared to the version played that afternoon. The extended funk workout section isn’t as intense nor does Mick tell everyone to get up off their asses. “Midnight Rambler” lasts for twelve minutes and even though the sound quality is worst on this, the aggression comes through nicely represented on the angry sounding harp that floats above the fray. The show ends strongly with another classic version of “Street Fighting Man” that really makes one wish the latter half of the show, indeed the entire concert, were recorded better. 730911A 11th September: Manchester, England, Kings Hall, Belle Vue Note: A short 16mm private film is reported to exist. 730912A 12th September: Manchester, England, Kings Hall, Belle Vue (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/ Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: ADTL-Jagger messes up verse 2??; RTJ-Jagger messes up verse 2, misses entrance for verse 3, Bobby Keys messes up ending. 730913A 13th September: Newcastle, England, City Hall (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Soundboard recording was made. Flip notes: MR-MT won’t shut up in middle? Is Jagger telling him to? “That’s all right” & “Shhh”; ADTL-Band/Jagger screws up twice?, Keith/someone Drops out at end; JJF-Keith??? Screws up in last verse?, MT cascading octaves at end. Notes on 1973-09-13 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews “Brown Sugar” starts off the set, perhaps their most violent number at that time followed by the gloom of “Gimme Shelter.” The recording minimizes the annoying horn section in favor of the cut throat guitar lines, and it’s a credit to the band’s creativity and imagination that this song takes on a different tenor with each show. Two songs from Exile On Main Street, “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice” are played before a block of new songs from Goats Head Soup. Taylor plays interesting variations of the melody in “Dancing With Mr. D” by adding additional trills and ornaments to the creepy theme. “Angie” is the only slower paced “sad song” of the set dominated by the Stones’ hard groove. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” reaches an epic eight minutes long and “Midnight Rambler,” still the set’s centerpiece, reaching twelve. The final twenty minutes builds into the frenzy of “Street Fighting Man” before the Stones leave the stage. The tape continues with several minutes of the crowd begging for an encore as an orchestral version of “Greensleeves” plays over the venue’s PA. Any tape from their European tour is worth having and since this is the only silver pressed edition it is de facto definitive. 730913B 13th September: Newcastle, England, City Hall (2nd show) 2013 Notes for one of the Newcastle shows (doesn’t say which) by David Morton in Newcastle Chronicle (?) 2013-09-13 On this day, 40 years ago, the Stones - in all their Satanic Majesty - rocked at Newcastle City Hall. The band, in the midst of their European tour, arrived in Toon as the classic single Angie sat at no. 5 in the charts, and as the album Goat’s Head Soup headed for top spot. The Chronicle was there to review the show. “The Rolling Stones proved last night that after a decade they are still the world’s top rock’n’roll band,” declared our reporter. “The concert opened with two huge illuminated pairs of red lips hanging over a darkened stage. “The lights went on and the two Micks, Keith, Charlie and Bill ran on stage. (The Stones’ 1973 line-up featured Mick Taylor on guitar. He would be replaced by Ronnie Woods two years later). “Jagger was wearing a figure-hugging sky blue jumpsuit, a silver belt, diamante bracelets, white gym shoes, and a short black leather jacket.” Our reviewer said of the singer, who’d recently turned 30: “He has lost none of his stage fire and agility with age.” In 1973, of course, rock music was still a young man’s game - and audiences then would have scarcely believed that some of their idols would still be rocking well into their late-60s - and beyond. After a slowish start, according to our reporter, the show took off with Midnight Rambler “and all to a magnificent setting of synchronised lighting and coloured smoke on the stage. “They never looked back after this. The whole audience was on its feet, clapping and swaying as the Stones burst through songs like Honky Tonk Women, Jumping Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man… “Jagger finished by spraying the audience with water and red and white flower petals before the group left to the background music of Land Of Hope And Glory. “The audience unsuccessfully chanted for more for a full 10 minutes. “An unforgettable evening.” Incidentally, the headline of the review in the Chronicle was ‘Thanks For The Memories’. Little did they know, the Rolling Stones would still be proudly strutting their stuff four decades later. 730916B 16th September: Glasgow, Scotland, Apollo Theatre (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/ Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 730917A 17th September: Glasgow, Scotland, Apollo Theatre (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/ Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Notes on 1973-09-17 show by Unknown Author at GIGinjapan.com Therefore, there are a lot of wonderful moments that breathe plenty of the air of this day and make you scream “Europe 73”. First of all, Mick Taylor’s exquisite play in the interlude of “Gimme Shelter”, a 73 specialty of Europe. Even before it rushes into it, it will make you feel thrilled by starting some phrases in the back of Mick’s song. In the first half of the set, “Tumbling Dice”, where Mick heard a terrible shout every night, was on a great day. By maintaining that good performance, “Angie” sings well with original melodies. And on the “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, Glasgow’s true 16th sound source where Mick fuels the band and shines everywhere like Europe 73. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a wonderful performance in which his shouting and Mike Taylor’s flowing phrases become trinity. This flow continues in the “Midnight Rambler”, but it is too fierce, such as Mick’s continuous call at the ending. The song was great the day before, but the different look on each stage is what makes Europe 73 the heyday. Notes on 1973-09-17 show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews Jagger gives a curt “hello Glasgow” before an apocalyptic version of “Gimme Shelter,” a number that seems to shake the rafters with its gloom and aggression. Although their musical vocabulary is firmly rooted in the blues and R&B, their approach is more akin to the storm und drang ideology of the late classical period of Mozart and Hayden. The extremes of emotional states are shown in the juxtaposition of “Brown Sugar” and “Gimme Shelter” being followed by the release of Keith Richards singing “Happy” and the joy of “Tumbling Dice.” The set of new songs, from “Star Star” through to “Angie” has its release point in the obnoxiously happy funk in “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” whose music is completely at odds with the message. It is either a wry commentary or an indecision to certain commitments, but musically it converges on some levels and comes off as one of the more effective points in the show. The concert ends with “Street Fighting Man” with no encore. The closing moments of the show are dominated by a discordant horn section sounding almost like a pre-concert tuning. Whether it was planned that way or if it’s the result of the recording, it is an interesting way to wind down the show.
Notes Pt. 3a Notes by Paul Gambacinni from Rolling Stone magazine, 1973-10-11. “This is just another tour. And Wembley is just another show.”- Charlie Watts in London, the night before. London - Deprived of its foremost rock & roll attraction in the flesh for more than two years, Britain welcomed the Rolling Stones back with an enthusiasm normally reserved for royalty or a World Cup football hero. Four shows at Wembley Pool sold out the morning tickets went on sale. Atlantic Records received hundreds of requests each day for press tickets. THE ROLLING STONES ARE BACK, headlined an evening newspaper. Another paper hit the streets with a special Stones edition. Yet, the overall omens weren’t that good. “Angie,” the Stones’s new single, drew a few nasty reviews, one pop music paper calling it “a dire mistake!” Efforts to schedule gigs at Welsh castles were thwarted twice by local authorities, and only during the week of the Wembley dates were four less spectacular Welsh venues announced. And although three Communist officials were in the audience at Vienna’s glassy-modern Stadthalle September 1st for the first stop on the 20-city tour, permission to go behind the Iron Curtain was not forthcoming. “If they did let the show in,” said Chuck Francour of Kracker, the Stone’s opening act, “it would only be as an example of Western decadence.” A disappointingly dull party the night before the Wembley opener contributed to the mood of uncertainty. The event was staged at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill and traditional home of the Duke of Marlborough. Some guests hyped themselves into expecting a big bash, but it didn’t materialize. “The point of this party is to move around and meet people,” said Mick Jagger. But it was left to the guests to do the circulating. The Stones seemed detached. Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts played with their children, Jagger chatted with Billy Preston and posed with Bianca, and Mick Taylor stood on the far side of the Blenheim Gardens watching the Jaggers getting photographed. Unlike her husband, who looked wasted in heavy make-up and eyeliner, Bianca was animated, fork-feeding Mick goulash and posing for gawkers in her see-through blouse. When she got food on the tip of her walking stick, she licked it off. Of Tatum O’Neal, Bianca said: “She is a lovely, lovely girl. I like her and she likes me. I had her dress up the same so we could have some fun.” The two posed for a magazine photographer. Very little attention was given Goat Head’s Soup. “It’s not my favorite album,” said Bill Wyman. “Beggar’s Banquet is mine. But then everybody has different tastes.” Everybody has different standards, too, and BBC programmers at the party were shocked when DJ Anne Nightingale told Jagger that she had played “Star Star” on the air. “We’re having a contest to see which DJ plays it the most,” said Mick. “There was a terrible row over that song. Ahmet [Ertegun] didn’t want it on. We said, ‘No song, no album, we’ll take it somewhere else.’ To get the song on the album we had to change the printed title.” Mick Taylor said later, “It’s not ‘Star Star,’ it’s ‘Starfucker.’ There was no change in the song. That’s the important thing.” Although three European dates preceded the party, the members of Kracker still hadn’t met all the Stones, and the party did nothing to change the situation. The band had been selected to open the bill because they were the first American group to sign with the Rolling Stones’ label. “Our producer [Jimmy Miller] is their producer,” said bassist Carlos Garcia, “and he figured being their friends he’d offer us to them first.” Vocalist Carl Driggs, one of Kracker’s three Cuban emigrants, added, “This is the first tour we’ve ever been on. The Stones - we freaked!” “The whole past year has been a trip,” said Chuck Francour. His incredulity was understandable. In early 1972 Kracker was a trio playing Chicago clubs; in late 1973 they were a quintet opening for the Rolling Stones in Europe. During the first few numbers at Wembley, it appeared the Stones might succumb to the mood of disinterest that permeated the party. Jagger hit a few wrong notes on “Tumbling Dice,” and the interchange between him and Keith Richards on “Happy” was sloppy. Worse still, Mick’s gymnastics seemed unnatural and a self-parody. The audience was not moved. “Did one of those guys tell you to sit down?” Jagger inquired finally, alluding to the security guards. “Well, don’t let them bother you!” The band started “Midnight Rambler,” smoke billowed from the stage, and Jagger humped the floor. At this point the audience went irrevocably gazonkers. When Mick kicked balloons into the crowd, adults grabbed them as if they needed the air inside to breathe. When he threw buckets of water, the crowd lunged at sprinkles. Only four of the 15 numbers performed were from Goat Head’s Soup, the rest being familiar favorites. The Stone most deserving acclaim was Mick Taylor, whose guitar playing was so outstanding that even critics for the national newspapers singled him out for praise. Minor incidents occurred each night. On Friday and Saturday ticketless crowds outside forced open the arena’s locked doors. They were driven back by security guards. Sunday night one of the commissionaires yanked a dancing man to his seat by his hair, drawing an onstage reprimand (“Sergeants, we don’t need you!”) from Jagger. The commissionaires retreated to the back of the hall, where one of them later charged that “he called us ‘pigs.’ “ After the show an unidentified man hurled an unopened Coca-Cola bottle at Jagger, who shrugged off the incident. He was preoccupied with talking with Ron Wood, Tetsu Yamauchi, David Bowie and Donovan, who mingled on the stage when the audience had left. The Stones apparently won’t play the US this year. “Maybe spring or summer,” said Bill Wyman. Asked about the rumor the Stones might tour with the Who, Wyman said, “I haven’t heard about it, but I wouldn’t mind it. I like the Who. They’re maniacs. Of course, they probably feel the same way about us.”
Notes Pt. 3 730904B 4th September: Cologne, West-Germany, Sporthalle (2nd show) Flip notes: Poor sound quality, which is too bad because band really starts burning after HTW. Can hear MT well for such a bad recording. 730907A 7th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) 730908A 8th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (1st show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/ Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Flip notes: Band doesn’t wake up till end of show; GS-MT uses wah-wah pedal; Angie-Quiet, lovely version, weak intro?; YCAGWYW- Strange solo from MT; MR-Most timid start to MR ever???; HTW-Very nice intro, unique; ADTL-Jagger perfunctory at end?; RTJ-Jagger tries to go to the bridge instead of verse 2; JJF-Band wakes up, great intro; SFM-MT uses wah-wah, strange moment? Notes on 1973-09-08 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews Their appearance at Wembley Empire Pool is their first in England and they play for shows over three days. The September 9th show was professionally taped and parts were edited with the Brussels tape for the KBFH. It isn’t known of the other shows were professionally recorded or not. The matinee on September 8th is quiet early, starting a three o’ clock. The tape begins right when the announcer says, “The Rolling Stones!!” and the band launching right into “Brown Sugar” with slide guitar and horn section blazing. “How are you this afternoon? I just got up, I got to wake meself up a bit. Slap me old face” as the ominous beginning of “Gimme Shelter” begins. The horns replace the female vocalist from the studio recording and is never very convincing. It sounds much too happy and up beat on what is supposed to be an apocalyptic cry for help. Thankfully they end early on and the song turns into the masterpiece it is. “Thank you it is wonderful to be back…in me own hometown and that” Jagger says before introducing Keith to sing “Happy” which he sings with gusto. The song is so energetic that Jagger says afterwards, “I think we blew a couple of amps up here.” “Tumbling Dice” is introduced as “time for the humbly tumbly.” What follows are several new songs beginning with “Starfucker” and the mellow ballad “Angie.” The following “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is meant to make the audience “feel sadder.” The song builds up nicely and the band quiet down to emphasize Taylor’s trills in a gorgeous solo. The band play two more new songs beginning with “Dancing With Mr. D.” This is a spooky, voodoo laden song inspired by their recording in Jamaica the previous year and The Stones tried hard to make it a hit, even producing a seldom seen video. It has a killer, laid back and spooky riff and onstage the song is played much faster than the studio version. Jagger gives insidious intonation to the words as he sings about Mr. D (which he states stands for “Death,” not “Devil”). It is an effective stage piece which unfortunately never caught on and has not been heard since. Even better is the following song “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo,” which includes the killer funky interlude not heard in the studio with Jagger exhorting everyone to “get off your arse.” The horn section blends very well the ambience of this song. The rest of the show is devoted to the older classics beginning with a dramatic, twelve-minute long version of “Midnight Rambler.” “Rip This Joint” is two minutes long and segues directly with “Jumping Jack Flash.” 730908B 8th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (2nd show) (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/ Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Two different private films of this show exist (28 min. & 6 min.) 730909A 9th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice [re-startedl/Star Star/ Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man) Note: Soundboard recording was made. A private film with silent footage of Happy and Street Fighting Man exists
Thank you it's wonderful, even better than previous tours. Mick Taylor's sound is amazing and the 2 guitars are in perfect harmony, he should never have left 😢 Keith and Mick we love you, please call him back ! RIP Charlie we miss you so 💙
Best Stones ever thanks to Mick Taylor! They finally became a rock group!
Thanks for your comment.
😂 it's violent... But true.
Rolling Stones FOREVER !! My favorite band forever since I was 15 years old
This is the best version of Midnight Rambler I’ve ever heard. Simply amazing
You should check out out the remastered version of this specific take on the Goats Head Soup re-release
Really great live !
Thank so much man !
My pleasure!
What a great early '70s "sound quality" concert from the Rolling Stones. Mick Taylor was such a perfect addition to the band, after Brian Jones passed away. Cheers.
Totally sublime version of Angie, their best ever performance of this song.
Fantastic sound, top of the tops performance from the band in rock’n’rolling shape. Thank you for this ❤️🔥
Thank you ! This is the GOAT ! Greatest Of All Tours
I saw this tour at wembley aged 15
Any other details about the show would be great!
100
Years ago....Excellent song ....Heartbreaker best version ever....
PERFECT concert m Talor we miss you
❤ Thanks for making Thursday night a Rockin Awesome Time!! From beginning to end Absolutely Brilliant!!
You're welcome!
Ty Flip
Love this concert!!
flip . sounds like the brussells concert. nice,,,,, you are the king
I remember like it was yesterday when I bought Bedspring Symphony at Heads Together in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania forty-nine damn years ago.
Incredible job on this work. Keith and Charlie were the rhythm section listen to this Rambler. Amazing.
Taylor on fire but credit to Keith and Charlie for laying the background
Cara, que maravilha!!! Que trabalho fantástico. Voce não imagina como é bom ouvir essa turne magica dessa epoca de ouro dos Stones lendo as notas. As notas são incríveis. Atraves delas que podemos viajar por aqueles tempos tentando entender a atmosfera de cada show. Parabéns!!! Traduzi todas as notas para o meu portugues e guardei em pdf para te-las sempre a mão. Abc.
Man, how amazing!!! What a fantastic job. You can't imagine how good it is to hear this magical tour from this golden age of the Stones reading the notes. The grades are amazing. Through them we can travel through those times trying to understand the atmosphere of each show. Congratulations!!! I translated all the notes into my Portuguese and saved them in pdf to always have them at hand. ABC.
There's more notes I have to post. There were some difficulties getting them all on at once. Thanks for your support!
Peak of stones powers!!
Notes Pt. 2
Notes on 1973 European Tour from Wikipedia
The tour followed the release of the group's album Goats Head Soup on 31 August. It began at the Stadthalle in Vienna,
Austria on 1 September. It then saw, in large halls to mid-sized arenas, West Germany, England (including four shows at
the Empire Pool in London), Scotland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Belgium, finishing on 19
October with the band's fourth entry into and thirteenth show in West Germany, at the Deutschlandhalle in West Berlin,
which would turn out to be Mick Taylor's last live performance with the Stones as a member of the band. Altogether 42
shows were played in 22 cities, with two shows in a day a commonplace. This was the Stones' first trip to Europe since
the European Tour 1970, and was part of parallel three-year cycles of touring the United States and Europe.
Without all the ballyhoo, media attention, and jet set hangers-on of the group's 1972 American Tour, the 1973 European
Tour was seen as having less drama - the biggest pending issue was the resolution of Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's
25 June drugs and weapons bust, which hung over them until a 24 October £205 fine from the Great Marlborough Street
Magistrates Court resolved it - while showcasing consistently good musicianship. Songs like "Brown Sugar" and "Gimme Shelter"
were well received and Billy Preston's organ and clavinet added a contemporary and funky edge to the "classic" Stones sound,
although the tour's relatively conventional delineation between rhythm (primarily Richards) and lead guitar (primarily Taylor)
parts were later criticized by Richards. By the time of the group's following Tour of the Americas '75, Ron Wood would be in the
band and Richards' preferred interweaved approach would be restored.
No live album was released from the tour, although a recording of the first 17 October show in Brussels was headed towards official
release but pulled back for legal reasons. As Brussels Affair (and some other names such as "Bedspring Symphony - A Box Lunch
and Meat Whistle"), it has been a popular bootleg in superb stereo sound, and is often considered a 'lost classic' of bigger importance
than some of the official Stones' live albums. The album also included recordings from September 9, 1973 (Empire Pool, Wembley, London).
These recordings were broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour (KBFH). Another broadcast included three soundboard mono
recordings from Newcastle, two from Empire Pool, Wembley and one from Rotterdam.
In November 2011, the Rolling Stones launched a web enterprise, www.StonesArchive.com and released the second 17 October
Brussels show with two tracks from the first Brussels show as Brussels Affair (Live 1973) worldwide as a digital download in FLAC
or MP3 format and as a box set.
The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonica
Keith Richards - rhythm guitar, vocals
Mick Taylor - lead guitar
Bill Wyman - bass guitar
Charlie Watts - drums
Additional Musicians:
Billy Preston - piano, organ, clavinet, backing vocals
Steve Madaio - trumpet, flugelhorn
Bobby Keys - saxophone (until 30 September 1973)
Trevor Lawrence - saxophone
Manuel Kellough - percussion (some dates)
Marshall Chess - trumpet on "Street Fighting Man" (some dates)
Bobby Keys left the tour after the Frankfurt dates. In his memoir, he states that he left to clean up from drink and drugs to save his life.
Opening Acts:
Opening for the tour's shows was Billy Preston and for him, Kracker, the first band ever to be signed to Rolling Stones Records.
Part of the opening show by Preston was released on Preston's 1974 album release Live European Tour, which featured Mick Taylor.
The standard set list for the tour was:
1. "Brown Sugar"
2. "Gimme Shelter"
3. "Happy"
4. "Tumbling Dice"
5. "Star Star"
6. "Dancing with Mr D"
7. "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" (not on all shows)
8. "Angie"
9. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
10. "Midnight Rambler"
11. "Honky Tonk Women"
12. "All Down the Line"
13. "Rip This Joint"
14. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
15. "Street Fighting Man"
This set list was pretty stable once established, however, during the first few shows Goats Head Soup tracks "100 Years Ago" (Vienna and Mannheim)
and "Silver Train" (Vienna, Cologne, London 1st) got a trying out, as did "Bitch" and "Sweet Virginia" in Vienna. All of the pre-Goats selections had
been played on the 1972 American Tour as well, and pretty much in this order. Completely absent was anything from before 1968 in the Stones' catalog.
Indeed, on 18 August, before the tour began, Jagger had been quoted, "The only thing I don't really enjoy about playing live is having to perform the
old numbers, even though that's what a lotta people wanna hear us do."
1st September - 19th October: THE ROLLING STONES. European Tour.
Line-up: MJ (voc, harm)/KR (gtr, voc)/MT (gtr)/BW (bass)/CW (dr)/
Billy Preston (p, org, clavinet)/Trevor Lawrence (sax, perc)/Steve
Madaio (tp, tb, perc)/Bobby Keys (sax, perc; probably only until
October 13)/STU (p; sometimes, on selected tracks)
Note: At some shows Marshall Chess was invited to join the band for the last
song to play some tambourine or trumpet. Also Manuel Kellough sometimes
guested on congas.
730901A 1st September: Vienna, Austria, Stadthalle
(Brown Sugar/Bitch/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/100 Years Ago/
Star Star/Angie/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/
Dancing With Mr. D./Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Honky Tonk Women/
All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: With special guest Manuel Kellough (congas) on Brown Sugar.
Notes on Vienna show by photographer Manolo Gioppo, who also took the crowd picture of the Vienna show included here.
In the night the show was delayed, not started al 19.30, the people in the arena very tired to wait, start to shout and to toot;
Preston started at (maybe) 21.00 o´clock or after….The stadium was not full, maybe three-fourths ( 7.000 fans ? ), it seemed a very personal concert!!
730903A 3rd September: Mannheim, West-Germany, Eisstadion
(Brown Sugar/Bitch/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/100 Years
Ago/Star Star/Angie/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You
Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/
Band introduction/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This
Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: A short silent private film of this show exists.
Flip notes: Star Star-Jagger screws up lyrics; Angie-Horns really bad; Sweet VA-loud audience at beginning; MR-No harp at beginning;
ADTL-Jagger not with band at one point?; JJF-Jagger screws up last verse, goes to chorus too soon, Short version?; SFM-MT uses wah-wah pedal,
Horns deafening, bad at end.
730904A 4th September: Cologne, West-Germany, Sporthalle (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo
Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Band introduction/Honky Tonk
Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: A private super 8 recording of the following tracks exists:
- Brown Sugar (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Gimme Shelter (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Happy (MJ/KR)
- Star Star (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Midnight Rambler (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Honky Tonk Women (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Rip This Joint (MJ/KR) -incomplete
- Jumpin' Jack Flash (MJ/KR) -incomplete
Notes Pt. 10
Corrections:
September 2023
I changed the performance date of Gimme Shelter to London 09-09 from Brussels 10-17 1st show because the sax part at the beginning sounds like Bobby Keys, who wasn't present in Brussels.
October 2023
Now have audience tape to confirm GS is 1973-09-09. But now have to change attribution for Tumbling Dice to TBD as this is not the version from 09-09.
Thank's a lot for this great moment off music history !
Thank you!
Best Brown Sugar versions are with MT on slide!!!
A fantastic Monday morning surprise!!! Thank You for making my day ,Flip!!!!☮❤☮
Thank you!
Notes Pt. 5
730919A 19th September: Birmingham, England, Odeon Theatre (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes on 1973-09-19 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
The set list reflects a further rethinking of the set list by the Stones. Various songs from Goats Head Soup appear in the
set list before the band settled on four: “Star Star,” “Dancing With Mr. D.,” “Angie,” and “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)”
to appear in most of the shows.
The third of the four was dropped for the September 13 show in Newcastle and would be employed only sporadically, appearing in at
least five shows in Europe. The short introduction leads to the opening “Brown Sugar” followed by the apocalyptic “Gimme Shelter,”
one of the greatest rock songs ever written. The heavy mood is alleviated by “Happy” and Jagger says, “Thank you Keith” at the end.
“Tumbling Dice” from the previous album Exile On Main Street is performed before Mick says, “Hello Birmingham…good for you.
We’re gonna do a few new songs for you from our new record” before playing all the new stuff as one subset in the set list.
The final “sad song” of the set is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which contains a saxophone solo that foreshadows Ernie’s
Watt’s interpretation of the melody almost ten years later. There is a small cut and fade before “Honky Tonk Women.”
Birmingham is a tight performance and the audience in the Odeon didn’t know it at the time, but would be Mick Taylor’s penultimate
show in England with The Rolling Stones and, unless the tape for the evening show appears, the final live document in the archives.
730919B 19th September: Birmingham, England, Odeon Theatre (2nd show)
Flip note: Was there a Madrid gig on Sept. 22nd? I came across a photo allegedly from the concert.
730923A 23rd September: Innsbruck, Austria, Olympiahalle
Notes by R. Benedickt at Tiroler Tageszeitung 1973-09-25
Influenced by high-cost promotion, one would expect another comeback from the faltering Rolling Stones. However, what the 8,500 paying
fans in Innsbruck's Olympic Stadium were offered was nothing more than Mick Jagger's personal show. Much to the dismay of the fans, even
this meager offering was limited to barely 45 minutes. Compared to Billy Preston's opening act, their appearance on stage seemed to be little
more than snide remarks by the whole group, from Jagger's transvestite-like face to the jeweled remaining Stones. I am of course referring to
the four other band members who might as well be sitting in the nose-bleed seats, they are so worthless on stage. No one would be missed -
Charlie Watts sits behind his drums like a serious businessman behind his desk, a pillar of salt is a good comparison for Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman
is like a little lost lamb, and Keith Richards, who has looked like he is half asleep for the last ten years, barely managed to move his legs in the
short time that he surfaced in the limelight.
The Rolling Stones' progressiveness has seen its final days. Apparently this is no secret to lead singer Mick Jagger, since he has beefed up the
entertainment aspect of the show. Not a bad idea, when "you can't always get what you want" - Innsbruck being the perfect example.
Neither fans nor tour-managers were satisfied with the show. 800 standing-room-only seats were left empty, and one million Schillings was the
final number when the accountants closed their books. Management and stadium administration were compensated for the lack of sales, however,
in that not a single window or piece of equipment was in the least bit damaged. The 38 crowd-control police and Stones-security crew were also
left twiddling their thumbs--it was a calm night in Innsbruck.
Picture Caption: The enthusiasm was held in check. Only a few - mostly Italian fans - let their tempers get out of control.
The light show left the best impression at the Innsbruck Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) on Sunday evening. As you can see in the picture,
the Stones were mostly seen as part of their role as lighting objects.
Notes by Wolfgang Morscher at STONES.at
The Rolling Stones Innsbruck 1973 show is one of the least documented Rolling Stones shows since the seventies.
Besides this page here, there is no other documentation known !
This page is the result of many hours of research.
Venue: Olympiahalle Innsbruck
Attendance: 8500
(800 tickets minus to sellout)
Opening Act: Billy Preston
Setlist:
Brown Sugar /Gimme Shelter /Happy /Tumbling Dice /Starfucker /Dancing With Mr. D
Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) /Angie /You Can't Always Get What You Want /Midnight Rambler
Honky Tonk Woman /All Down The Line /Rip This Joint /Jumping Jack Flash /Street Fighting Man
Notes by Unknown Author from Neue Tiroler Zeitung 1973-09-25
Billy Preston, playing good ol' soul and rock, warmed up the crowd. With piano, electric keyboards, synthesizer, organ,
and drums the four black artists did their job of setting the mood. The "Stones" kicked off the show with "Brown Sugar"
and "Gimme Shelter." Bathed in a flood of colored lights, Mick Jagger dances with his microphone, then struts almost impudently
across the stage, yet still remaining sovereign over the masses. Casually, he leans over a speaker and, enjoying the dramatic
tension, waits for the fans to swell with excitement, then drives them wild as he disappears into a cloud of smoke while singing
"Midnight Rambler," contorting his body and snapping his belt on the floor. As would be expected, all of this is perfectly
highlighted by an amazing light show.
The other band members--drummer Charlie Watts, Billy Wyman on bass, and the two guitarists, Keith Richards and Mick
Taylor--hang back and let Jagger work his magic. Then every so often a blazing spotlight pulls Taylor or Richards out of the
shadows for a solo jam.
As the show comes to a close with "Street Fighting Man," Mick Jagger's "thank yous" cue the house lights to come up, turning
away any further plea for an encore.
rah
730925A 25th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
730926A 26th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
730926B 26th September: Berne, Switzerland, Festhalle (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: Brass had bad moments in Angie & ADTL; MT changes things up in BS & Happy?!?; Happy- Was Jagger being sarcastic
when he thanks Keith afterwards?; YCAGWYW-with sax solo; MR-cool jam in the middle, Keith fired up; JJF-band not quite
together coming into last verse?; SFM-MT holds on to the last note way past everybody else.
Notes on 1973-09-26 2nd show by Unknown at GIGinjapan.com
Of course, the performance should not be bad Europe 73. On that day, Mick Taylor had a feeling that he couldn’t get
through the phrase when he started playing solo at the opening “Brown Sugar”, but at the next “Gimme Shelter”, the Taylor
clause unique to Europe 73 exploded at once. Furthermore, he constructed a wonderful phrase in “Dancing With Mr. D”.
The Taylor on this tour is really special. In addition, Mick’s powerful shout is used throughout the live performance, which
is one of the charms of this tour. [Flip note: I disagree.]
Also, in Cologne 20 days ago, a pattern was attempted in “Honky Tonk Women” where members were introduced by being guided
by the intro played by Keith, but on this day, Charlie’s rhythm was started instead of member introduction. It is very rare that an intro
like the remnants of Cologne was tried to start the song. It seemed like a live intro that looked great on stage, but it never took hold.
Notes on 1973-09-26 2nd show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
Switzerland first - The Swiss press have never given the band an easy ride, preferring the Beatles instead, Mick, Keith and Co. would
be hard fought to impress their European hosts, no matter what they did.
Three shows were poised for performance on the 25th and 26th of September - One show on the first night, a matinee and a late
show on the second. By all accounts, because of the press’ attempts to dissuade the paying public from turning up, none of the shows
actually sold out and were described as “the Stones worst performing shows” hardly a balm to the band who were close to kicking out
Bobby Keys for his bad behaviour and were feeling the drag from Mick Taylor who had taken to staying at a different hotel to the rest
of the band as his drug problems were taking their toll.
Notes Pt. 6 coming soon
Notes Pt. 8
731006A 6th October: Gothenburg, Sweden, Scandinavium (1st show)
731006B 6th October: Gothenburg, Sweden, Scandinavium (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo
Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: MR-Jagger experiments with bellowing vocals, fast ending; ADTL- Out of control, Bizarre MT solo, bass out of tune in middle;
RTJ-Fast; JJF-Fast; SFM-Jagger out of tune at beginning?, Fast?
731007A 7th October: Copenhagen, Denmark, Brondby-Hallen (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
731007B 7th October: Copenhagen, Denmark, Brondby-Hallen (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo
Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
731009A 9th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle, incl.
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk
Women/All Down The Line)
731010A 10th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
731011A 11th October: Essen, West-Germany, Grugahalle
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes by RICCAR99 from HotWacks on Essen show on the 11th.
Jagger is also in perfect shape just six days before the famous Brussels concerts and his vocals are clearer than in the VGP disc.
Immediately after the opening number Keith plays suddenly the ending notes of Brown Sugar, however after that mistake comes
a complete great Rock n Roll show as if nothing happened. Gimme Shelter is crispy, Keith in Star Star is in perfect shape, Bobby
Keys was still playing before being kicked off the tour due to the famous champagne bath.
Maybe that is the reason why Keith’s chorus sound strangely full of tension; however, in Midnight Rambler the tension comes
from Billy Preston’s playing and seems to rise occasionally.
731013A 13th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Soundboard recording was made.
Brown Sugar was filmed by Dutch VPRO TV. Also there's about 12
minutes of silent private film of one of the Rotterdam-shows in existence.
Manuel Kellough guested at least on one of the shows on congas.
731014A 14th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo
Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Soundboard recording was made.
731014B 14th October: Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sportpaleis AHOY (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D. [re-startedl/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/
Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This
Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
731015A 15th October: Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis Merksem
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
731017A 17th October: Brussels, Belgium, Forest National (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Soundboard recording was made by Andy Johns with the Rolling Stones
Mobile Recording Unit. Most of it was aired on US FM (see 740929A
and subsequent shows). Partly released in November 2011 (see 111117A).
731017B 17th October: Brussels, Belgium, Forest National (2nd show), incl.
(Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing With Mr. D/Doo Doo
Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Honky Tonk
Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash)
Note: Soundboard recording was made by Andy Johns with the Rolling Stones
Mobile Recording Unit. Partly released officially in 2011 (see 111117A).
Notes from dangerousminds.net, by Bart Bealmear.
In support of their new record, Goat’s Head Soup, the Stones launched the 1973 European trek on September 1st in Vienna.
Though significantly less dramatic than their infamous 1972 U.S. tour, the outing still had its moments. Take this one, in which
saxophonist Bobby Keys quits the band right before the first of two scheduled performances that were to take place in Brussels,
Belgium, on October 17th. In his autobiography, Life, Richards describes the scene:
“No sign of Bobby at the band assembly that day, and finally I was asked if I knew where my buddy was-there had been no reply
from his hotel room. So I went to his room and said, Bob, we gotta go, we gotta go right now. He’s got a cigar, bathtub full of
champagne and this French chick in [the tub] with him. And he said, fuck off. So be it.” [Flip note: One account claims Keys was actually fired
after playing badly and nodding off onstage at least once due to heroin use. But Keith may not have known Keys had been fired because
that’s the way things were going with the group at the moment since Keith’s drug use had isolated him from the others. Jagger was in charge.
He may have fired Keys and not bothered to tell Keith to avoid an argument. So when Keith showed up looking for him, Keys may have thought Keith knew
all about it, which explains the expletive.]
The Stones had booked the shows in Brussels due to its proximity to France, as they were banned from entering the country after
behaving badly while recording Exile on Main St. in Villefranche-sur-Mer. The Brussels gigs took place at the Forest National arena.
With a live album in mind, the Stones recorded both Brussels performances. Though the live LP idea was eventually scrapped,
the public did eventually get to hear portions of the Belgian recordings via the syndicated radio program, The King Biscuit Flower
Hour, in both stereo and FM quadraphonic 4-track. Naturally, the KBFH broadcast was subsequently bootlegged.
On the Brussels recordings, the Stones-augmented by keyboardist Billy Preston, as well a horn section-are in fine form, for sure,
but the absolute highlight of the tapes is the version of “Street Fighting Man,” the final song played during each of their sets that day.
From the get-go, the energy of the band is palpable. Keith, especially, stands out, as he doesn’t seem to be playing his guitar as much
as stabbing the thing, but it’s when Mick Taylor steps on his wah-wah pedal (in place of the shehnai) that this rendition starts to
become spectacular. As the number continues, Bill Wyman’s bass swoops, the horns squeak and squawk, and the tempo increases
and increases until the music ceases to be just that, morphing into a riotous, stunning wave of sound.
731019A 19th October: Berlin, West-Germany, Deutschlandhalle
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: Very Good Show; Star Star-great Keith solo; YCAGWYW-great MT solo parts with wah-wah pedal; MR- great MT solo parts, Hendrix influenced at one point?;
JJF-MT uses wah-wah; SFM-MT uses wah-wah, end fades out, unfortunate fade out on unique ending.
1973-10-19 Berlin was Mick Taylor’s last show with the Stones.
Great 👍🏻
Notes Pt. 9
Notes from website The Unknown Stones, author unknown. Edited by Flip.
Taylor’s onstage debut as a Rolling Stone, at the age of 20, was the free concert in Hyde Park, London on 5 July 1969.
An estimated quarter of a million people attended for a show that turned into a tribute to Brian Jones, who had died two
days before the concert.
The Rolling Stones’ 1971 release Sticky Fingers included “Sway” and “Moonlight Mile” which Taylor and Jagger had completed
in Richards’ absence. At the time Jagger stated: “We made [tracks] with just Mick Taylor, which are very good and everyone
loves, where Keith wasn’t there for whatever reasons … It’s me and [Mick Taylor] playing off each other - another feeling
completely, because he’s following my vocal lines and then extemporizing on them during the solos.” However, Taylor was
only credited as co-author of one track, “Ventilator Blues”, from the album Exile on Main St. (1972).
After the 1973 European tour, Richards’s drug problems had worsened and began affecting the ability of the band to function as a whole.
In November 1973, when the band was to begin work on the LP It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll at Musicland Studios in Munich,
Taylor missed some of the sessions while he underwent surgery for acute sinusitis. Not much was achieved during the first
10 days at Musicland. Most of the actual recordings were made in January at Musicland and in April 1974 in Jagger’s
estate in the English county of Hampshire dubbed “Stargroves”. When Taylor resumed work with the band, he found it
difficult to get along with Richards.
At one point during the Munich sessions, Richards confronted him and said, “Oi! Taylor! You’re playing too fuckin’ loud. I mean,
you’re really good live, man, but you’re fucking useless in the studio. Lay out, play later, whatever.” Richards erased some of the tapes
where Taylor had recorded guitar parts to some of the songs for It’s Only Rock n’ Roll. Taylor was, however, present at all the sessions
in April at Stargroves, where the LP was finished and most of the overdubs were recorded
In December 1974, Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones. The bandmates were at a party in London when Taylor told
Jagger he was quitting and walked out. Taylor’s decision came as a shock to many. The Rolling Stones were due to start recording a
new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice.
When interviewed by Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone in 1995, Jagger stated that Taylor never explained why he had left, and surmised
that “[Taylor] wanted to have a solo career. I think he found it difficult to get on with Keith.” In the same interview Jagger said of Taylor’s
contribution to the band: “I think he had a big contribution. He made it very musical. He was a very fluent, melodic player, which we never had,
and we don’t have now. Neither Keith nor Ronnie Wood plays that kind of style. It was very good for me working with him … Mick Taylor would
play very fluid lines against my vocals. He was exciting, and he was very pretty, and it gave me something to follow, to bang off. Some people
think that’s the best version of the band that existed”. Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Jagger said: “I obviously can’t say if I think Mick
Taylor was the best, because it sort of trashes the period the band is in now.” Charlie Watts stated: “I think we chose the right man for the job
at that time just as Ronnie was the right man for the job later on. I still think Mick is great. I haven’t heard or seen him play in a few years. But
certainly what came out of playing with him are musically some of the best things we’ve ever done”. Another statement in Guitar World in October
2002 made by Richards said “Mick Taylor and I worked really well together … He had some lovely energy. Sweetly sophisticated playing, way
beyond his years. Lovely sense of melody. I never understood why he left the Stones, Nor does he, I think … I had no desire to see him go.” Taylor
later admitted in the 2012 documentary Crossfire Hurricane that he had become addicted to heroin and hoped to protect his family from the
drug culture surrounding the band by leaving.
In an essay about the Rolling Stones, printed after Taylor’s resignation, music critic Robert Palmer of The New York Times wrote that “Taylor
is the most accomplished technician who ever served as a Stone. A blues guitarist with a jazzman’s flair for melodic invention, Taylor was never
a rock and roller and never a showman.”
To resume, Mick Taylor was a virtuoso and simply too good for the Stones. Keith Richards couldn’t stand to be on the second position
behind a youngster who outplayed him on the guitar.
Dunno why they dropped 100 Yerars Ago after 2 shows... I like Silver Train too, but I read a Mick Taylor interview from the era and he said the band thought it sounded too much like All Down the Line.
late night headphone music groove zone beginning to end.
Notes Pt. 7
731002A 2nd October: Hamburg, West-Germany, Ernst-Merck-Halle (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes on 1973-10-02 1st show by Jonathan Perry at Collector’s Music Reviews
As far as I can tell, “Hamburg” marks only the first time that this particular show has been released on silver disc
(only one other release, a no label CD-R, “Afternoon in Hamburg,” is known to exist). Although the fidelity leaves something
to be desired, especially in contrast to other high quality soundboards of, say, the Brussels and Wembley shows, the band’s
top-notch performance punches through the mediocrity of the tape.
This is the first of two shows the Stones played that day, and while the second concert has been fairly widely circulated, it’s
a wonder why this matinee took so long to surface. The set list for both shows that day was essentially the same, but during
the afternoon the boys substitute a stealthy (and far more scarce, as it wasn’t played nearly as much) “Dancing With Mr. D”
for “Heartbreaker,” which made an appearance during the evening show. Two other strongly performed “Soup” selections
bookend “Mr. D,” including the ribald Chuck Berry-esque groupie-grope workout, “Star Star” (uncensored title: “Starfucker”),
and, from the other end of the spectrum, the big breakup ballad, “Angie.”
From there, the Stones dive right back into the back-to-back stage showpieces of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
and “Midnight Rambler,” both of which greatly benefit from the extended dramatic treatments of this era. Since we don’t get to
see frontman Mick Jagger’s visual inhabitation of those numbers on disc, the epic splendor of those songs, in no small part, has
to do with lead guitarist Mick Taylor’s effortlessly sublime solo work.
Here, he and fellow guitarist Keith Richards sound locked in from the start, and their darkly magical guitar interplay is on
magnificent display, starting with an epic reading of the second song of the night, “Gimme Shelter.” Richards sketches the
song’s architectural skeleton and provides its musculature: its heart, guts, and soul. Taylor’s cerebral, surgically precise playing,
meanwhile - all connecting-tissue filigrees, sensory accents, and intricately routed solos - sends the lifeblood pumping through
its circulatory system.
Jagger’s voice here is fairly distant and echo-y in the hall, although relatively front and center in the mix (he consistently sang with gusto
on this tour, as if to match the decibel level being wrought by the band). But longtime Stones boot listeners (like me) who reasonably
expect, and are used to listening through, the inherent sonic limitations imposed by an audience recording won’t likely to be too terribly
put off by them here, given the tour, the tracks, and the sheer dynamism of this concert. And as sometimes happens (with me, at least)
while listening to a solid, if not spectacular, audience tape, once you tune your ears and perspective to the audio spectrum and
dynamics on display, the recording increasingly sounds “normal.” This show’s sound seemed to become better as it progressed
(and better from the outset on repeated spins).
But I know that what really happened was that my ears adjusted, while my sonic and visual imagination - in other words, the way
I sensed the Stones actually must have sounded that night - augmented and enhanced the recording. Ahh, if only to have been
there back then, I thought as I listened. For me, having that thought cross my mind is always a good litmus test of a whether
an unofficial recording, imperfections and all, is worth hearing or having. If the drawback in audio quality sounds too much
like a heartbreaker (or a deal-breaker), you may prefer to sit this number out. Me, I’m happy to have this rare chance to dance with Mr. D.
731002B 2nd October: Hamburg, West-Germany, Ernst-Merck-Halle (2nd Show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Doo Doo
Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: Poor sound quality; Happy-False start, Keith starts over; Heartbreaker-Ending confused???; ADTL-Jagger misses 2nd verse;
RTJ-Jagger confused at beginning?; SFM-Ends prematurely.
731004B 4th October: Aarhus, Denmark, Vejlby-Risskov Hallen (1st show)
731004C 4th October: Aarhus, Denmark, Vejlby-Risskov Hallen (2nd show)
Note: One of both Stones-shows was partly filmed by a fan on super 8
(unverified).
Rolling Stones
1973 European Tour 50th Anniversary Special
0:00 Introduction
0:23 Brown Sugar (1973-09-09 London)
3:41 Gimme Shelter (1973-09-09 London)
9:24 Happy (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
12:38 Tumbling Dice (TBD)
17:47 Dancing With Mr. D (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
22:18 Heartbreaker (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
27:29 Angie (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
32:00 You Can't Always Get What You Want (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
43:01 Midnight Rambler (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
56:01 Honky Tonk Women (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
59:08 All Down The Line (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
1:02:46 Rip This Joint (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
1:04:50 Jumpin' Jack Flash (1973-10-17 Brussels 1st show)
1:08:08 Street Fighting Man (1973-09-09 London)
1:13:09 Sweet Virginia (1973-09-01 Vienna) 1:17:52 Bitch (1973-09-01 Vienna)
1:22:17 100 Years Ago (1973-09-01 Vienna)
1:27:09 Silver Train (1973-09-01 Vienna) (Bootlegger bumps around some during intro)
These are the original bootleg tracks, not the released version, so some audio blemishes may remain. All non-Vienna tracks are
From Headin’ For An Overload, the 2 CD set of the original KBFH broadcasts. There is some controversy around the correct
attribution of some of the performances. One source says Disc 1 is Brussels and Disc 2 is London, but the source I trust most,
dbboots.com, has the credits listed above.
Picture captions contain all the relevant information I have on that photo and refer only to the photo and not to the song in progress.
Some 76 Keith photos may have slipped in.
If you compare the London pics to the Berlin SFM pics, it looks like Jagger lost considerable weight on tour.
Many, many thanks to the wonderful photographers whose brilliant work made this video possible.
Mick Taylor is doing some amazing stuff with his wah-wah pedal here, in addition to his usual virtuosity. I’m starting to understand
why some folks are obsessed with this tour and this show in particular. What he’s doing isn’t loud and flashy unless called for, it’s subtle
and oh so tasty. One thing I noticed about a couple of tunes was that he was playing his standard part, but with a much thinner guitar tone. And
he seems to be using a straight fuzz/distortion pedal at one point.
Flip notes:
If it’s 73, this must be Europe. The Stones had started their 3 year touring cycle in 1969. The last Euro tour was 1970, so off we go.
Charlie was hoping to make some money on this one, as you can read below, so he must not have been encouraged if he’d seen the
house was only three-quarters filled on their opening night. And they were only doing one show in Vienna, anyway! But maybe that was the point.
Their usual practice had been to start a tour in a location away from major media centers so they could have a chance to tinker
with the song selection and order. Was it the 69 or 72 tour opener that was called by one writer, “a contemptuous rehearsal”? So, tonight
Vienna’s Stadthalle was their laboratory for musical experimentation. No oldies, that was too boring for everyone concerned, Jagger having
recently stated that he was tired of rock and roll. Jumpin’ Jack Flash would be the oldest tune performed. They’d just released Goat’s Head Soup,
a record that Jagger had advertised as their “beautiful music” album, which contained their worldwide hit “Angie”. “Angie” would be featured prominently
on the tour, its success coming in spite of criticism that the band had gone soft. It would be the only “beautiful music” tune from Goat’s Head Soup
that would be performed live. Can You Hear The Music, Winter, Coming Down Again, all were forgotten in favor of Star Star, Heartbreaker, and the
rockier 100 Years Ago and Silver Train at a few gigs. The song lineup was actually only a variation on their 1972 American tour song list that had worked so well, a
bonus being that they wouldn’t have to rehearse a lot of new tunes. And that was probably becoming a consideration, since Keith had gone deeper down
the coke/heroin rabbit hole than ever before. Mick Taylor was following him in, too, so a limited repertoire was probably the safest bet all around.
Jagger was heavily into coke, alcohol and marijuana, but drew the line at heroin. At this point, the three Stones musical drivers were on separate
trips with no firm destination ahead. Charlie, Bill and Stu were still rock solid as always, but they must have been a little uncomfortable with Jagger’s
escalating egotism, Keith’s isolation and growing unreliability and Mick Taylor’s obvious alienation from the rest of them. Jagger and Richards had
been fighting for years, their relationship poisoned by Jagger’s affair with Keith’s paramour Anita Pallenberg. But now Taylor was becoming a victim of
their eternal battles. Keith was afraid Taylor might take his place. Jagger seems to have wanted Taylor to know his place, to not ask for songwriting credits
when he was still new to the big time. And Taylor could possibly take Keith’s place as his songwriting partner if he chose to “fire” Keith. They were all caught
in a drug and alcohol induced miasma of hurt feelings and dashed expectations.
Time for the tour to begin! But they were missing a crew member. Nicky Hopkins had been everyone’s favorite keyboard player for years. He’d played
with them in the studio since 68 and toured with them in 72 and the Pacific tour earlier in the year. What happened? I don’t have any info to back this up,
but I’d speculate he skipped the tour for health reasons. Nicky had massive stomach troubles from heavy drinking (and coke use?) anyway, so another
Stones tour with 24 hour drinking and drugging would not have been a wise choice. Turns out Bobby Keys, everybody’s favorite rock and roll
tenor sax player, perhaps should have done the same, having to drop out of the tour due to his drug/drinking problems. Whether he actually quit or was
fired is a subject of some controversy which is discussed in the notes below.
Notes on 1973 European Tour from The Rolling Stones Chronicle.
Mick Jagger on the 73 tour: “I know when I've given a lousy performance and I know when I'm great. I've worked myself into
a state where I know I'd never ever give a very, very bad performance, but concerts vary and I think it's amusing that most writers
can never really distinguish between a mediocre gig and a great one. Like those Wembley concerts, where I just wasn't on form - almost
everyone said how great I was when I knew I wasn't doing my best. I mean, the first show there was horrible! But then there were
concerts like the first show at Birmingham - were you there? - now that was a great one, because the audience just stayed rigid in their
seats and I found myself playing to the air which was beautiful in a way. I perform for anyone who's putting out some kind of reaction,
and if there's no perceivable reaction I'll perform to the air. And that's sometimes when my finest moments happen.”
Keith Richards on the 73 tour: “Right now, I'm sticking pretty much to playing rhythm onstage. It depends on the number actually,
but since Brian died, I've had to pay more attention to rhythm guitar anyway. I move more now simply because back when we were
playing old halls I had to stand next to Charlie's drums in order to catch the beat, the sound was always so bad. I like numbers to be
organized - my thing is organization, I suppose - kicking the number off, pacing it and ending it. Either I fuck it up completely or it really comes together.”
Charlie Watts on the 73 tour: “It's hardly a financially successful operation. The last time we toured Europe we actually lost money.
Can you imagine that? Having to slave around playing all these places and then finding out you've lost money. This might just be the first
European tour we make any money on, though I don't know. Really, I'll be the last one of all to know about it.”
A lot of misinformation about Nicky Hopkins. He had a lifelong health battle with Crohn's Disease that ended his life prematurely a the age of 50. All his life he faced multiple surgical procedures and long periods of hospitalization and disability causing him to give up jobs with the Stones, The Who, The Kinks and others.
Sad, I miss Love In Vain, but thanks again. Also, if Mick is concerned about getting asses off their seats, why play "100 Years Ago", instead of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"? BIG mistake, not to play that live. PS, wasn't this around the time when Nicky joined The Quicksilver Messenger Service in San Fran ?
The Midnight Rambler from the Brussels show is the holy grail of all things Midnight Rambler with Taylor and Keith weaving their guitar tapestry all through the song. This sounds like the completely unedited version, nice.
@@alanosterman71301
@@VinvenzoSalvador 2
Notes Pt. 6
730928A 28th September: Munich, West-Germany, Olympiahalle (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: Jagger bellowing a lot but trying not to?; TD-Keith out of tune?
Notes on 1973-09-28 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
This show occurs almost right in the middle of their European tour which began on September 1st and ended on October 19th
in West Berlin. Munich is one of thirteen unique concerts in West Germany. The band were joined by Billy Preston on organ
and clavinet, Bobby Keys and Trevor Lawrence on saxophone, Jim Price on trumpet and trombone, and Steve Madio on
trumpet and flugelhorn.
Keys was actually dismissed from the tour sometime after Munich for falling asleep onstage due to an addiction to heroin.
Touring for Goat Head’s Soup, some of the early shows contain five songs from the new album with “100 Years Ago” and
“Silver Train” making appearances. For many shows four songs are included. But by Munich, with “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo
(Heartbreaker)” being dropped, the number is reduced to three all played consecutively.
Nothing before 1968 is found in any of the shows. The Munich afternoon show is a very brisk, tight performance before a
relatively mellow audience. “Brown Sugar” begins with Jagger yelling “yeah, motherfucker” in the song’s build up and includes
Keys playing the sax solo. Before one knows what is happening they are playing the inexorable opening notes of “Gimme Shelter.”
The first four songs are played at a break neck pace and the band don’t’ take a breath until after “Tumbling Dice.” Jagger was
pushing “Dancing With Mr. D,” the sequel to “Sympathy For The Devil,” to be their next hit and sounds sinister in this recording.
He tries to wake up the audience before “Angie” by shouting, “Sweet time…hello hello hello, all right!” This version of the song
contains a nice organ solo by Preston giving the song a holy glow. “We’re gonna do one more slow song for you to make you cry.
Whoo! It sure is echo-ey in here” Jagger says before “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Like all versions on this tour this
is a nine-minute long track of epic proportions. Taylor plays a solo before giving way to Keys on the alto sax. He reiterates the
main theme of the song before leading it through various jazz interpretations of the same melody.
“Midnight Rambler” is eleven minutes long and is a showcase for Taylor, for whom this tour would be both his showcase and
swansong. The intensity of that song is broken with “Honky Tonk Women.” The following song “All Down The Line” brings
the show back to the quick pace is lost during the slow songs and features the horn section punctuating the joyful melody in the
middle of the track and “Rip This Joint” goes by in a blur. The band rush through the final two songs and Jagger even briefly
loses his place in the first verse of “Jumping Jack Flash.”
The final song of the set is “Street Fighting Man” which gives the horn section another chance to make their presence known
as the songs teams to its finale. The Stones didn’t give encores during this time and after a terse “good night” the band leave
the stage. The entire performance clocks in at around seventy minutes.
730928B 28th September: Munich, West-Germany, Olympiahalle (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: At least parts of the show have been filmed by German ARD TV
and were aired on October, the 20th in ‘Kätschap’, incl.
- Brown Sugar (MJ/KR)
- Gimme Shelter (MJ/KR) -part only
- Street Fighting Man (MJ/KR) -part only
730930A 30th September: Frankfurt, West-Germany, Festhalle (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
730930B 30th September: Frankfurt, West-Germany, Festhalle (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes Pt. 4
Notes on 1973-09-08 Wembley shows by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music reviews
The tape cut in right before the first verse of “Brown Sugar.” Mick Taylor takes the lead in “Gimme Shelter” and add in a longer guitar
solo at the end. It is so ferocious and terrifying that even Jagger gets out of the way and lets him go. Taylor again delivers an excellent and
emotional solo on “Angie,” emphasizing themes in the music the original studio track only hinted at.
“Dancing With Mr. D” sounds particularly nasty, but “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” loses some steam compared to the version played that afternoon.
The extended funk workout section isn’t as intense nor does Mick tell everyone to get up off their asses.
“Midnight Rambler” lasts for twelve minutes and even though the sound quality is worst on this, the aggression comes through nicely represented
on the angry sounding harp that floats above the fray. The show ends strongly with another classic version of “Street Fighting Man” that really
makes one wish the latter half of the show, indeed the entire concert, were recorded better.
730911A 11th September: Manchester, England, Kings Hall, Belle Vue
Note: A short 16mm private film is reported to exist.
730912A 12th September: Manchester, England, Kings Hall, Belle Vue
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo
Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/
Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: ADTL-Jagger messes up verse 2??; RTJ-Jagger messes up verse 2, misses entrance for verse 3, Bobby Keys messes up ending.
730913A 13th September: Newcastle, England, City Hall (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Soundboard recording was made.
Flip notes: MR-MT won’t shut up in middle? Is Jagger telling him to? “That’s all right” & “Shhh”; ADTL-Band/Jagger screws up twice?, Keith/someone
Drops out at end; JJF-Keith??? Screws up in last verse?, MT cascading octaves at end.
Notes on 1973-09-13 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
“Brown Sugar” starts off the set, perhaps their most violent number at that time followed by the gloom of “Gimme Shelter.”
The recording minimizes the annoying horn section in favor of the cut throat guitar lines, and it’s a credit to the band’s creativity
and imagination that this song takes on a different tenor with each show.
Two songs from Exile On Main Street, “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice” are played before a block of new songs from Goats
Head Soup. Taylor plays interesting variations of the melody in “Dancing With Mr. D” by adding additional trills and ornaments
to the creepy theme. “Angie” is the only slower paced “sad song” of the set dominated by the Stones’ hard groove. “You Can’t
Always Get What You Want” reaches an epic eight minutes long and “Midnight Rambler,” still the set’s centerpiece, reaching twelve.
The final twenty minutes builds into the frenzy of “Street Fighting Man” before the Stones leave the stage. The tape continues with
several minutes of the crowd begging for an encore as an orchestral version of “Greensleeves” plays over the venue’s PA. Any tape
from their European tour is worth having and since this is the only silver pressed edition it is de facto definitive.
730913B 13th September: Newcastle, England, City Hall (2nd show)
2013 Notes for one of the Newcastle shows (doesn’t say which) by David Morton in Newcastle Chronicle (?) 2013-09-13
On this day, 40 years ago, the Stones - in all their Satanic Majesty - rocked at Newcastle City Hall.
The band, in the midst of their European tour, arrived in Toon as the classic single Angie sat at no. 5 in
the charts, and as the album Goat’s Head Soup headed for top spot.
The Chronicle was there to review the show.
“The Rolling Stones proved last night that after a decade they are still the world’s top rock’n’roll band,” declared our reporter.
“The concert opened with two huge illuminated pairs of red lips hanging over a darkened stage.
“The lights went on and the two Micks, Keith, Charlie and Bill ran on stage.
(The Stones’ 1973 line-up featured Mick Taylor on guitar. He would be replaced by Ronnie Woods two years later).
“Jagger was wearing a figure-hugging sky blue jumpsuit, a silver belt, diamante bracelets, white gym shoes, and a
short black leather jacket.”
Our reviewer said of the singer, who’d recently turned 30: “He has lost none of his stage fire and agility with age.”
In 1973, of course, rock music was still a young man’s game - and audiences then would have scarcely believed that
some of their idols would still be rocking well into their late-60s - and beyond.
After a slowish start, according to our reporter, the show took off with Midnight Rambler “and all to a magnificent
setting of synchronised lighting and coloured smoke on the stage.
“They never looked back after this. The whole audience was on its feet, clapping and swaying as the Stones burst
through songs like Honky Tonk Women, Jumping Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man…
“Jagger finished by spraying the audience with water and red and white flower petals before the group left to the
background music of Land Of Hope And Glory.
“The audience unsuccessfully chanted for more for a full 10 minutes.
“An unforgettable evening.”
Incidentally, the headline of the review in the Chronicle was ‘Thanks For The Memories’.
Little did they know, the Rolling Stones would still be proudly strutting their stuff four decades later.
730916B 16th September: Glasgow, Scotland, Apollo Theatre
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Midnight
Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/Rip This Joint/
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
730917A 17th September: Glasgow, Scotland, Apollo Theatre
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Dancing
With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo/Angie/You Can’t Always Get What
You Want/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/
Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Notes on 1973-09-17 show by Unknown Author at GIGinjapan.com
Therefore, there are a lot of wonderful moments that breathe plenty of the air of this day and make you scream “Europe 73”.
First of all, Mick Taylor’s exquisite play in the interlude of “Gimme Shelter”, a 73 specialty of Europe. Even before it rushes into it,
it will make you feel thrilled by starting some phrases in the back of Mick’s song. In the first half of the set, “Tumbling Dice”, where
Mick heard a terrible shout every night, was on a great day. By maintaining that good performance, “Angie” sings well with original
melodies. And on the “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, Glasgow’s true 16th sound source where Mick fuels the band and
shines everywhere like Europe 73.
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a wonderful performance in which his shouting and Mike Taylor’s flowing phrases become
trinity. This flow continues in the “Midnight Rambler”, but it is too fierce, such as Mick’s continuous call at the ending. The song was great
the day before, but the different look on each stage is what makes Europe 73 the heyday.
Notes on 1973-09-17 show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
Jagger gives a curt “hello Glasgow” before an apocalyptic version of “Gimme Shelter,” a number that seems to shake the rafters with
its gloom and aggression. Although their musical vocabulary is firmly rooted in the blues and R&B, their approach is more akin to
the storm und drang ideology of the late classical period of Mozart and Hayden. The extremes of emotional states are shown in
the juxtaposition of “Brown Sugar” and “Gimme Shelter” being followed by the release of Keith Richards singing “Happy” and the
joy of “Tumbling Dice.”
The set of new songs, from “Star Star” through to “Angie” has its release point in the obnoxiously happy funk in
“Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” whose music is completely at odds with the message. It is either a wry commentary or an indecision to
certain commitments, but musically it converges on some levels and comes off as one of the more effective points in the show.
The concert ends with “Street Fighting Man” with no encore. The closing moments of the show are dominated by a discordant horn
section sounding almost like a pre-concert tuning. Whether it was planned that way or if it’s the result of the recording, it is an
interesting way to wind down the show.
Notes Pt. 3a
Notes by Paul Gambacinni from Rolling Stone magazine, 1973-10-11.
“This is just another tour. And Wembley is just another show.”- Charlie Watts in London, the night before.
London - Deprived of its foremost rock & roll attraction in the flesh for more than two years, Britain welcomed the Rolling Stones
back with an enthusiasm normally reserved for royalty or a World Cup football hero. Four shows at
Wembley Pool sold out the morning tickets went on sale. Atlantic Records received hundreds of requests each day for
press tickets. THE ROLLING STONES ARE BACK, headlined an evening newspaper. Another paper hit the streets
with a special Stones edition.
Yet, the overall omens weren’t that good. “Angie,” the Stones’s new single, drew a few nasty reviews, one pop music paper
calling it “a dire mistake!” Efforts to schedule gigs at Welsh castles were thwarted twice by local authorities, and only during
the week of the Wembley dates were four less spectacular Welsh venues announced. And although three Communist officials
were in the audience at Vienna’s glassy-modern Stadthalle September 1st for the first stop on the 20-city tour, permission to
go behind the Iron Curtain was not forthcoming. “If they did let the show in,” said Chuck Francour of Kracker, the Stone’s
opening act, “it would only be as an example of Western decadence.”
A disappointingly dull party the night before the Wembley opener contributed to the mood of uncertainty. The event was staged
at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill and traditional home of the Duke of Marlborough. Some guests hyped
themselves into expecting a big bash, but it didn’t materialize.
“The point of this party is to move around and meet people,” said Mick Jagger. But it was left to the guests to do the circulating.
The Stones seemed detached. Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts played with their children, Jagger chatted with Billy
Preston and posed with Bianca, and Mick Taylor stood on the far side of the Blenheim Gardens watching the Jaggers getting
photographed.
Unlike her husband, who looked wasted in heavy make-up and eyeliner, Bianca was animated, fork-feeding Mick goulash and
posing for gawkers in her see-through blouse. When she got food on the tip of her walking stick, she licked it off. Of Tatum
O’Neal, Bianca said: “She is a lovely, lovely girl. I like her and she likes me. I had her dress up the same so we could have
some fun.” The two posed for a magazine photographer.
Very little attention was given Goat Head’s Soup. “It’s not my favorite album,” said Bill Wyman. “Beggar’s Banquet is mine.
But then everybody has different tastes.”
Everybody has different standards, too, and BBC programmers at the party were shocked when DJ Anne Nightingale told Jagger
that she had played “Star Star” on the air. “We’re having a contest to see which DJ plays it the most,” said Mick. “There was a
terrible row over that song. Ahmet [Ertegun] didn’t want it on. We said, ‘No song, no album, we’ll take it somewhere else.’ To
get the song on the album we had to change the printed title.” Mick Taylor said later, “It’s not ‘Star Star,’ it’s ‘Starfucker.’ There
was no change in the song. That’s the important thing.”
Although three European dates preceded the party, the members of Kracker still hadn’t met all the Stones, and the party did
nothing to change the situation. The band had been selected to open the bill because they were the first American group to
sign with the Rolling Stones’ label. “Our producer [Jimmy Miller] is their producer,” said bassist Carlos Garcia, “and he figured
being their friends he’d offer us to them first.”
Vocalist Carl Driggs, one of Kracker’s three Cuban emigrants, added, “This is the first tour we’ve ever been on.
The Stones - we freaked!”
“The whole past year has been a trip,” said Chuck Francour. His incredulity was understandable. In early 1972 Kracker was a trio
playing Chicago clubs; in late 1973 they were a quintet opening for the Rolling Stones in Europe.
During the first few numbers at Wembley, it appeared the Stones might succumb to the mood of disinterest that permeated the party.
Jagger hit a few wrong notes on “Tumbling Dice,” and the interchange between him and Keith Richards on “Happy” was sloppy.
Worse still, Mick’s gymnastics seemed unnatural and a self-parody. The audience was not moved. “Did one of those guys tell
you to sit down?” Jagger inquired finally, alluding to the security guards. “Well, don’t let them bother you!”
The band started “Midnight Rambler,” smoke billowed from the stage, and Jagger humped the floor. At this point the audience went
irrevocably gazonkers. When Mick kicked balloons into the crowd, adults grabbed them as if they needed the air inside to breathe.
When he threw buckets of water, the crowd lunged at sprinkles.
Only four of the 15 numbers performed were from Goat Head’s Soup, the rest being familiar favorites. The Stone most deserving
acclaim was Mick Taylor, whose guitar playing was so outstanding that even critics for the national newspapers singled him out for praise.
Minor incidents occurred each night. On Friday and Saturday ticketless crowds outside forced open the arena’s locked doors.
They were driven back by security guards. Sunday night one of the commissionaires yanked a dancing man to his seat by his hair,
drawing an onstage reprimand (“Sergeants, we don’t need you!”) from Jagger. The commissionaires retreated to the back of the hall,
where one of them later charged that “he called us ‘pigs.’ “
After the show an unidentified man hurled an unopened Coca-Cola bottle at Jagger, who shrugged off the incident. He was preoccupied
with talking with Ron Wood, Tetsu Yamauchi, David Bowie and Donovan, who mingled on the stage when the audience had left.
The Stones apparently won’t play the US this year. “Maybe spring or summer,” said Bill Wyman. Asked about the rumor the Stones
might tour with the Who, Wyman said, “I haven’t heard about it, but I wouldn’t mind it. I like the Who. They’re maniacs. Of course,
they probably feel the same way about us.”
Notes Pt. 3
730904B 4th September: Cologne, West-Germany, Sporthalle (2nd show)
Flip notes: Poor sound quality, which is too bad because band really starts burning after HTW. Can hear MT well for such a bad recording.
730907A 7th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo
Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Silver Train/Honky Tonk Women/All Down
The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
730908A 8th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (1st show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo
Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/
Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Flip notes: Band doesn’t wake up till end of show; GS-MT uses wah-wah pedal; Angie-Quiet, lovely version, weak intro?;
YCAGWYW- Strange solo from MT; MR-Most timid start to MR ever???;
HTW-Very nice intro, unique; ADTL-Jagger perfunctory at end?; RTJ-Jagger tries to go to the bridge instead of verse 2;
JJF-Band wakes up, great intro; SFM-MT uses wah-wah, strange moment?
Notes on 1973-09-08 1st show by Unknown Author at Collector’s Music Reviews
Their appearance at Wembley Empire Pool is their first in England and they play for shows over three days. The September
9th show was professionally taped and parts were edited with the Brussels tape for the KBFH. It isn’t known of the other
shows were professionally recorded or not. The matinee on September 8th is quiet early, starting a three o’ clock. The
tape begins right when the announcer says, “The Rolling Stones!!” and the band launching right into “Brown Sugar” with
slide guitar and horn section blazing. “How are you this afternoon? I just got up, I got to wake meself up a bit. Slap me
old face” as the ominous beginning of “Gimme Shelter” begins. The horns replace the female vocalist from the studio
recording and is never very convincing.
It sounds much too happy and up beat on what is supposed to be an apocalyptic cry for help. Thankfully they end early
on and the song turns into the masterpiece it is. “Thank you it is wonderful to be back…in me own hometown and that”
Jagger says before introducing Keith to sing “Happy” which he sings with gusto. The song is so energetic that Jagger says
afterwards, “I think we blew a couple of amps up here.” “Tumbling Dice” is introduced as “time for the humbly tumbly.”
What follows are several new songs beginning with “Starfucker” and the mellow ballad “Angie.” The following
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is meant to make the audience “feel sadder.”
The song builds up nicely and the band quiet down to emphasize Taylor’s trills in a gorgeous solo. The band play two
more new songs beginning with “Dancing With Mr. D.” This is a spooky, voodoo laden song inspired by their recording
in Jamaica the previous year and The Stones tried hard to make it a hit, even producing a seldom seen video. It has a
killer, laid back and spooky riff and onstage the song is played much faster than the studio version. Jagger gives insidious
intonation to the words as he sings about Mr. D (which he states stands for “Death,” not “Devil”). It is an effective stage piece
which unfortunately never caught on and has not been heard since. Even better is the following song “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo,”
which includes the killer funky interlude not heard in the studio with Jagger exhorting everyone to “get off your arse.” The horn
section blends very well the ambience of this song.
The rest of the show is devoted to the older classics beginning with a dramatic, twelve-minute long version of “Midnight Rambler.”
“Rip This Joint” is two minutes long and segues directly with “Jumping Jack Flash.”
730908B 8th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool (2nd show)
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Star Star/Angie/You
Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo Doo Doo
Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/
Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Two different private films of this show exist (28 min. & 6 min.)
730909A 9th September: London, Wembley Empire Pool
(Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice [re-startedl/Star Star/
Angie/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dancing With Mr. D./Doo
Doo Doo Doo Doo/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/All Down
The Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin' Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man)
Note: Soundboard recording was made.
A private film with silent footage of Happy and Street Fighting Man exists
Bill Wyman no slouch.
Keith: "very swinging bass lines"
Sounds like the Brussels Affair album?
Which one? The bootleg or the official release?
'promosm'
?
Think Taylor was an overrated fret busybody but anniversaries are always nice.
Thanks for your comment. It has been forwarded to the Round File Archive.
So bad sound.
Hope there was no permanent damage!
Great