NEW YORK (Virgin Records) - Nearly 3.5 million fans from 23 countries knew it as they left theaters, arenas and stadiums in a spent and ecstatic state -- and now the living proof is here: Live Licks, the new Virgin Records two-CD document of the Rolling Stones' 40th anniversary tour, is being greeted as the band's best live album ever.
Rolling Stone Magazine's David Fricke, in a four-star rave review, gives special praise to the sonics of the album, pointing out the "bright, hard mix that nails the Stones' matured vigor," and adding that Live Licks "proves that the Stones, under the lights and at this advanced date, can still improve upon even their best studio work." Alongside album producers The Glimmer Twins and Don Was, two distinguished producers in their own right contribute to the outstanding technical standard of the set: Ed Cherney (recording) and Bob Clearmountain (mix).
Defying the passage of time, and taking their music to an international, multi-generational audience, the Rolling Stones are in classic form: combining unbridled spirit and absolute command, they perform the definitive songbook of hard rock in "a set that starts like a grand finale and then keeps coming," as the New York Post describes the jam-packed first disc of Stones anthems.
The electric sense of buzz and inspiration drenching the Live Licks performances reflects the creative and personal stimulus of mounting shows tailored for massive audiences of 55,000 at London's Twickenham Rugby Ground and 19,000 at New York City's Madison Square Garden, as well as intimate shows in rooms as small as the 2,800-person Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and the 2,400-seat Olympia in Paris, France.
Fresh readings of songs never before heard on any live Stones album highlight the flawless vocal and physical fitness of Mick Jagger, the blazing interplay of Keith Richards and Ron Wood, and the peerless, swinging hands of Charlie Watts. Disc Two of Live Licks includes a steamrolling "Rocks Off, "a stylish and earthy "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," the ingenious ska-flavored "You Don't Have To Mean It" and an emotional "Worried About You," in a track list taken from live sets that mined the deep catalogue of Stones album cuts and covers, changing with each show, surprising and delighting crowds night after night.
The Stones' bedrock love of American music is obvious in their cover tunes: B.B. King's "Rock Me, Baby;" "That's How Strong My Love Is" (first discovered on the B-side of Otis Redding's "Mr. Pitiful"), and a loving treatment of Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You," with vocal lead by Keith Richards. In the storming set-closing revival of one of the band's earliest onstage covers, "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," the Stones are joined by the song's original singer-songwriter, Solomon Burke.
Live Licks, telescoping a brilliant fourteen-month tour into a ferociousand diamond-hard two discs, attests again to the wellspring of music that's proven to be simply inexhaustible over the years: it's classic music by a classic band, both inspired and inspirational.
LIVE LICKS FROM FOUR WORLD CAPITALS:
DISC 1:
1. Brown Sugar Twickenham Rugby Ground, London
2. Street Fighting Man Twickenham
3. Paint It, Black Twickenham
4. You Can't Always Get What You Want Twickenham
5. Start Me Up Madison Square Garden, New York
6. It's Only Rock 'n Roll New York
7. Angie New York
8. Honky Tonk Women New York
9. Happy New York
10. Gimme Shelter New York
11. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction New York
DISC 2: Note: None of these songs have ever appeared on any previous Rolling Stones live CD.
1. Neighbours Olympia, Paris
2. Monkey Man New York
3. Rocks Off Twickenham
4. Can't You Hear Me Knocking Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles
5. That's How Strong My Love Is Paris
6. The Nearness Of You Paris
7. Beast Of Burden Los Angeles
8. When The Whip Comes Down New York
9. Rock Me, Baby New York
10.You Don't Have To Mean It Los Angeles
11.Worried About You Paris
12. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love Los Angeles
