The Rolling Stones Album: “Still Life”

This is a great live album. I think Rolling Stone magazine was certainly too picky, and many others are over critical. You can't compare this album to older releases like "Ya-Ya's" or "Love You Live" because a lot of the material on this album was contemporary of the time, and sounds great. Highlights are definitely "Satisfaction" (possibly the BEST version!), "Under My Thumb", and "Start Me Up." The only problem is that the film companion to this album, "Let's Spend the Night Together" (unfortunately no longer available), has far greater versions of "Let Me Go" (10x better), and "20 Flight Rock" than this album's, and the film also has live gems like "Hangfire", "Neighbors", and "Let it Bleed", which should have been included on this album. If you can, try and get the video, because when combined with "Still Life" you've got a great live Stones set.

If you haven't read one of my prior reviews on these 2009 "remasters" (notice the quotes) by the Stones, than I'll say it again. I really want to get the point across to fellow Stones fans and newbie fans who are just starting to discover the magic of the Stones.

In late 2008, Universal Music acquired the rights to the Rolling Stones' catalogue from 1971-2005, which had been owned by Virgin Records since 1994, and prior to Virgin's acquisition, had been owned by Columbia Records from 1984-1994 (and if we want to get technical, every album from 'Sticky Fingers' in 1971 to 'Undercover' in 1983 were released on the Atlantic label, so it is safe to say these recordings have changed hands a fair share of times, but that's another review altogether).

Curious, I went out to my local CD shop and bought a few of these new remasters. I had read horrible things and on the contrast, great things. I bought 'Tattoo You,' 'Steel Wheels,' 'Dirty Work,' 'Sticky Fingers' and this one, 'Still Life (American Concert 1981)' just to see what I thought. Well, let's just say I was itching to sell them almost immediately.

First of all, whoever remastered these should be shot. The sound quality on all of these are absolutely disgraceful. The crowd noise on 'Still Life' is almost deafening, and it really gets in the way of the music. The original 1990 Columbia pressing and the 1994 Virgin remaster sound great (I own the Columbia version, which is what I am comparing this to, and a friend owns the '94 Virgin version, so I have heard them both). This one is a classic victim of the loudness war.

Mick's vocals are muddled, Bill's bass parts are deafening. I could keep going on and on, but I won't. The bottom line is this: If you see these 2009 Rolling Stones remasters, DO NOT buy them under any circumstances. These are cheap, MP3-quality discs that sound terrible on great speakers and even $10-$20 iPod speakers. They are loud, overcompressed, and if listened to enough at full volume (I'm sure) deafening. Don't say "that's how rock and roll is supposed to sound" -- it's not. The loudness war is a terrible thing, and all of these 2009 remasters fall victim to it.

For an example: On the Amazon page for the 2010 'Exile on Main Street' remaster, somebody in the Customer Images screen has demonstrated how bad and how loud all of these 2009 remasters really are. Go check it out. Search the customer images section of the 2010 remaster of 'Exile.' If you can't find it, search 'B0039TD7RC' in the search box (this is the remaster's ASIN code).

Overall, these 2009 remasters just blow. The 2002 ABKCO remasters weren't bad (call me crazy, but I actually do prefer the original 1986 CD pressings, but that's just personal preference), but the 2009 Polydor remasters are bad on all levels. The Rolling Stones have been called the "greatest rock and roll band in the world," and in many cases they are. But you wouldn't know it from these dreadful remasters.

'Still Life' is a magnificent live album (I know a few Stones fans who disagree, but I have always loved 'Still Life' and I always will) that should be heard and probably owned by all Stones fans. But whatever you do, stay FAR AWAY from these 2009 remasters and stick with your 1994 Virgin and/or your 1990 Columbia pressings. This is the case for all of the Stones' albums from 1971-2005: the original pressings sound FAR better. Go to those instead.

Great live album, horrendously remastered. Enough said.

NOT RECOMMENDED.

From my view, this presents the Stones as the height of their musical power (albeit at the height of tensions between the Glimmer Twins). I know that reformed Stones purists think that the band ended with Tattoo You (orthodox Stone purists believed the band ended with Mick Taylor), and zealot purists still buy the new albums that the band puts out. Without taking any of those positions, this is simply the band when the guys were still young (and Jagger didn't look like Barney Fife yet) and one dude in football pants could hold an entire stadium of people in the palm of his hand. Some wouldn't like the arena music here as much as the early 'raw' stuff (like the Get Your Ya Ya's Out album), but I like this era: Mick is mastering his choppy and almost flippant delivery of lyrics, and Keith is sufficiently backed up and is allowed to just deal out the chords that make every song sound like a Stones song. The gems here are Twenty Flight Rock, Under My Thumb, Let Me Go, Just My Imagination and the frenetic rendition of Satisfaction. Sit back, pretend that Reagan is still in his first term, and enjoy.

Recorded during The Rolling Stones' 1981 tour, Still Life includes both live songs from then-recent albums and old gems, as well as a number of covers, including The Miracles' "Going to a Go-Go." The best moments come first with the Stones' own: a terrific version of "Under My Thumb" and a good one of "Let's Spend the Night Together," each among my favorite Stones songs ever. The opening signature to "Thumb" is one of the best. I've always been amused by how the Stones combine a melodramatic, earnest music line with such mean lyrics--or do they acknowledge they are mean? Anyway, Mick's singing in this one, the best cut of this album, is excellent--is he committed? "Satisfaction" also rocks, necessarily at a faster pace, along with "Let Me Go" and "Start Me Up." The slower classics are represented by a fine version of "Time Is on My Side," again with good singing by Mick. Overall, a good live CD. "Still Life" is worth checking out.

Stones live albums will always bug longtime fans because very few of them are memorable yet fans have to have them all! `Still Life' is no exception, run of the mill per usual, just as `Love You Live' was five years previous. What these albums should do is only spotlight new songs from that tour to at least give them some variety. "Going to a Go-Go" and "Twenty Flight Rock" are decent but were they really necessary to have on album? "Black Limousines" or "She's So Cold" would've been better alternatives. Also, do we really need TWO Motown songs? "Just My Imagination" sounds nothing like the blood and thunder version from `Some Girls". "Start Me Up" is included here of course but it already sounds tired here, with a sped up tempo - not much different then the one from `Flashpoint". I really hate the concept of stadium rock anyway...small arenas always sound better, but the Stones were already too big (though they still do arenas from time to time). As I said before ` Ya-Ya's' is still the only great live record from these guys so if you are not a serious Stones addict, don't bother with `Still Life', lame title too.