Customer Reviews

Shine a Light - O.S.T. (Dlx) (Ocrd)

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The Rolling Stones seem to have recorded a score of live albums over time, some of which are terrific to listen to (think "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" or the intriguing "Four Flicks") and others of which are merely adequate. This, the sound track from Martin Scorsese's concert film, "Shine a Light," is in the former category. It is hard to believe that the Stones are in their 60s. This CD shows them with great energy, although time's effects are apparent as, for instance, in hearing how limited Mick Jagger's vocal range has become. Nonetheless, this is a great amount of fun to listen to! 22 cuts (some not in the documentary, but added later on).

It begins with one of the great rock and roll riffs of all time, in "Jumping Jack Flash." And then it hits you--this song was a hit 40 years ago. How can guys as old as the Stones are still make this work? A great start to the CD. "Shattered" follows quickly. Again, the thought. This is a 30 year old song--and still performed with gusto and spirit.

On the first CD is a little treasure. Buddy Guy, legendary bluesman, joins the band in a Muddy Waters' song, "Champagne and Reefer." The first couple lines give one a sense of the song:

"Bring me champagne when I'm thirsty,
Bring me reefer when I want to get high."

Guy adds his great blues voice and some smoking guitar work. Jagger and Guy alternate singing the lines, and Guy's blues singing is a wonder to listen to. When all the guitars are playing, one almost gets a sense of a wall of sound from those guitars--with Charlie Watts' steady drumming providing a rock solid rhythm foundation.

The second CD provides some more rich music. This side begins with the creepy "Sympathy for the Devil," again well played and sung. A couple songs later, "Start Me Up." Another wall of guitar sound from Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards, underlain by the rhythm section, Watts and Darryl Jones. Watts' drumming is primal and creates a powerful base for vocals and guitars. The chunky guitar work of Wood and Richards is compelling. Then, "Brown Sugar." This was a hit well over 30 years ago, but it still has life as played by the band and its "friends," such as Bobby Keys. The audience sing along toward the end provides a sense of spontaneity. A classic Rolling Stones' moment. Then, the third in the trio of songs in this section of the concert--"Satisfaction." As soon as one hears the fuzz tone, the toes start tapping. Jagger's voice is not as agile as it used to be, but he nonetheless puts some life into this over 40 year old song.

Some rarities show up in this concert, songs not often played by the Stones on their tours over the past couple decades, such as "Shine a Light," "You Got the Silver," and "Loving Cup." And one song worth mentioning, since it is another golden oldie--"I'm Free." This goes back to the early days of the Rolling Stones (originally released in 1965). A terrific blues rock song.

"I'm free to sing my song,
Even though it's out of time."

Anyhow, one of their finest live recordings. Age has had some impact. Jagger's voice isn't as agile as it used to be. But, nonetheless, this works and works well as a concert CD.

When I first heard that The Rolling Stones were releasing a double live set on CD, I thought "here they go again with yet another live album." In the '90s they actually released more live albums than studio albums. Fans already owning the Four Flicks DVD set didn't need the Live Licks collection for sure. But being the Stones fanatic I am, I went out and bought it anyway. It opens with 'Jumpin' Jack Flash,' a typical concert opener. But then along comes 'She Was Hot,' the first surprise of Shine of Light. It's from the harshly criticized Undercover. This one is filled with concert rarities-'Loving Cup,' 'As Tears Go By,' 'Some Girls,' 'You Got the Silver,' 'Connection,' 'I'm Free,' and 'Shine a Light.' This is the best live Rolling Stones album since Get Your Ya-Yas Out.

Well, after an uncertain start to their Fall 2006 leg of the 'A Bigger Bang Tour', the band started to come together. Keith seemed to shake off the lingering effects of his 'coconut tree fall' earlier in the year. Woodie stayed sober and Mick and Charlie beat off colds. By the time they hit the Beacon for the Scorcese movie, they were ready to play at the top of their game. And that's what the listener gets here--the Rolling Stones playing damn near as well as ever. The song list, even if suggested by the movie, is fantastic and even the so-called 'warhorses' sound sweet with the superb sound and mix. The audio here is the best of all their (too?) many live albums. Of particular note--the guitars are cranked and gnarly in the mix. Mick's vocals are unusually well enunciated in spots and properly slurred in unexpected others and his ad libs are nice. Even Keith's vocals are spot on with his three (nice picks) tunes. Not a document of superb musicianship (although Watts is excellent throughout), but a high-energy, loose band of veteran rockers peaking past predictions!
Highlight--'Champagne And Reefer' with Buddy Guy joining in...smokin'!!

What other band on the planet could do what the Stones do with Muddy Waters' Champagne & Reefer? This is one of the hottest blues rocks this band has covered in a long time.

Plus the best Stones albums (Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile, Some Girls, & Tattoo You) are well represented. This is the kind of set you want to hear.

Must listens/Favorites: Lovin' Cup, Champagne & Reefer, Faraway Eyes, Just My Imagination, Tumbling Dice, Live With Me (ok Aguilera overdoes it but I think we would be disappointed if she didn't). And Keith's You Got the Silver, Connection and Little T & A.

The critics have been pronouncing this band dead since the early 70's; but these same critics have, on occasion, been silenced by a stunning performance on an inspired night. This is one of those nights and one of those performances.

Mick's southern twang on Faraway Eyes and Keith's soulful strumming on Just My Imagination are enough to make even a music critic smile.

The Stones release another live album in a series of live albums that a few are real Gems (Get yer ya-yas out!, Still Life and Live Licks). Shine a Light is another one of those gems. Despite this movie and album many just state tho' that the Stones are dinosaurs...they've been doin' it since Kennedy and no longer "popular". We know that. There may be some legitimate facts in those criticisms. But what many don't know is that there are a bunch of critics who just love to slam whatever this band does.

I am not talking about the people who just aren't into the Stones. I understand that not all of us share the same tastes. Some people like Jazz others hip hop and so on. However there is a group (you can find them here on Amazon and even reviewing this album) who seek to slam the Stones any chance they get. 'They haven't done anything (good) since `67 or 'Exile on Main Street'' so on and so forth. To those persons I just again ask as I have asked in my other reviews concerning the Stones...why do you even bother? You're not fans and apparently if you were you haven't been since, oh, `67?!

The Stones have contributed immensely to music/rock genre. However since 1984 when Springsteen released the last great real rock and roll album 'Born in the USA'...rock and roll has left the center of attention of the commercial interests. Music changes, tastes change and thus rap/hip hop/pop (today's pop) and other music forms have dominated the supposed 'media' attention...the Stones are now grand fathers and possibly even great grand fathers...Jagger still moves and is in great shape but he isn't 38 or 28 or 18. He doesn't run and jump like he used to. He's pushing 68 and they haven't released an amazingly popular album since say `81...but what band of the 60s/70s has? McCartney's last studio album from what I've read was a major snooze. When Steely Dan won best album at the Grammys several years ago, many in the audience (the youth of that year) quietly mumbled, no doubt commented 'who is that?' and barely applauded when it was announced on the televised Grammy show Steely Dan had one the nomination. Same goes for Herby Hancock this last year.

This is just life folks...people get older, get old die, and time moves on...Tastes change. Didn't the Stones grow up to parents who listened to Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby plus all the famous (probably since gone) old acts native to England? The Stones grow up listening to them no doubt but set them aside and eventually embraced something newer. And speaking of Frank Sinatra, his last glory days were the sixties...did he stop recording or performing? no. Was Sinatra in `88 the same as Sinatra in 56? No. Yet he was the chairman he could still belt them out and was much appreciated even by those who didn't find Sinatra their cup of tee.

If the Stones are not your cup of tee, fine. They are nonetheless the chairmen of Rock. True, the Stones aren't the Beatles who made records containing 14 songs, 10 of which were gems and the other 4 "throwaway" songs" were still brilliant (an amazing body of work no doubt unparalleled to this day). However the Beatles were a phenomenon. The Stones are just a band who plays fun rock and roll and got rich & famous doing it. So what? The Stones did many albums and had great singles come from those albums. However as in this album there are some songs the Stones wrote and recorded that aren't well known or well known 'singles', (like Loving Cup) which are nonetheless 'true gems'. I disagree with some reviews here that state that Jack White killed the song. White is young, held a good sustain on his voice....Jagger can't (or won't out of selfishness or laziness) hit the high notes anymore....it's a fact...but that fact doesn't kill Jagger's greatness. That's what makes this band special. They're fallible, they're music, they're rock and roll, tho' they're old they embod(ied) youth, and I agree, they're an acquired taste. They don't need to be slammed just appreciated.

I am no Stones apologist. The last album in my opinion was a mess. It was an excuse to go on the road (something they love artistically and financially (what's wrong with that??)). They do need to come back with some new rock and rock/blues stuff. This album's gems beg the question "when's the next new/great album coming out?". Those gems are Live with me, Start me up, She was hot, All down the line, Loving Cup, Some Girls, Faraway Eyes, You got the silver, & Champagne and Reefer. Keep listening Rock on.

Yes, you are reading this right.

While most Rolling Stones may consider it blasphemous to name anything other than 1969's classic "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" as the band's definitive concert recording, this hardcore fan of TGR&RBITW honestly believes that they have outdone themselves nearly 40 years later with the soundtrack to their magnificent Martin Scorsese directed rockumentary, "Shine A Light."

This 2 disc set captures the band at the height of their powers and proves that after 40 years, they still are better than any other band currently going. Mick, Keith Ronnie & Charlie (as well as their ace team of supporting musicians) sound tight, energized and youthful (not bad considering they're all over 60), and the setlist reflects their unbeatable musical legacy.

The old warhorses ("Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Tumbling Dice," "Sympathy For The Devil," "Start Me Up," "Brown Sugar," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,") are all present, and while they've been done before, the versions done here make them sound new again, as The Rolling Stones put an extra amount of raw, unbridled passion that has defined their music for 46 years into these performances. In fact, the version of "Satisfaction" is the best version of the song I've ever heard.

But the real highlight is the rare performances that for the most part make up the majority of the set. "Shattered," "She Was Hot," and "All Down The Line" sound fresh and furious while "Just My Imagination" and "Faraway Eyes" are soulful and invigorating. Keith's "You Got The Silver" from "Let It Bleed" makes it debut in a Stones show and is marvelous. Keith also tackles "Little T & A" and "Connection," both of which sizzle. Of the bonus numbers, which are all great and should've been in the finished film, the highlight is a magnifcent, emotional "Paint It Black," which sounds even better than it did in 1966.

The guest spots on the album are indeed welcome and they all blend in well with the band. Jack White make a great younger counterpart to Mick on "Loving Cup," while Christina Aguilera brings down the house on "Live With Me." The best of the three, however, is Buddy Guy, who performs on the blazing "Champagne And Reefer."

This is a wonderful companion to the film, which is excellent. And while there's some songs that should've been included ("Honkey Tonk Women," "Get Off My Cloud," Street Fighting Man," "Midnight Rambler" and the Scorsese fave "Gimme Shelter"), it's hard to find much fault with this collection.

This is just not another live Stones album. In the last twenty years we've have several of these come out, including Flashpoint, No Security, Live Licks and so forth. But those had their flaws and were weak in several areas.

The Stones and Martin Scorsese partnered up to produce one of the finest live albums released by the Stones since "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out"... I even think this one is better than Love You Live. There are several reasons for this...

Throughout this album you can really hear Keith and Ronnie, and hear a vibrant lively band. Mick too was great on the vocals even after all these years. Of course we have our standard classic set of tracks like Jumping Jack Flash, As Tears Go By, Tumbling Dice and so on...

But we get others in this album (two disc version I'm reviewing), such as She Was Hot. A dusted off 1983 track from the Undercover album I've heard performed live in Dodger Stadium myself. Keef (Keith Richards) really enjoyed playing that track apparently and was lively in that. No more quiet Keef... loud Keefer is what we want. Ronnie also was more lively in this. Heck both were more lively in this album than any other live album I've heard since "Get Yer Ya Yas"... Some Girls was another one of my favorites from my favorite album, Some Girls. Other tracks of interest are "You Got the Silver", "Just My Imagination", "Shine A Light", and "I'm Free" (CLASSIC!)...

And lets not forget "Champagne and Reefer" with Buddy "Mother****er" Guy (quoting Mick)... bluesy brilliance. You'll find a bit of everything in this album.

This isn't just another simple live album. There is an obvious quality increase here compared to the last live albums. Even the Flashpoint album lacks something in this one. Lively, swaggering, dirty. All reasons why I love the Stones.

Top live cut. If you don't like the thought of the Stones releasing another live album, put the bias away and listen to this one. And don't post reviews without listening to it first.

Like many fans of the "good ole' days" of the Stones, I also thought they were past it...until seeing the movie over the weekend! Scorsese has redefined the rock concert video! Absolutely brilliant. Had the good fortune of seeing it in IMAX so maybe that's what gave it something extra. It was almost like being at the show. Just My Imagination is a revelation. To some they may be a bunch of old geezers, but they can still blow most youngsters off the stage. Went out and bought the CD...not quite the same experience but still worth a listen. But can't wait for the DVD to come out!

Over the past 40 years, the Stones have released many live recordings. Unfortunately, they hardly ever were able to capture the excitement of a Rolling Stones show. That's where bootlegs came in. "Get Yer Ya Ya's out" was a pretty good collection of a 1969 Stones concert, but the bootleg "Live'r Than you'll ever be" truly captured the rough performance of the Stones at the time.

Following their masterpiece "Exile on Main Street", the Stones embarked on a fantastic US-Tour. Their sound was dark and (in parts) sloppy, but no official document was released. The excellent "Philadelphia Special" bootleg is a good substitute for anybody, who didn't get to see the Stones back then. Their next official Live release was 'Love you Live', a patch work of their 1976 Tour. The only interesting material on this double album, came from their Paris show (side 3 of the record).
Again, bootlegs like 'Hot August Night' captured the now slower, funkyer Stones sound much better.

In 1978 the Stones released 'Some Girls', which was followed by a fantastic tour, which featured a shorter live set,. Again, no official live album was released, but the excellent 'King Biscuit Flower Hour' captures the dirty sound of a 1978 Stones show in all its glory.

The next official live release was 'Still Life' of their '81 American tour. Again, being a single album, it only captures a small part of the Stones supporting their excellent "Tattoo You" album. Generally, they played most of their songs twice as fast on this tour, and the bootleg 'Hampton 1981' captures a complete show in brilliant sound quality.

After releasing one more decent album ('Undercover'), the Stones' studio work kind of went down hill. There were a couple of additional live recordings in the 90's and in the new millennium ('No Security' which showcases a very polished live sound, but again, a very standard set list - or 'Live Licks', which features edited versions of live recordings), but by now, the Stones released complete concerts on DVDs, so there is no need to buy any of these abbreviated concert documents.

The best live recording from their 90's period is, again, a bootleg called 'Atlantic City 1991'. 3 CDs full of clean, powerful stones material. The outstanding track here is `Salt of the Earth', featuring Axl Rose.

Which finally gets me to this new live double CD : "Shine a Light". Finally, the Rolling Stones ditched their standards in the set list (how many live versions of 'Honky Tonk Woman' do I really need) and they also realized, that none of their studio work after 'Undercover' can compare to the quality of their late 60's, throughout the 70's and early 80's material. They heavily showcase the "Some Girls" album here (now with a politically correct version of the title track) and of course, there are several gems from "Exile on Main St." as well.

They slow down most of their songs a bit, but the sound is dirty, just the way we love it. Keith is in excellent form (both, guitar and singing) and Mick is still one of the most charismatic lead singers and his vocals are still brilliant and cocky at the same time.

Definitely buy the double CD. To summarize you will get :
An excellent set list, brilliant live sound, and an overall outstanding performance. Thank you Mick, Ronnie, Charlie and Keith, for giving us finally a Rolling Stones worthy, official live release.

I had an original idea! Lets's judge the music for the music. If anyone can give me a list of contemparary bands that match this amazing live performance, please come forward with your list. Even if you do, you will probably end up including The Allmans, Skynyrd, Petty, and others from an earlier era. Rock and Roll will die. When people forget Led Zep, The Stones, The Who and numerous others. The template is out there, follow it or get out of the way!