No Security [Live]

The Rolling Stones

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 3, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00000DG19
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,746 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is the seventh live Stones album and the second to appear in three years. Now, what do you want to bet the three men who've appeared on every one of them--Mick, Keith, and Charlie--couldn't name them without a cheat sheet? Chances are, they won't remember this one in five years. Culled from the Bridges to Babylon tour, No Security feels more like a tour memento than a stand-on-its-own recording. The 13 tracks are a mix of familiar chestnuts ("Gimme Shelter," "Live with Me," "The Last Time"), welcome restorations ("Sister Morphine," "Memory Motel"), and tertiary Jagger-Richards tunes ("Flip the Switch," "Thief in the Night"). A few recruits are along for the ride: Taj Mahal turns up on the breath catcher "Corinna," Dave Matthews shares vocals with Mick on "Memory Motel," and jazzman Joshua Redman solos on "Waiting on a Friend." They're all, no doubt, quite proud to have joined these legends on stage and CD. But when they want to hear live Stones, it's a good bet even they will reach for Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out before No Security. --Steven Stolder

New Musical Express

Guests Dave Matthews ... and Taj Mahal ... hardly call for a loosening of the corset-strings, and only the indelibly stained "Live With Me" rakes up enough sleaze to flutter the heart.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yet another live Stones album, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

It seems that every Rolling Stones tour results in a live album. This one, unfortunately offers nothing new or even particularly interesting. Efforts to duplicate the studio sound (ie., "Gimmie Shelter") only demonstrate the superiority of the originals. Further, the guest spots featuring Taj Mahal and Dave Matthews are totally unnecessary. This album suffers from too many added musicians, too many backup vocalists, a couple of out-of-place "guest stars", and a general lack of inspiration. If you want a Vegas-style Stones show, this album is for you. If you want to hear a good live set from the Stones (minus the guest stars and other embellishments), listen to "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out", which features the Stones when they still had the energy and imagination to improvise. This album is "product", and nothing more.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Questions you should ask yourself before buying:, October 22, 2005

By	John Stodder "a.k.a. Juan La Princi" (livin' just enough) - See all my reviews

1. Do I like the Rolling Stones?
2. Do I think the Rolling Stones lost it after (fill in the blanks with either "Some Girls" or "Tattoo You.")?
3. Do I think the Rolling Stones are too old to be doing this?
4. Do I like their older, "classic" material, but don't care to hear new versions?
5. Am I afraid that if someone sees this record in my collection, I'll be mocked for buying a "tour souvenir" with no musical merit?

If you answered yes to the first question and no to all the others, then there's no reason why you shouldn't spend your hard earned $15 on this very enjoyable disk.

This one in particular fills a couple of niches for me. I don't automatically dismiss any of their late work--in fact I like most of it, including the new one, "A Bigger Bang." But "Bridges to Babylon" was admittedly pretty weak. Well, this disk gives you a chance to hear the handful of good songs from that the record, and these versions are preferable. In particular, "Out of Control," a lengthy piece with a lot of dynamic changes, comes off great here. Other recent songs like "Saint of Me," "You Got Me Rocking," "Flip the Switch" and "Thief in the Night" come off better here than in their studio incarnations. Of the older material, the versions of "Gimme Shelter," "Memory Motel," "Waiting on a Friend" and "The Last Time," are spectacular.

Reactions to the Stones are rather predictable and annoying. You're supposed to be annoyed with all their post-tour live albums, and see them as "just cashing in." This just isn't true. The live disks are a chance for them to re-address older material in versions that take advantage of their improved musicianship and matured perspective. On "Flashpoint," for example, you can hear fantastic versions of "Paint it Black" and "Ruby Tuesday," played with great passion and inventiveness. "Stripped" has many highlights, including a wonderful version of the very early tunes "I'm Free," and "Spider and the Fly," and a jolly take on "Let it Bleed."

If you want to let late-night comedians and jaded rock reviewers guide your choices, then you probably aren't going to want to risk the "uncool" label they would surely apply to anyone who bought "No Security." But I enjoy it, I play it all the time, and my hat's off to the Stones for risking ridicule by putting it out.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Security Blanket, January 16, 2001

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

You can always count on the Stones to release a live album after a tour and No Security follows suit for the Bridges To Babylon tour. The album contains a few guest stars including Taj Mahal on "Corrina" and an excellent performance by saxophonist Joshua Redman on "Waiting For A Friend". Dave Matthews appears on "Memory Motel" and proceeds to wreck what is one the band's best songs and the best vocal interplay from Mick Jagger & Keith Richards. Mr. Matthews takes over Mr. Richards part and his bland and overbearing voice doesn't fit the grittiness needed for the part. That complaint aside, the rest of No Security is another fine live record including a great version of "Gimme Shelter", a ripping version of "Live With Me" and excellent takes on the Sticky Fingers nugget "Sister Morphine" and the some Girls punkish rocker "Respectable".