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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LATTER DAY STONES IN A TIME CAPSULE!, April 25, 2008
The Rolling Stones have released many live recordings throughout the years and none of them have ever been 'bad' but the problem has been that, other than YA YA'S, they haven't been 'great'. They range from being merely 'good' to 'very good' and never quite live up to the reality of actually being there. The large stadium atmosphere just never translated to CD very well. Before you say "OH NO, NOT ANOTHER LIVE ALBUM FROM THE STONES", it is important to note that 'Shine a Light' really seems to benefit from playing the smaller and much more intimate venue at the Beacon in NYC. The performances are tighter as the band was able to concentrate more on the construction of the songs as opposed to playing the crowd in those (too) large venues. It almost feels as if the band went back and listened to what originally made these songs so good to begin with and took it from there. This is definitely their best live recording, next to YA YA'S!!
The disc has a good combination of the old warhorses (Jumping Jack Flash, Start Me Up, Sympathy..etc) and some not-so-often-performed songs (As Tears Go By, She Was Hot, Connection) and all of them catch the band playing at a latter day peak. The Stones still enjoy what they do and it is evident in this performance. The guest performances include Jack White on "Loving Cup" and he does a great job. However, the Buddy Guy appearance on "Champagne and Reefer" is pure blues heaven and Christina Aguilera actually rocks out on "Live With Me".
The one disappointment I did have was Keith's solo on "Sympathy" just wasn't up to snuff. I never considered him to be a great soloist anyway (his gift is rhythm) but he sounded as if he didn't know where he wanted to go with it. Other than that his playing is nothing but inspired. He lights up "JJF" with some vintage riffing and trades off solos beautifully with Wood on "She Was Hot". Keith's "Connection" and especially "You Got the Silver" are off key but heartfelt and doesn't rob them of their value.
Charlie is exceptional as usual and no, Jagger isn't going to be nailing every note like when he was 25 but he and the entire band sounds as confident as ever. The old fire has been replaced by a certain maturity as these guys continue to bring rock and roll to places it has never seen. Like Keith Richards said in an interview, "It's not our job to compete on top 40 radio. We've been there and done that and taught them how to do it. Our job is to see where we can take this thing so if those other bands behind us are lucky enough to get this far, they will know where to go." Yes, the Stones get ragged on too often about their age but let's remember, they won't always be here so, for me, I'm glad they are still around. Of course there will come a day when they will no longer be able to put on a show but, judging from this performance, that day is not here yet.
This single disc version eliminates the 4 bonus tracks ("Paint it Black", "Little T&A", "I'm Free", and "Shine a Light") as well as 3 other songs from the concert including "Shattered", Tumbling Dice", and "Satisfaction". If you have the few extra bucks go for the two disc set as these are some of their best performances. As of this writing there is only a dollar difference on Amazon.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
World's Greatest Rock band at its Best!, April 3, 2008
In the spotlight of Martin Scorsese's camera crew, the boys try to out play each other with spectacular results. The band runs through the same old hits out of respect for the audience, but also performs rare "live" gems for the hardcore fans. As usual, the boys play a tribute song to one of the old masters, this time, its Muddy Water's "Champagne and Reefer". Guest appearances by Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, and Jack White inspire Mick Jagger's sense of humor in the form of insults. Christina shines on "Live with Me"; Jack White appears on "Loving Cup"; and Buddy Guy highlights "Champagne and Reefer". "Some Girls" and "Faraway Eyes" all showcase Jagger's sense of humor. The band, thanks to the steady hands of Charlie Watts and Daryl Jones, the weaving guitars of Ronnie and Richard's, never sounded better. The bass player, instead of looking for [...] in the audience, like Bill Wyman used to do, concentrates on leaving a a straight track for the band to roll. It's buried in the mix, but a big, subtle improvement. The Stones have outdone themselves.
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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Save Your Money, May 17, 2008
I purchased this item for the novely of seeing what it would be like buying an album on a USB stick. The potential for neat things is clearly there but this product offers nothing that couldn't be packaged in a regular CD/DVD format with a few additional data files.
All you get are a few extra pictures including a fascmile of the setlists for each nights with complete musician credits acknowleding little known facets like when Blondie Chaplin plays guitar on a few numbers, and Tim Ries on keyboards. You'd know these things if you've been to a Stones concert. The same booklet as for the CD is available as a PDF file. WOO-HOO.
Okay, there's the value-add in a nutshell for double the cost. You're going to probably download this on your iPOD anyway, so that might be a little faster than downloading off the Internet or from a CD. Is there anybody who is in that much of a hurry?
On to the album's content itself. This album maintains the long standing mystery that aside from "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" which is one of the best live albums of all times, in general, Stones live albums are very disappointing. The World's GREATEST Rock n Roll Band, the biggest draw, the kings of longevity, can't release a decent live album! To think there are dozens of live Grateful Dead albums, and even though I don't consider myself a "Deadhead," I honestly enjoy having "umpteen" versions of "Sugar Magnolia" live because they capture the feeling of a Dead concert.
The Stones albums don't do that. I'm not going to rehash the trail of tears from "Love You Live" foward. "Stripped" is an interesting novelty as it has studio jams and acoustic performances. It doesn't really try to capture a full scale Stones concert anyway.
So here we have "Shine A Light." It might be better than some of the rest. The songs seem to follow the flow of a real Stones concert a little more accurately where some of their previous live albums are so randomly compiled. If you're going to get anything out of this album, you're going to have to play it extremely loud on a conventional stereo setup. The immersion of sound you'd get via a headset or car stereo makes it sound too artificial.
Keith and Ronnie are having a blast through out shooting guitar riffs off of each other. Daryl Jones and Charlie Watts lay down that slimy, greasy old Stones rhythm. Chuck Leavell plays a decent piano and pulls in the horns as needed for that extra punch.
Mick Jagger seems to be trying too hard to enunciate his lyrics rather than to just go with the flow and lead the show. After twenty six years, does anybody give a hoot you still can't understand him singing half the lyrics on "Exile on Main Street?" At times it sounds like Mick Jagger singing Rolling Stones karaoke!!!
Jack White really takes advantage of his cameo singing his duet on "Loving Cup" but everything else about the song stinks.
Some good points, "As Tears Go By" is one of the best live ballads they've ever recorded complete with Keith on 12 string. The instrumental performance is so strong that Jagger's wishy-washy vocals don't bring it down that much. This is the best live "Sympathy for the Devil" in a long time, but it still sucks. It sounds more like a live performance relying less on digital samples that has been the norm since "Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle." Jagger sounds just plain silly. There's no drama. There's nothing menacing about his performance. It just's just so much better than thinking of fans paying for $100 seats getting to hear a computer play percussion. You actually get to hear Charlie's drums, and some of the ensemble banging on clangy things. Am I reaching for nice things to say about this album? YES!
The highlight of the album, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS???, it's Keith song, "Little T&A." Keith hardly ever sounds good on a live recording, but he's Keith. That he's still alive and conveys all that Keith attitude is good enough on stage anyway, but on this live album what makes it is the instrumental jam. First Keith and Ronnie are RED HOT. They then work into a quick little jam where Daryl Jones lays down one of the best live bass guitar passages for all time.
The strongest group performance is the title track, "Shine a Light." Jagger struggles to hit the notes at times, but the whole mood of the song is so powerful. It works as a wonderful closing piece to the album complete with two fine guitar solos just like the original.
One additional note, I reviewed the music from listening to the complete, not the editted CD. The USB stick was defective. Some of the pictures didn't load completely and some songs wouldn't load at all or skipped or missed miserably.
You're paying twice as much as the double CD version of the album, an album you'd probably only buy if you're a Stones completist or what a memeno of the concert tour which would be much better accomplished by purchasing the four DVD set from Best Buys which is worth it for just the Texas concert alone.
The stick is enclosed in a rubber cover shaped as the Stone's infamous tongue logo attached to a keychain. It's cute packaging. Double WOO-HOO.
For us aging baby-boomers there's a certain sense of reassurance to see the Stones still carry on, but as a serious listener, this is not a good album. If it weren't the Rolling Stones, this would be a throwaway album. I never thought I'd get so down on a Stones album, but the live CD's are piling up on the shelf and aside from "Ya-Ya's" not a single one screams "Play me!" except for the El Macambo set on "Love You Live."
Kids who are just getting into the Stones for the first time should go right to the classics and then download a song here, a song there from later on to enjoy the whole experience. The mojo of the live experience cannot be captured on an audio recording alone.
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