Best Stones Live Recording Ever (legitimately) released!

Until now you had to go to bootlegs to hear anything other than The Stones playing their greatest hits live. This album has the hits delivered flawlessly on disc one, but disc two is the money disc. A full disc of deep cuts and cover songs that is, I believe the apex of their live recordings. Everybody knows The Stones are both great musicians and maybe the best live rock act of all time,but their eight live albums have rarely reflected this. Actually, The Stones have been on something of a roll lately, even though they don't record much anymore. In 1997 they released possibly their strongest record since the 70's, "Bridges To Babylon" and in 1998 they released a great live album that unfortunately did not sell well, called "No Security".That album served as a template for this one in that they did deep cuts and some of the songs from their classic albums that either had never been performed live before or were too difficult to perform live because of complex studio arrangements.The reason "No Security" probably didn't sell was that they didn't do the usual hit list which would have had more commercial appeal.But "Live Licks" covers all the bases with scorching versions of "Brown Sugar","Paint It, Black", "Angie","Start Me Up" etc. as well as first ever live appearances of "Monkey Man", "Rocks Off" and Keith singing both his great reggae song from the "Babylon" album, "You Don't Have To Mean It" and Hoagy Carmichael's classic "The Nearness of You". Mick sings Otis Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is" and Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Someone To Love", with Solomon himself joining Mick on vocals. This album is loaded with treats like that for the hardcore Stones fan, who have waited forevor for a live album that really catches the band firing on all cylinders and playing songs you never thought you'd hear live.Literally one of the best live albums of all time.

Good Live Recording, but Beware!

Contrary to what many of these reviews say, this is an excellent live recording for the casual and non-demanding Rolling Stones fan. My concern is that it's copy protected, which means that the files are not accessible with many file viewers. It has it's own player burned on the CD which automatically starts up when you open it. I couldn't get Windows Media Player to play it, but Musicmatch Jukebox did detect the files and I could burn it from that application.

Live Licks; Best Since "Ya Ya's"

Just ignore all the negative reviews of "Live Licks". A little history is required to fully appreciate what this album represents. When "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out" came out in 1970, it showcased a band that could turn in spectacular performances that were both rocking and professional. In a sense, the Stones jinxed themselves with that release because we now know it was heavily doctored with studio overdubs. Just compare the songs on the album to the way they sound on the film, "Gimme Shelter" or bootlegs from that period. The band really didn't sound that good. Therefore, when they followed up with more honest, undoctored live albums like "Love You Live", and "Still Life", people compared them to "Ya Ya's" as if they'd slipped when that was really how they sounded all along.



Now, after 40 years on the road, The Rollings Stones have documented proof that they've truly evolved into the band people believed they were in 1969. The sound is hard and bright; the performances are passionate, human, yet totaly professional. True, there are some repeats on disc one, but you won't find better renditions of "Street Fighting Man", "Paint it Black", "It's Only Rock and Roll", and many others. Disc two is a treasure with obscure tunes that most Stones fans have been drooling to have official live versions of for years. For those who just don't "get it", it's like Keith says, "Ya gotta be there." Having attended actual Stones concerts since the mid seventies, I can tell you that the sloppines of "Love You Live" or "Still Life" truly represents the band's sound at that time. Having been blown away by the greatness I witnessed on their 2002 Licks Tour, I can tell you that "Live "Licks" is a brilliant tribute to a band that has achieved true greatness after all these years. If this album doesn't move you, you're just not into what The Rolling Stones live are all about.

Muffled Old Men

You can almost hear their shawls blowing in the wind on some of the songs. I'm a died in the wool Stones fan. I have everything. But this is far from their best effort. It sounds muddier than some bootlegs. The playing is poor and the energy - the boys need some Geritol! You can hear Mick running out of breath on Rocks Off. Everything Stripped was, this isn't. While it is nice to get some of the more obscure songs, this is for only real fans. There are plenty of other better examples of how great the Stones are live.

The AMAZON.COM reviewer is INSANE

This isn't a bad album at all, but it certainly isn't anything that can be called "fantastic." What did Jerry McCulley (Amazon.com reviewer) write? Check this out:



"[The guitars are] in a form here that rivals the halcyon touring behind Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street."



ARE YOU INSANE?! Keef/Wood was NEVER better than Keef/Taylor. There are so many bootlegs that are widely available that I don't think this CD set is worth your time. Wouldn't you rather hear these tunes BEFORE the Stones became charicatures of themselves? Bill Wyman had the right idea...get out while you're on top!

The best live cd the Stones recorded

The guy who raped this cd is obviously a Beach Boy/Beatles fan. This is a microsm of the 4 Flicks DVD with excellent sound,superior playing and some rarities,the duet with Solomon Burke is great however the listener misses the onstage interplay between Mick and Solomon shown on the DVD. Some great blues numbers here (ROCK ME BABY) and some wonderful recordings of BITCH, CAant you Hear Me Knocking etc. The only complaint that I have is that when I saw the Stones do Midnight Rambler they turned it into a real blues songs with Keith (yes Keith) doing some of the finest blues licks I've heard better than the version with Clapton. My advice is if you own a cd burner and 4 Flicks make your own discs of these shows. If you don't buy this cd, you will not be disappointed.