The Rolling Stones - BBC Sessions 1963 - 1965

Reloaded 26/May/2015 - Another very popular rarity that remains searched after regularly amongst collectors of Rolling Stones material. This recording was seeded close to the original 'release' and the audio reflects that and is very clean and highly enjoyable. It remains a must have for anyone who remembers the raw energy the Stones had, that set them apart from so many right from the start.

Beat Beat Beat at the Beeb is probably the most comprehensive selection of The Rolling Stones BBC Sessions from 1963 to 1965 although many other bootleg compilations have surfaced, including 'Get Satisfaction If You Want' and 'Crackin Up'.

There is a question mark over the absolute accuracy of the dates of shows or recordings however Beat Beat Beat has a reputation for being well researched so are probably pretty accurate.

The cover art displayed is apparently from a rare 10inch German album version. As regards the actual performances themselves, then this is wonderful material, showing off a highly energetic and youthful band, that in the interview ponder whether they have a few more years in them, if only they had known.

Source: Various including BBC transcription discs and off air recordings.

Sound Quality: Predominately very good mono/stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Rock, rock and roll, blues-rock, rhythm and blues, blues.

Set: Various BBC Radio Sessions.

Session Track List:


CD One: Saturday Club, October 26, 1963

1. Come On
2. Memphis Tennessee
3. Roll Over Beethoven

Saturday Club, February 8, 1964

4. Ain't That Loving You Baby
5. Don't Lie To Me
6. Mona
7. Walking The Dog
8. Bye Bye Johnny
9. I Wanna Be Your Man
10. You Better Move On

Saturday Club, March 8, 1964

11. Roll Over Beethoven
12. Beautiful Delilah
13. Route 66
14. Cops and Robbers
15. You Better Move On
16. Mona

The Joe Loss Show, April 10, 1964

17. Hi-Heeled Sneakers
18. Little By Little
19. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
20. I'm Moving On

Saturday Club, April 18, 1964

21. Not Fade Away
22. Walking The Dog
23. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
24. Beautiful Delilah
25. Hi-Heeled Sneakers
26. Carol
   
CDTwo: Saturday Club, June 6, 1964

1. Down In The Bottom: aka Meet Me In The Bottom
2. You Can Make It If You Try
3. Route 66
4. Confessin' The Blues
5. Down The Road Apiece

The Joe Loss Show, July 17, 1964

6. It's All Over Now
7. If You Need Me
8. Confessin' The Blues
9. Carol
10. Mona

BBC Top Gear, July 23, 1964

11. Around and Around
12. If You Need Me
13. I Can't Be Satisfied
14. Crackin' Up

Rhythm and Blues, October 31, 1964

15. 2120 South Michigan Avenue (fades at 3:42)

BBC Top Gear, March 6, 1965

16. Down The Road Apiece
17. Interview
18. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
19. The Last Time

The Rolling Stones Special, August 30, 1965

20. Mercy Mercy
21. Oh Baby We Got A Good Thing Going
22. The Spider And The Fly
23. Satisfaction

Saturday Club, September 18, 1965

24. Cry To Me
25. Fannie Ma

Website: Official HERE.

Comments:

Generally the audio quality is very good considerning the age of the material and the possibility that some is sourced from later generation copies. That said a reasonable amount of the recordings made it to BBC transcription CD's circulated to the Westwood One radio network.

Reloaded - 26/May/2015 - download links (two) in comments.

The Rolling Stones - Handsome Girls (USA) 1978.

Reloaded 24/May/2015 By popular request and a firm favourite for Rolling Stones rarities collectors, however we would like to point out that CD1 and 2 are within the official King Biscuit archives and will be deleted from this site once we have given a little time for the Stones completest fans who have requested this famous bootleg. Full artwork of the original packaging is included. 

This is a four CD box set bootleg of The Rolling Stones that was circulated originally on The Swingin' Pig label (TSP-CD-200) and in 1998 on the Dandelion label as part of their 'The Classic Rolling Stones Collection' (DL030 - DL033). The first two CD's include the entire Forth Worth show (which is also in the King Biscuit archives). CD's 3 and 4 have pretty much every song broadcast from the 1978 tour plus a few soundboard recordings that never made it to air. This version is sourced from the 'Dandelion' label boxed set and the audio quality is so good, it is of little surprise that mainstream bootleggers cashed in on the material (we of course do not!).

The Rolling Stones' US Tour 1978 took place during June and July 1978, immediately following the release of the group's 1978 album Some Girls (hence the bootlegs 'Handsome Girls' title). Like the 1972 and 1975 U.S.A. tours, Bill Graham was the tour promoter. One opening act was Peter Tosh, who was sometimes joined by Jagger for their duet "Don't Look Back". The tour used a stripped back, minimal stage show compared to the previous Tour of the Americas '75 and Tour of Europe '76, possibly due to the emergence of the punk rock scene and its emphasis solely on music and attitude rather than presenting a grandiose stage extravaganza.

From Wikipedia - The tour is widely believed among fans to be one of the band's greatest, largely because it was in many ways back to basics both in musical and visual terms. It meant a return to a mixture of classic Stones numbers ("Tumbling Dice," "Star Star," "Happy," "Street Fighting Man", etc.) mixed with blues numbers and Chuck Berry covers, as well as including a large number of songs from then newly released Some Girls LP. It was the first tour featuring songs written with Ron Wood as an official member of the Rolling Stones, and his contributions from this period are considered by many Stones fans as some of his greatest with the band. While no live album was released from this tour, a fair amount of bootleg releases showcases its musical qualities, most notably the multi-show King Biscuit Flower Hour FM recording mostly known as "Handsome Girls."

Guest artists that played with the Stones during individual shows included Linda Ronstadt, Sugar Blue, Doug Kershaw, Bobby Keys and Nicky Hopkins. Other opening Acts included Van Halen, Journey, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and the Doobie Brothers. 

Source: Pre FM Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Rock, blues, blues rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll.

Set: Full set Fort Worth TX, plus many extras.

Set List:

CD 1 - Fort Worth, Texas - 18th July 1978.
1. Let It Rock
2. All Down The Line
3. Honky Tonk Women
4. Starf---er
5. When The Whip Comes Down
6. Beast Of Burden
7. Miss You
8. Just My Imagination
9. Shattered
10. Respectable
11. Far Away Eyes
12. Love In Vain
13. Tumbling Dice
14. Happy

CD 2 - Fort Worth, 18th July 1978.
1. Sweet Little Sixteen
2. Brown Sugar
3. Jumping Jack Flash
Alternate Versions:
4. All Down The Line
5. Honky Tonk Women
6. Starf-cker
7. When The Whip Comes Down
8. Beast Of Burden
9. Shattered
10. Far Away Eyes
11. Jumping Jack Flash

CD 3.
1. Let It Rock (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)
2. All Down The Line (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
3. Honky Tonk Women (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
4. Star Star (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
5. When The Whip Comes Down (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)
6. Lies (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
7. Miss You (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)
8. Beast Of Burden (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
9. Shattered (Memphis, TN - 6/28/78)
10. Respectable (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
11. Just My Imagination (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)
12. Far Away Eyes (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
13. Tumbling Dice (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)
14. Happy (Detroit, MI - 7/6/78)

CD 4.

1. Hound Dog (Memphis, TN - 6/28/78)
2. Sweet Little Sixteen (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
3. Brown Sugar (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
4. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Houston, TX - 7/19/78)
5. Miss You (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
6. Lies (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
7. Beast Of Burden (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
8. Shattered (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
9. Just My Imagination (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
10. Respectable (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)
11. Sweet Little Sixteen (Lexington, KY - 6/29/78)

Reloaded 24/May/2015 - download link in comments.

 

Website: Official HERE.

Reloaded 24/May/2015 - download links (two) in comments.

The Rolling Stones - Chess Chicago 1964

This is The Rolling Stones from a five track CD released originally by bootleggers The Swinging Pig Records in Luxembourg. Entitled Chess Chicago Outtakes 1964, tracks 1,2, 3 and 5 were recorded at Chess Studios, Chicago on June 10th or 11th, 1964. Track 4 was recorded at RCA Studios, Los Angeles on either the 5th or 6th, September 1965.

The producer was Andrew Oldham for all songs and the engineer was Ron Malo at Chess and Dave Hassinger at RCA. According to the Swinging Pigs cover Ian Stewart was on piano along with the full Stones line up of the time.

The Rolling Stones' first US tour, in June 1964, was, in Bill Wyman's words, "a disaster". When we arrived, we didn't have a hit record (there) or anything going for us." When the band appeared on Dean Martin's TV variety show The Hollywood Palace, Martin mocked both their hair and their performance. During the tour they recorded for two days at Chess Studios in Chicago, meeting many of their most important influences, including Muddy Waters. These sessions included what would become the Rolling Stones' first number one hit in the UK, their cover of Bobby and Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now".

The Chess recordings demonstrate the bands blues influences and their ability to do justice to the songs they clearly enjoyed performing before their song writing skills had fully developed. 

Source: Studio Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Rock, rock and roll, blues rock, rhythm and blues, blues.

Album: Original version.

Track List:

01. High-Heel Sneakers
02. Tell Me Baby
03. Down In The Bottom
04. Looking Tired
05. Stewed And Keefed 

Website: Official HERE.

The Rolling Stones - Leeds 1971

This is The Rolling Stones live at Leeds University, England back on the 13th March 1971. The concert was broadcast by the BBC and it is most likely missing a few songs from the full performance.

The concert was released as a bootleg under the title 'Get Your Leeds Lungs Out', and this version is from a CD released on The Swinging Pig boot label (TSP-CD-030) that surfaced in 1989.

Greg Prato from the All Music Guide had this to say about the remastered version of this recording - Get Your Leeds Lungs Out! is from the U.K. leg of the Sticky Fingers tour back in 1971. The Stones are inspired throughout, so the whole show is one big highlight, starting with the smooth country of "Dead Flowers." Also included is a fiercely swinging take of the Jagger-attitude testimony, "Bitch," a slower and more spacious "Satisfaction," and a version of "Brown Sugar" that is no less sleazy and lustful than the original. Keith Richards and Mick Taylor show why many Stones enthusiasts considered this lineup their best, as the duo spin and weave their guitar lines together and trade off solos with each other throughout the show.

Also included are sidemen Bobby Keys (saxophone), Jim Price (trumpet), and Nicky Hopkins (piano), who help augment the compositions. "Let It Rock" is a forgotten Stones cover of a Chuck Berry song (it was only issued as a B-side to "Brown Sugar" and has never been included on any of their compilations) that turns out to be a good old rowdy rave-up. The problem with Get Your Leeds Lungs Out! is that it contains a total of six songs that were issued (in quite similar versions) on the official live album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out just two years prior.

If the overly produced and studio-enhanced Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out leaves you feeling a bit cold, hunt down a copy of the rough and rocking Get Your Leeds Lungs Out! - Revisited to cure your blues. 

Source: FM Radio Broadcast

Sound Quality: Very good mp3@320kbps

Genre: Rock, rock and roll, blues rock, rhythm and blues, blues.

Set: Broadcast part of set.

Set List:

1) Dead Flowers
2) Stray Cat Blues
3) Love In Vain
4) Midnight Rambler
5) Bitch
6) Introduction
7) Honky Tonk Women
8) Satisfaction
9) Little Queenie
10) Brown Sugar
11) Street Fighting Man
12) Let it Rock

Website: Official HERE.

The Rolling Stones - Camden Theatre 1964

Having recently covered The Rolling Stones BBC sessions from 1963 to 1965, this is another incredible recording from the same era.

Recorded live at The Camden Theatre, London, England, on March 19th 1964 and subsequently broadcast on May 9th 1964 on The BBC "Rhythm And Blues" show, bootleg label The Swinging Pig eventually released a CD single (TSP-CDS-004) which from what I can gather was sourced from a soundboard tape rather than any BBC transcription disc recording.

Source: Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Excellent stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Rock, rock and roll, blues-rock, rhythm and blues, blues.

Set: Full 'Rhythm And Blues' show set.

Set List:

01. Route 66 (2.36)
02. Cops And Robbers (3.47)
03. You Better Move On (2.47)
04. Mona (I Need You) (2.49)

Website: Official HERE.

Comments:

Nothing to add regarding this recording, The Swinging Pig released another Stones single boot called Chess Chicago outtakes also from 1964, more about that another time.

Reloaded 21/June/2015 link in comments.

The Rolling Stones - You Can't Do That Baby - 1972

The Rolling Stones American Tour of 1972, often referred to as the S.T.P. Tour (for Stones Touring Party), was a much publicized and much written about concert tour of the United States and Canada in June and July 1972.

According to the Wikipedia entry for this tour: 'the tour followed the release of the group's album Exile on Main St. a few weeks earlier on 12th May.

But this was far more than a rock band's typical promotional tour following the release of a new recording.

Rather, it became a major pop cultural event of the time. It came at the height of the Stones' reputation as "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World."

At the same time, singer Mick Jagger was by now a glamorous celebrity who had moved into the jet set of high society. These aspects were all intertwined, and so the tour attracted much attention from observers of both high culture and low culture'.

This particular bootleg, is a compilation of four shows, over two nights, when the band played an early and late performance, on the 24th June 1972, at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, and on the 25th June 1972, at the Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas.

As I understand these are the best recordings of each performance, the set list being broadly consistent for each gig.

Source: Soundboard (remastered).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3 @192kbps.

Genre: Rock, Pop, Come on It's The Stones!

Set: Full set material, compiled from two venues over two days.

Set List:

Introduction - Houston 2nd Show.
Brown Sugar - Houston 2nd Show.
Bitch - Fort Worth 2nd Show.
Gimme Shelter - Fort Worth 1st Show.
Dead Flowers - Fort Worth 1st Show.
Happy - Fort Worth 1st Show.
Tumbling Dice - Houston 1st Show.
Love in Vain - Houston 1st Show.
Sweet Virginia - Fort Worth 1st Show.
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Houston 1st Show.
All Down The Line - Houston 2nd Show.
Midnight Rambler - Houston 2nd Show.
Band Introductions - Fort Worth 2nd Show.
Bye Bye Johnny - Houston 1st Show.
Rip This Joint - Fort Worth 2nd Show.
Jumpin' Jack Flash - Houston 1st Show.
Street Fighting Man - Houston 2nd Show.

Band Line Up:

Mick Jagger - vocals, harmonica
Keith Richards - guitars, vocals
Mick Taylor - guitars
Bill Wyman - bass guitar
Charlie Watts - drums

Additional musicians

Ian Stewart - only as a road manager, not on stage.
Nicky Hopkins - piano
Bobby Keys - saxophone
Jim Price - horns

Links: Official Site HERE.

Comments: No live album was released from this tour, although one was planned as far as having a front and back cover designed and studio touch-ups being made on several recorded tracks.

Eventually, the album was shelved due to contractual disputes with Allen Klein.

Back to Wikipedia: Fans of the band divide the tour in three parts: the first part (Vancouver Canada, to Long Beach) features an under-rehearsed Stones, and the performances were still a bit rough. The second part (Los Angeles to Montreal, Canada) features some of the best shows of the tour, with highly energized performances with the band melding as a well oiled machine. Many fans of the tour feel that the remaining part of the tour is somewhat marred inconsistent performances as a consequence of an exhausted band.

Based on that review it's good to know these recordings are from the best period of their 1972 tour.

SCROLL DOWN IN COMMENTS BELOW FOR REPLACEMENT LINK FOR PART ONE (PART TWO AS BEFORE).

Purchase: MP3's - The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones - Honolulu 1966

The Rolling Stones 1966 American Tour was the last concert tour by the Stones with Brian Jones in the United States.

The band had played 29 concerts in just over a month arriving in Honolulu to conclude the tour.

Back in England, one politician announces "Our relationship with the United States runs the risk of getting considerably worse as soon as The Rolling Stones arrive in America... Americans will believe that English young people have attained a new degree of degeneration and that this country is being recklessly ruined."

Having released 'Aftermath' in the spring of 1966, the first Stones album with all Jagger - Richards compositions, not surprisingly the tour featured a number of songs from the album.

This then is The Rolling Stones on the 28th July 1966, live in concert in Honolulu, USA, from a recording circulated as 'So Much Younger Than Today' by The Swingin' Pig (TSP 012).

Set list is:

1. Intro / Not Fade Away
2. The Last Time
3. Paint It Black
4. Lady Jane
5. Mother's Little Helper
6. Get Off Of My Cloud
7. 19th Nervous Breakdown
8. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Broadcast live by Hawaiian radio (K-POI) this is a 320kbps, conversion and is excellent for the time.

DOWNLOAD LINK IS IN COMMENTS BELOW.

The Rolling Stones official site HERE, with their Store HERE.

Their MySpace site featuring 'Shine A Light' movie HERE.

Bootleg Originals Part One - The Rolling Stones - USA 1969

Welcome to Bootleg Originals number one, an occasional look back to some of the defining moments in rock bootleg history.

Bootlegs have been around for a long time, way before rock'n'roll, however this series will focus on the rock/pop era.

1969 tends to have tacit agreement, as the year rock bootlegs began to surface for sale, particularly in the USA. Bob Dylan is often regarded as an early 'target'.

Other obvious candidates were The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. It was made easier when the Rolling Stones undertook a 17 date US tour, in November 1969, culminating at the notorious Altamont concert on December 6th.

The third date (two shows) on November 9th 1969, at The Oakland Coliseum in California, has been widely circulated as a boot.

It was the US 1969 tour, and the subsequent bootlegs, that lead to the official release of the 1970 Rolling Stones album 'Get Your Ya Ya's Out!' (predominately recorded from the Madison Square Garden concerts element of the tour).

This first bootleg in the series has been circulated under a few different names, the copy I received aptly named 'Liver Than You'll Ever Be'.

For a more detailed history of The Rolling Stones 1969, USA tour click HERE.

The Rolling Stones - November 9th 1969 - Oakland Coliseum, California USA.

1 Jumpin' Jack Flash
2 Carol
3 Sympathy For The Devil
4 Stray Cat
5 Prodigal Son
6 You've Gotta Move
7 Love In Vain
8 I'm Free
9 Under My Thumb
10 Midnight Rambler
11 Live With Me
12 Gimme Shelter
13 Little Queenie
14 Satisfaction
15 Honky Tonk Women
16 Street Fighting Man

The sound quality is good - highly listenable - the rest is history!

REPLACEMENT LINK IN COMMENTS BELOW OR CLICK ON THE PICTURE (1st AUGUST 2009).

You can grab a little official Stones merchandise HERE.

Among some of the artists to follow in 'Bootleg Originals' you can look forward to Led Zeppelin, The Waterboys, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Bob Dylan, The Who and more, so if you have not done so, bookmark or even better, RSS feed this page!

(Many thanks to Chris for this recording...)