Stripped is yet another live album by the Stones, but it is very different from their previous live efforts. They play in an almost unplugged type setting, focusing on their acoustic based songs. Also, their are alot of album cuts from the Let It Bleed to Exile On Main Street period like the masterful "Dead Flowers", the great "Shine A Light" and the bluesy "Love In Vain". They do excellent takes on bigger hits such as the majestic "Wild Horses" and the beautiful "Angie". They dip way back into their catalog for cover versions of songs from their first couple of albums including "Not Fade Away" and "The Spider & The Fly" as well as an early Jagger-Richards number, "I'm Free". They had never recorded a Bob Dylan song in their long history, but they finally do here and it is appropriately "Like A Rolling Stone". It is a spirited version of the song. Stripped is a nice surprise from the band and a great listen.

In the early 1990s virtually everybody from Eric Clapton to Nirvana released an Unplugged record. The Rolling Stones didn't. In several of the songs recorded for Stripped (1995), Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood play electric guitars. So all those who had some appetite for an unplugged Rolling Stones record were probably left a little unhappy.
That said, Stripped is a really nice live record especially for their hard-core fans. Most of the live records that the Stones have released over time, from `Get yer ya-ya's out! (1970) onward (with the possible exception of Still Life, 1982), were centered around classic Rolling Stones hits such as Honky Tonk Women, Satisfaction, Sympathy for the Devil, Jumpin' Jack Flash and, more recently, Start me up. Stripped represents a step in a different direction as most of the songs recorded live for this album are the sometimes unjustly neglected Stones B-Side. The Stones recorded one song from their 1969 album. Interestingly what they played was Let it bleed instead of Gimme Shelter or You can't always get what you want. There are three songs from Sticky Fingers (1971), but two of the them (Dead Flowers and Love in Vain) are not neraly as well known as Brown Sugar. Two of the songs that appear on Stripped were originally released in Exile on Main Street (1972). But even in this case, the Stones opted for Sweet Virginia and Shine a Light, instead of performing the superfamous Tumbling Dice or Happy.
But the overall quality of Stripped is great and record is nice treat not only for Stones fans. A final note is order, this is the second record with Darryl Jones on bass and it just shows how well he blended with the rest of the band not only in studio but also in live performances.

Stripped is a great Stones live album mainly because they do many of their early work from when they started out. Recorded on
the Voodoo Lounge tour, the cd carries many highlights. If you're
a fan who just wants to hear the band play hits like Satisfaction
and Brown Sugar, this is not the album for you. But if you would
like to hear the band's early songs from their pre-Satisfaction days, then this is definitely your album.

Stripped features the band doing their acoustic-based songs. While Street Fighting Man, Wild Horses and Angie are known to all
Stones fans, the album features lost gems from long ago. Let It
Bleed was a memorable album, and the title track is featured here
in a version that beats the original at its own game. The country
tune Dead Flowers from Sticky Fingers is here, and blasts the
original into rock 'n' roll oblivion. Not Fade Away was their first American hit single in 1964, so it's a nice inclusion. The
original version was more like a Bo Didley tune, while the version here has more a steamy, provocative feel to it, and it has nice harmonica fills by Mick. Dead Flowers from 1971's Sticky
Fingers is here, and, like Let It Bleed, blasts the original into
rock 'n' roll oblivion. The Exile On Main Street track Shine A
Light has a nice, gospelly feel to it, with good piano playing by
Chuck Leavell. The Spider And The Fly is a devillish track that
was the Stones' first stab at recording their own blues tunes
rather than covering songs by their heroes. Their cover of Bob
Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone has become a highlight of their live
shows, and it has a beautiful harp solo. Their some other really
great live tracks that I haven't mentioned yet, but that will
spoil the rest of the album for you loyal Stones fans. But I will
tell you that there are some great tracks culled from rehearsals.
It is great to hear the spooky Robert Johnson blues Love In Vain,
and the band is brilliant. Sweet virginia is a forgotten Stones

masterwork. It is done here with great flare. And their cover of
Willie Dixon's blues Little Baby is a nice treat from the band.
Stripped is a nice surprise from the band.

Stripped was released Nov 10, 1995. It was recorded earlier the same year during the Voodoo Lounge tour and it was the Stones 7th live album. The tracks on the album were actually recorded as follows:
.....May 26/27 at the Paradiso in Amsterdam (Keith said this was the best show the band ever did)
.....July 3 at the Olympia in Paris
.....July 19 at the Brixton Academy in London (probably their most famous club show)

Most people know the music, so in my reviews I try to give you data on the sessions and interesting facts connected with the songs and the album. Here we go:

There is a Japanese import version of the CD that includes one additional live track, Black Limousine (which was also released on a Japanese CD single). In addition, there was a special UK version of the CD (often referred to as a CD+) that included material from the CD-ROM Voodoo Lounge (which was released simultaneously with the Stripped album), interviews with the band, and live video clips of backstage jamming on Shattered and Tumbling Dice, as well as part of the live recording of Like A Rolling Stone and the complete lyrics for all the songs on the album.

The album has strong fan support because it is a thoughtful album with a focus on musicianship. It includes their first Dylan tune, Like A Rolling Stone, which was also released as a CD single and Wild Horses, also released as a CD single, both released only in the UK. It also has one new song from their early setlists that they had never released....Willie Dixon's Little Baby. Other songs from the same shows that were recorded for Stripped but which were released on CD singles and did not appear on the album are:
.....Black Limousine (UK Like A Rolling Stone single)
.....All Down The Line (UK Like A Rolling Stone single)
.....Live With Me (UK Wild Horses single)
.....Gimme Shelter (UK Wild Horses single)("Old Gods" author Stephen Davis calls this the greatest single performance of their career)
In addition there were two songs that appeared only on the interactive CD+ version of the album:
.....Shattered
.....Tumbling Dice

Interesting notes include:
.....the tour included 126 shows seen by 8,000,000 fans and grossing a half *billion* dollars, making it the largest, most successful tour by anyone ever
.....Dylan really did write Like A Rolling Stone about the band, he has always been a great fan of theirs and they have spent a lot of time together over the years
.....there are two bootleg boxed sets that some people have said had to have come from the Stones themselves (one bootlegger even included a track of himself haggling with Mick over the price of the tapes). They are known as Voodoo Brew and Voodoo Stew and offer rehearsals and alternative mixes of the Voodoo Lounge and Stripped recordings.
.....an incredible and little known interactive CD-ROM (called Voodoo Lounge) was released simultaneously with the Stripped album. It requires gamers to find hidden doors during a party in the Voodoo Lounge. The doors lead to a private lounge where the Stones are waiting to personally show you their favorite blues artists performing on video (Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Redding, T-Bone Walker, Otis Rush, Son House, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Hank Williams, Little Walter, Robert Johnson, & Elmore James,. The CD includes 9 songs not on Stripped (Love Is Strong, I Go Wild, and Sparks Will Fly, Blinded By Rainbows, Jump On Top Of Me, Out Of Tears, Thru & Thru, The Works, You Got Me Rocking).

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection, with some of the notes from Davis' "Old Gods Almost Dead." Both books are available from amazon.com.

The energy level may be a little low due to the acoustic nature of most of this live album, but the musicianship is way high. You could think of this album as semi unplugged. The boys are on their game that's for sure. Marvelous slide and lead playing from Ron Woods, while Keith puts in some of his best and most soulfull vocals I've ever heard him do and of course his guitar playing is impeccable. Charlie Watts is a freaking rock, he's the man. And then there's Mick who puts in some of the best singing I've heard him do in years. His harmonica adds a really nice touch on many of the songs. The keyboard playing by Chuck Leavell both piano and organ are just great. The band sound like they're having fun and are really feeling the music. Like I said the energy isn't at the high level of Get Yer Ya Ya's Out but the playing is tighter, funkier and soulfull. These guys just keep getting better with age. If this album were longer I'd have given it 5 stars.