Still Life (American Concert 1981) was originally released June 1, 1982, it went to #1 in both the UK & US. The album includes the single hits Going To A Go Go (backed by Beast Of Burden) and Time Is On My Side (live version)(backed by Twenty Flight Rock). Both Going To A God Go and Twenty Flight Rock had not been recorded previously and were not issued on any other albums. 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:

The album was recorded at during the 81 American tour in NJ (11-5), Chicago (11-25), Largo, MD (12-7/8), Tempe (12-13), and Hampton Roads (12-18/19).

Interesting notes include:
.....the Dec 13 Tempe, Arizona concert at Sun Devil Stadium was filmed and became the movie Let's Spend The Night Together (still available here on Amazon.com)
.....Before the Rosemont Horizon shows in Chicago the Stones showed up at the Checkerboard Lounge to jam with Muddy Waters in his last recorded performance before he died in 1983 (videotapes of the show are still popular in the bootleg market)
.....The Stones rehearsed for the tour during August and September at Longview Farm in Brookfield, MA. It was the 1st major corporate sponsored tour, entertaining >2 million paying fans and grossing $60 million.
.....Mick was not getting along with Keith and Woody at this time....they called him "Brenda" and things got so bad that the tour contract required Mick to stay off the stage when Keith did Little T&A.
.....Keith hated the cherry picker that Mick used during the concerts, but when Mick offered to dump it if Keith would give up drugs for the duration of the tour, the cherry picker stayed
.....On Sep 14 the band did a gig as "Blue Monday and the Cockroaches" at the 350 seat Sir Morgan's Cove in Worcester, MA.....5,000 fans had to be held back to avoid a riot...the club finally opened the doors while the Stones did a short set that could be heard outside

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson, from Stephen Davis' "Old Gods Almost Dead," and from my own collection.

This is a great live album. I think Rolling Stone magazine was certainly too picky, and many others are over critical. You can't compare this album to older releases like "Ya-Ya's" or "Love You Live" because a lot of the material on this album was contemporary of the time, and sounds great. Highlights are definitely "Satisfaction" (possibly the BEST version!), "Under My Thumb", and "Start Me Up." The only problem is that the film companion to this album, "Let's Spend the Night Together" (unfortunately no longer available), has far greater versions of "Let Me Go" (10x better), and "20 Flight Rock" than this album's, and the film also has live gems like "Hangfire", "Neighbors", and "Let it Bleed", which should have been included on this album. If you can, try and get the video, because when combined with "Still Life" you've got a great live Stones set.

The critics always pan this, don't listen to them. There is nothing profound here just a really good rock concert. Let Me Go is a great, faster improvement over the Emotional Rescue version, Just My Imagination is fabulous and even the golden oldie Time Is On My Side is put forth with ragged passion.

This was the last tour that the Stones were confident enough to just go out and play with a few choice sidemen, not a huge posse of background singers and other players to cover up their slips. The magical key to a great Stones song is backup vocals from Keith and we get that here in spades.

My only criticism of this record is that it's too short. There were lots of great songs from this tour that should have been included. She's So Cold, Beast of Burden and Let It Bleed come to mind.

From my view, this presents the Stones as the height of their musical power (albeit at the height of tensions between the Glimmer Twins). I know that reformed Stones purists think that the band ended with Tattoo You (orthodox Stone purists believed the band ended with Mick Taylor), and zealot purists still buy the new albums that the band puts out. Without taking any of those positions, this is simply the band when the guys were still young (and Jagger didn't look like Barney Fife yet) and one dude in football pants could hold an entire stadium of people in the palm of his hand. Some wouldn't like the arena music here as much as the early 'raw' stuff (like the Get Your Ya Ya's Out album), but I like this era: Mick is mastering his choppy and almost flippant delivery of lyrics, and Keith is sufficiently backed up and is allowed to just deal out the chords that make every song sound like a Stones song. The gems here are Twenty Flight Rock, Under My Thumb, Let Me Go, Just My Imagination and the frenetic rendition of Satisfaction. Sit back, pretend that Reagan is still in his first term, and enjoy.

Back on the 1981 tour, "Tattoo You" had just been released, and this album chronicles a strong outing by the Stones. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mick wore football pants and the Union Jack at the same time...who else has the swagger to pull that off?

Anyway, like some folks have said, critics usually say this album isn't worth its salt. I disagree. Listen to the different take on "Under My Thumb"...it changes from a marimba-laced groove tune to a hard rock classic. What's more, the disc offers a fast-paced, energetic version of "Shattered," as well as "Goin' to a Go-Go," a Smokey Robinson classic that became a staple of that tour. Too bad we missed out on "She's So Cold" and got "Let Me Go" instead.

In addition, "Start Me Up" was truly a new song on this tour, and it shows with the energy and excitement that comes through on this version. At one point, Mick asks the crowd, "Are you ready to rock and roll some more?"



I know I am. Get this one ~LBS