A gargantuan crowd – like the estimated one-and-a-half-million fans who gathered for a 2006 outdoor gig in Rio de Janeiro – adds energy and excitement to a Rolling Stones show. But relatively tiny audiences also have their pluses. They inject a note of intimacy and allow the band to loosen up, take chances, connect more with their listeners, and feature some personal favorites rather than just the hits the masses want to hear.
That’s why the Stones have occasionally performed at small venues, often with little or no advance notice. In 1977, for example, they gave an unannounced show at Toronto’s 300-seat El Mocambo club; and, in 2002, they turned up at Los Angeles’s 2,500-seat Wiltern theatre.
The group also went small for a “secret” June 8, 1999, concert at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire music venue, which seats 1,800. Like the El Mocambo and Wiltern gigs, this performance was recorded and has now been released on disc. Called Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush, it is available in multiple formats, including vinyl, a Blu-ray-plus-two-CD package, and, in a first for this group, 4K UHD with a Dolby Atmos audio option.
Unlike some Rolling Stones videos, this nearly hour-and-a-half concert is presented on the Blu-ray with pristine DTS-HD Master sound. There’s also a high-quality widescreen picture, though the video’s surfeit of split-screen images can be annoying.
Like El Mocambo and Wiltern, the Shepherd’s Bush show – which came right before two sold-out performances at the 70,000-seat Wembley stadium – features a star-studded audience and a particularly fired-up band. “It’s so great to be back in London doing this gig with all our friends here!” proclaims Mick Jagger, noting the presence of such rock royalty as the Who’s Pete Townshend and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
The concert finds Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and the late Charlie Watts backed by such longtime accompanists as bassist Darryl Jones, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and saxophonist Bobby Keys. Their 18-song set includes a few numbers that the Stones often showcase, among them “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Women” (here with guest Sheryl Crow), “It’s Only Rock ’n Roll (But I Like It),” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” But there are also some rarely heard numbers.
Among those relative obscurities are “Brand New Car” and the previously unperformed “Moon Is Up,” both from 1994’s Voodoo Lounge; “I Got the Blues,” from 1971’s Sticky Fingers; “You Got the Silver,” with vocal by Richards, from 1969’s Let It Bleed; and, from 1976’s Black and Blue, “Melody,” which the Stones had played live only once before, at El Mocambo. Also notable in the set are four numbers from 1978’s terrific Some Girls, including the title track, “Shattered,” “Respectable,” and “Before They Make Me Run” (one of several songs to feature a four-piece horn section).
Throughout the set, the band seems to have at least as much fun as their audience. Even Watts, who often displays a poker face, can’t resist the occasional smile.
Also Noteworthy
Sun Ra, Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank. Sun Ra’s At the Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976–1977 came out in late April and now, only about seven months later, we have another previously unissued live set from the same era. Recorded at Baltimore’s Left Bank club in 1978, the collection features more than 90 minutes of music from the late jazz keyboardist and his Myth Science Cosmo Swing Arkestra. The two-CD set comes with a 36-page booklet that includes essays, interviews, and photos.
Though dominated by the iconoclastic Sun Ra’s avant-garde originals, the concert makes room for some covers, among them a reimagined “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and material by Fletcher Henderson and Miles Davis. Two bonus tracks – Sun Ra’s “Left Bank Blues” and Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight” – are sourced from Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise, a 1980 documentary.
Christopher Cross, A Christopher Cross Christmas. If you were listening to the radio in 1980, you surely know the distinctive voice of Texas native Christopher Cross. His eponymous first album spawned multiple smash hits, including “Ride Like the Wind” and the chart-topping “Sailing.” Cross’s star faded after the early ’80s, though he continued to release CDs sporadically, among them a 2007 holiday-themed set, which is being reissued this month.
Expect the same kind of smooth mainstream pop stylings that characterized the debut LP. The program features such holiday standards as “Silent Night,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Also featured are two likable numbers that Cross co-authored with the late Rob Meurer, his longtime collaborator.
B.B. King, B.B. King in France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival. The late, great B.B. King’s career was at a high point, artistically and commercially, when he performed at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in 1977. The previously unreleased 79-minute concert offers excellent showcases for his blues guitar pyrotechnics and vocal prowess. It finds him backed by a complementary septet that adds tenor and alto sax, trumpet, organ, guitar, bass, and drums.
Among the many highlights in the 14-song set are “Sweet Little Angel” and “Why I Sing the Blues,” which provided R&B hits for King in 1956 and 1969, respectively. Other standouts include a raw version of “The Thrill Is Gone,” his crossover pop hit from 1970; a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “To Know You Is to Love You”; and “It’s Just a Matter of Time,” the pop ballad that gave Brook Benton a smash 1959 hit, which King turns into a simmering, nearly 10-minute blues excursion.
Jeff Burger’s website, byjeffburger.com, contains five decades’ worth of music reviews, interviews, and commentary. His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters.
