Les Roues Metallic et Les Jumeaux Demons (Empress Valley EVSD-142/143/144)
Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – December 14th, 1989
Disc 1 (47:35): Continental Drift, Start Me Up, Bitch, Sad Sad Sad, Undercover Of The Night, Harlem Shuffle, Tumbling Dice, Miss You, Ruby Tuesday, Play With Fire, Terrifying
Disc 2 (51:14): Rock And A Hard Place, Mixed Emotions, Honky Tonk Women, Midnight Rambler, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Little Red Rooster, Can’t Be Seen, Happy
Disc 3 (55:38): Paint It Black, 2000 Light Years From Home, Sympathy For The Devil, Gimme Shelter, band introductions, It’s Only Rock And Roll, Brown Sugar, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Jumpin’ Jack Flash
The mammoth Steel Wheels tour came to an end with two shows in Montreal and three in Atlantic City, NJ for a pay-per-view broadcast. Roues Metallic et Les Jumeaux Demons contains the complete soundboard recording for the second Montreal concert. The first release of this tape is on Paint It White (VGP 309). Empress Valley released this and Rattlesnake quickly followed with Salut Montreal (Rattlesnake 112/113). Empress Valley released this version in 2002 and, besides unnecessarily spreading the show over three discs, boosted the volume over the Vinyl Gang release. In general this is an excellent sounding complete and well balanced soundboard recording.
The second night in the massive Olympic Stadium saw a few changes in the setlist. “Almost Hear You Sigh,” “Angie,” and “Before They Make Me Run” were dropped in favor of “Play With Fire,” “Terrifying,” and “Can’t Be Seen.” Otherwise the show follows the same pattern with the “Continental Drift” opening tape played over the PA before the Stones hit the stage with “Start Me Up,” “Bitch” and “Sad Sad Sad.”
The live versions of “Undercover Of The Night” lack some of the edge of the studio recording, but still is able to capture the intensity of the piece. “Miss You” is a seven minute long disco excursion in the early part of the set and Bobby Keyes’ saxophone takes the place of the harp solo in the middle of the song. Mick doesn’t speak to the audience much in except for a few “salut, Montreal.” But before “Terrifying” he says how it’s “great to be back in Montreal for the first time in thirteen years.”
This was the final night that Living Colour opened for the Stones and they join them onstage for “It’s Only Rock And Roll.” Roues Metallic et Les Jumeaux Demons (French for Steel Wheels and the demon twins) is packaged in the long style cardboard block with slip cover featuring the picture of Keith on the front cover. This is a package utilized for many of Empress Valley’s Led Zeppelin releases and, although is not the most convenient storage medium, is able to offer really nice artwork. The Atlantic City recording is perhaps the essential one to have from the Steel Wheels tour, but Montreal is a close second and is worth having.
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Just wanted to say that Keith’s solo on Sympathy For The Devil in Montreal 1989 is just awesome; even better than Atlantic City…..and most other 1989 concerts. It’s a keeper – this bootleg
“The live versions of “Undercover Of The Night” lack some of the edge of the studio recording, but still is able to capture the intensity of the piece.”
The original video for Undercover of the Night is available on youtube under user “rollingstonestv”, an official page. Keith’s guitar riff rocks, unlike the droopy Mick Jagger-inspired “disco riff” of the 1989 tour versions of this song.
Atlantic City features an ‘orrible mix with heavy audience noise, low guitars and a general sloppy instrument/vocal balance. This Montreal show has to be better (is it? are the guitars loud in the mix?), and it’s still available from Empress to boot…but is it worth the expenditure?