Biggest Ever Bang In Madrid (SODD 044/45)
Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid, Spain – June 28th, 2007
Disc 1: 01. Opening / 02. Start Me Up / 03. Let’s Spend The Night Together / 04. She’s So Cold / 05. All Down The Line / 06. Monkey Man / 07. You Can’t Always Get What You Want / 08. Sway / 09. Night Time Is The Right Time / 10. Tumbling Dice / 11. Band Introductions / 12. You Got The Silver / 13. Happy
Disc 2: 01. Miss You / 02. It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll / 03. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction / 04. Honky Tonk Women / 05. Sympathy For The Devil / 06. Paint It Black / 07. Jumping Jack Flash / 08. Brown Sugar
SODD has released one excellent audience recording here. The Stones offer a spirited “Let’s Spend The Night Together” followed by a guitar-laced intro for “She’s So Cold”. The high end fades in + out a bit on the first several tracks with the vocals sounding somewhat bright and the bass a little boomy. Jagger is in fine form and the consummate gatekeeper of melody. “All Down The Line” jams a bit off key. “Monkey Man” is a treat. The track sequencing is especially on. The Stones sound bluesy with slower renditions of most of the cuts here. The natural crowd hype can be heard between each song with Jagger intermittently communicating with the pumped up audience. “Sway” has improved dramatically offering a real smooth flow throughout. “Night Time Is The Right Time” provides the Stones with a comfortable vehicle. “Tumbling Dice” renders memories of slower more deliberate earlier live renditions that really make a difference. Band Introductions are longer and run up to the 5 minute mark. A nice restrained slide intro to “You Got The Silver” shines throughout and becomes an unplugged version accompanied additionally by bass + percussion. Richards carried the vocals to perfection with the track grinding to halt after a full band finish. “Happy” didn’t have the usual swagger and Richards lapsed with some of the vocals but the tempo picked up at the end.
The spacing between tracks grows on you. There is also a sourness to the jamming that is intriguing, as one never quite knows what to expect from Richards. “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll” really kicks in with deliberate gusto. “Satisfaction” is a mix of sweet + sour and ends out of tune in raw fashion. “Honky Tonk Women” inches closer to the original single but is partially out of tune. “Sympathy For The Devil” is a 7 minute refreshing rendition. “Paint It Black” delivers twin lead guitars that is simply sweet. “Jumping Jack Flash” is hard + raw. The background vocalists complement the mix without taking over. “Brown Sugar” keeps churning for 7.5 minutes. All the warhorses were played with a different kind of intensity which made this whole set a joy to take in. This is a tremendous performance by the Stones which SODD offers in an excellent audience recording. The gain is strong and this release comes with the highest of recommendations! [Rawlings]
