Gimme Shelter (Godfather GR378/379)
Altamont Speedway, San Francisco, Altamont, December 6. 1969
CD 1 [41:56]: 1 Jumping Jack Flash 2 Carol 3 Sympathy For The Devil I 4 Sympathy For The Devil II 5 The Sun Is Shining 6 Stray Cat Blues 7 Love In Vain 8 Under My Thumb I 9 Under My Thumb II
CD 2 [41:26]: 1 Brown Sugar 2 Midnight Rambler 3 Live With Me 4 Gimme Shelter 5 Little Queenie 6 (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction 7 Honky Tonk Women 8 Street Fighting Man
Feast your eyes on the astounding, meticulous and brilliant packaging of G.R. 378/379…
“Jumping Jack Flash” takes us right into the hub of the audience as Jagger postulates: “There’s so many of you, just be cool out there in the front end – don’t push around…” The Stones blast into a classic “Carol” with Charlie heard pushing the pulsating beat intermittently. “Sympathy For The Devil I” offers a great intro and, of course, ends at 1:44. How many times have the Stones started and restarted tracks in one concert…A fan is heard saying: “Get me outta here” and another fan replies: There’s nowhere to go”. A blistering 7:33 minute “Sympathy For The Devil II” follows. which, In my opinion, is one of the greatest live versions of this track. The Stones sounded like a carefully manicured R & B band. “Love In Vain” is rich with bluesy crafted textures. 44 precious seconds of “Under My Thumb I” are followed by my all time favorite “Under My Thumb II”. The eerie transformation of “Under My Thumb II” as compared with its predecessor is indicative of what transpired and how, I believe, it directly impacted the Stones.
“Brown Sugar”, according to Jagger, was played for the very first time and it is one of the best renditions of this track. The 8 minute “Midnight Rambler’ is a slow and deliberate burn with the spacing working so effectively. The stage banter between just about every track adds so much to this show and takes us through a virtual “play by play” through Jagger’s eyes. It’s too bad that some of the fans couldn’t restrain themselves throughout certain moments of the show. “Gimme Shelter” is vintage and classic Stones on the mark and never quite eclipsed again. Some of the fans just couldn’t contain or restrain themselves given their close proximity to the stage and experiencing the wonder of the Stones in full force. “Little Queenie” is sizzling. The Stones exhibited effortless performances that came naturally to them tonight. “Satisfaction” is riveting and Jagger comments afterwards: “Well, there have been a few hang-ups but generally you’ve been beautiful, you’ve been beautiful”. Little did he know…
Godfatherecords used the same source as “Altamont 1969” The Killer festival [VGP-113] which, in my opinion, was previously the best original silver label issue released to date of this concert. The most recent version of this concert was titled “Altamont Speedway Free Festival” on the TARKL label [TCD-001 1/2] which, according to gsparaco’s CMR review of 2-18-08, “isn’t an upgrade over the Vinyl Gang version of the show that came out more than a decade ago, but this is another opportunity to find this tape”.
G.R. 378/379, however, has reduced some of the tape skips and drop outs in the above Vinyl Gang Product source without sacrificing any of the music in the process. The gain is comparable to VGP-113. Some of the isolated screams have been turned down and the levels of some of the passages have been raised slightly when the taper seemed to be covering his tape machine. My feeling is that G.R. 378/379 has cleaned up and tweaked the existing source admirably.
Kudos to Godfatherecords for releasing, without question, the absolute definitive version of “Gimme Shelter” ever. Their legendary trifold packaging is one piece of gorgeous art form capturing the spirit of this performance and includes an informative insert highlighting detailed background information, with another colorful insert depicting exquisite and colorful graphics and period newspaper clippings. And to top it off, believe it or not, they have included yet a 3rd insert which is a pristine 2-sided poster.
Feast your eyes once again on the astounding, meticulous and brilliant packaging of G.R. 378/379…
27 Comments
Thanks for taking the time to verify the times Rocker…I totally agree I want all the stage and crowd banter to get the full concert experience…time to go watch Gimme Shelter…..
DAC-019 clocks in at 76:53. VGP-113 clocks in at 42:00 + 41:28 minutes. GR 378/379 clocks in at 41:56 + 41:26. I can’t speak for TARKL. I would surmise that both VGP-113 + GR 378/379 clock in at roughly 6 minutes more due to collective extended stage + crowd banter between tracks that, in my opinion, enhance the listening experience.
Thanks Rocker, is the GF release 6 minutes longer than the old VGP, new TARKL version? Is it more complete?? Trying to figure out if it has more music.
GR 378/379 would be the way to go for a number of reasons. It is de-clicked, “lightly” re-mastered, offers the most lavish and complete packaging of any of the previous Gimme Shelter releases by far…
Incidentally and speaking of “Gimme Shelter”, check out the You Tube posting of “Gimme Shelter” from the second and final night of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden (10-30-09) featuring a haunting backing by U2 + Mick Jagger fueled by The Edge and a blistering performance by Fergie to cap it off…
I am trying to decide between the GF and TARKL versions of this show..Any idea why the GF version is 6+ minutes longer than the TARKL version? Is there more music and is it more complete? Does GF fill in the cuts with alternate sources?? I have to agree with Bjarke in that I often find GF to be a little over the top with their remastering at times but if their version is more complete I would probably go for that. Look forward to any opinions
Would just like to add that I finally got this one last week, and although “Brown Sugar” abruptly ends prematurely & there are a couple/few lesser minor issues, I just about mostly agree with everything positive said about this Godfather 2-CD – highly recommended. It does sound somewhat thin sometimes, but other times it actually sounds a little bass-heavy, which I don’t mind significantly, and there’s not really much that’s objectionable about this release – at least not to me. I certainly don’t regret obtaining it, and thus thanks to all who contributed here.
What a fantastic release of this (in) famous concert. The sound quality is passable and you feel like you are in the turbulent crowd, some having a good time while other furustrated with it. The packaging is beyond beleif, the cover photos and inserts taken from the concert make this title go from great to must have. Recomended to all fans of rock and roll
For the record, there is absolutely nothing processed about this new release. What we have here people, is a misplaced case of flip flop; Bjarke making erroneous assertions and then selectively retracting them when he is rightfully called on them. Frankly, they don’t deserve to be dignified with any response. Again, and hopefully for the last time, VGP-113 is the source and it is improved upon without detracting from the latter in any way, shape, or form…
Oh I guess my words were too hard, you are right about that mojopin. I just felt disappointed about the new CD I had just recieved – and that it was a waste of money. It’s not “ruined”. But I DO think it sound too processed, and I prefer the recent torrent, and also VGP – over this godfather. I have no agenda against that label, by the way. I find some of their releases to be quite enjoyable. But for the most; I think they are to heavy on the processing.
I don’t find big differences between the VGP and GR equalization, they are very similar. The main difference is that the new GR version misses many clicks or cuts from the original tape.
I really don’t understand how Bjarke could state that “GR has ruined the recording”, this is completely ridiculous, maybe many of the GR releases sound different on his player cause I have never read a Bjarke’s positive feedback on a GR release here.
DLee, I personally am not a fan of thin sounding recordings across the board and you can quote me on that. I would not, however, categorize this particular release as being thin sounding with respect and contrary to but a few of the above comments. The bass response, for example, fluctuates as the recording develops and actually becomes quite pronounced. I would advise first time listeners to exercise patience and restraint and not expect instant gratification right off the bat as initial impressions can be deceiving. The music, incidentally, is so thrilling and intoxicating. I have reviewed countless “thin” recordings over the years that have left me with listening fatigue and headaches. This is definitely not one of them…
I probably would have ordered this one if it weren’t for all the comments about it being so thin, which is 1 aspect of a recording that I very much tend to dislike. I realize, of course, that just using a graphic equalizer can help a lot oftentimes, but I really don’t like having to mess with such controls, as even just having to adjust the volume control is enough to annoy me. Otherwise, judging from all the other statements, apparently this is another great Godfather release. Thanks for the review & all the subsequent comments.
I have gone back to also compare G.R. 378/379 with DAC-019. The former exhibits more gain, generally speaking, enhanced frequency response, does not feature the completely annoying DJ disrupting the flow of the concert, does include tape hiss which is music to my ears because it sounds less constricted and clocks in at 83:22 compard with 76:53. Oh, did I mention to feast your eyes on the astounding, meticulous and brilliant packaging of G.R. 378/379…
Just listened to this one. Once again, I think Godfather have ruined the recording with their processing. It sounds so unnatural, thin and cold. The previously mentioned torrent from Dave, is the definate source for this show. The 2nd price goes to the old VGP release. The package though, is quite good….as always – for “Godfather Records”
Having read the reviews here I recently acquired this even though I have the DnC Altamont release. My view is the 1st part of DnC’s release is superior to this, but is ruined by the use of a distant French radio broadcast c/w DJ comments to complete the show. On that count Godfather wins though I still feel the sound is rather thin, but I guess
Absolutely correct, LedMan. San Francisco was the original intended venue. I have also been playing these discs. There is something extraordinarily captivating about this “event” that, I believe, transcends time. I’m not sure I can even explain it but my enthusiasm has not waned over the years…
For those interested, Altamont Speedway is located in Alameda county and was/is closer to Oakland than San Francisco.
I have the Vinyl Gang and IMO this new Godfather is an upgrade and considering the issues the taper or tapers had to deal with, a very enjoyable release that has remained in my player for over a week now. Unless a upgraded source surfaces, this is probably as good as it gets. Excellent packaging too!!!
I am really pleased after what I listened – the sound is much more punchier and bright than all previous releases of this show. Albeit its tragical history (Meredith Hunter, R.I.P.) and overall thrilling, dark atmosphere, this is the definitive edition and should be recommedned for anyone, who’d like to explore the history of popular rock music.
This is a new remastering, not a torrented one.
Mr. DH torrented a partial, and then a complete upgrade many months ago via the internet which is extremely likely the source for this release.
It is the improved “mixed” audience source akin to VGP-113 but cleaned up and with lavish packaging. G.R. 378/379 successfully managed to confine itself to tweaking the above good – very good audience source.
In his last comment, Rocket claims this is a MIXED source. Well, is it mixed with the Radio broadcast or is it just the audience source?
Is it a lower generation than the tape VGP used?
I would rate it as a good – very good audience source that is very listenable. The recording quality fluctuates with some passages in excellent quality and others in fair quality as well. Overall, this is the best complete mixed source out there.
Does this audience source is the same known commonly as fair to good tape?
The recording itself is very thin but clear. Compared the the TAKRL release Godfather does sound more lively, enjoyable and is an upgrade over the older versions.
I agree with every word.