Rolling Stones – Going Back To 1972 (SODD 054)

 Going Back To 1972 (SODD 054)

Coliseum, Charlotte, NC – July 6, 1972

(67:37):  Bitch (cut in), Rocks Off, Gimme Shelter, Happy, Tumbling Dice, Love In Vain, Sweet Virginia, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, All Down The Line, Midnight Rambler (cut in), band introduction, Bye Bye Johnny, Rip This Joint, Jumping Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man

The Rolling Stones’ Charlotte concert from the 1972 tour has been in circulation since soon after the actual concert. It is a very good and clear audience recording which some argue is the best sounding amateur tape from the entire tour. The first vinyl appearance of this tape can be found on Rehearsal Sessions ‘72 Tour (Contra Band Music 3690-A/B). The first side contains the Rialto Theater rehearsal sessions from Switzerland on May 21, and side two contains “Love In Vain,” “Sweet Virginia,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “All Down The Line” from this concert.

Other vinyl issues of this show include American Tour In L.A. 1972, Live In Detroit (OB81 KYOTO), and Rocks Off In Charlotte (Phoenix Records D357076). Drippin’ Honey (Concert Series 7672) is missing “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” “Rocks Off,” “Gimme Shelter,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “Midnight Rambler,” Bring It Back Alive (Idle Mind Production IMP 1112 1-2) is missing “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” “Love In Vain,” “Midnight Rambler,” and “Street Fighting Man,” and Bring It Back Alive (K&S 003) is missing “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” “Love In Vain,” “Midnight Rambler,” and “Street Fighting Man.”

On compact disc this tape has been released on Back To 1972 (Power Stick Productions), which is missing both “Brown Sugar” and “Bitch,” Bring It Back Alive (VGP 054) which uses “Brown Sugar” from second show of July 25 1972, Going Back To The Roots / Back To 1972 (POW 90152), and Drippin’ Honey (VGP 294) with “Brown Sugar” from the July 25 show and is paired with the July 7 Knoxville show on the second disc. SODD have the wrong date, this is the sixth not seventh The taper missed the opening song “Brown Sugar,” the first half of “Bitch” and the opening verses of “Midnight Rambler.”

However the label does apply their usual mastering job to the tape by boosting the highend making it sound considerably brighter than other versions. Away from the commotion that was the cultural event of the summer, in Charlotte the Stones deliver an amazingly charged, tight, and powerful performance that is perhaps the best show from the entire tour.

The press was enthusiastic and some copy stated that: “But they have changed so much since 1966 that only Jagger and Richards hold the image. When the two step to center stage and crouch close together and begin to scream ‘you can’t always get what you want,’ the undulating mob for fifty feet in front of the stage knows that it got what it needs. ‘Midnight Rambler,’ and a second rendition of ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ were the numbers that glued the minds of at least four thousand people on the floor of the coliseum.

At that point all they could do was move from side to side, clap hands and shake with the music.” Also, “Six youths were arrested during the concert for trespassing, five for disorderly conduct, six for marijuana, and one each for possession of needle and syringe, possession of pyrotechnics, and larceny. According to police reports the larceny arrest occurred when one youth grabbed a police officer’s cap and ran across the coliseum floor with it.”

The taper misses the opening song and comes in halfway through the second song in the set “Bitch.” There is a bit of tape flutter, which soon clears up, and he thankfully captures a blistering Mick Taylor guitar solo at the song’s end. After a quick intro the band rip into “Rocks Off” and with Mick singing “headed for an overloooaaad” it is apparent this will be a special night. The out-of-tune horns do not even sound so offensive.

Jagger whispers the introduction to “Gimme Shelter” and they deliver another classic version of one of their greatest live pieces. “Love In Vain” is introduced as a “blues” and deliver one of the more majestic versions of the piece and following Jagger says, “We’re gonna do an acoustic song for you now. I mean a song played on acoustic instruments.

This is one we wrote especially for you.” “Sweet Virgina” is the lone holdover from the previous tour’s two song acoustic set (“Prodigal Son” and “You Gotta Move”) and is nice break. He continues the mysterious dedications following the song by saying mysteriously “keep cuddling. Cuddle your young loved ones.” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” starts mellow but builds in intensity. Thankfully nine and a half minutes of “Midnight Rambler” are still present on the tape and Charlotte is a particularly violent version before a stunned audience.

Things thankfully lighten up a bit during the band introduction and the fast numbers “Bye Bye Johnny” and “Rip This Joint.” The final song of the evening is “Street Fighting Man” with no encore. At a time when many bands were playing long two hour sets the Stones play just over an hour. This concert is so potent it makes one wish they would play even longer and add more jams to the set.

What would have “Sympathy For The Devil” sounded like? SODD use simple packaging for Going Back To 1972 with a jewel case and a collage of tour photos on the front cover. For fans of the Stones ‘72 tour this is an essential show to have and since it hasn’t been available in a while this is a welcome release. The tape sounds fantastic and the listening experience is very enjoyable.