Rolling Stones – The Bigger Bang In Germany (SODD-034/35)

The Bigger Bang In Germany (SODD-034/35)

Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany – August 3rd, 2006

Disc 1: Intro., Jumping Jack Flash, It’s Only Rock N Roll, Oh No Not You Again, Let’s Spend The Night Together, Ruby Tuesday, Streets Of Love, Tumbling Dice, Midnight Rambler, Night Time Is The Right Time, band intro., Slipping Away, Miss You, Rough Justice

Disc 2: Start Me Up, Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy For The Devil, Paint It Black, Brown Sugar, You Can’t Always Get What You Want (encore), (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (encore)

This is one excellent stereo audience recording. One can tell from the clear intro…”Jumping Jack Flash” features melodic background singing filling in the harmonies. “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll” is a nice in your face jam that is not stretched out for a change. “Oh No, Not You Again” is aging like a fine wine and becoming a trusted staple. “Let’s Spend The Night Together” has a disappointing piano lead with the background singers forcing the chorus right from the onset. “Ruby Tuesday” really allows us to appreciate the clarity of the cymbals and the audience embraced the effort. “Streets Of Love” was crystal clear offering wonderful instrument separation. This has turned out to be one soulful ballad that even picked up steam as the song progressed tonight. “Tumblin Dice” began with a fast paced introduction and was drawn out in longer fashion. “Midnight Rambler” was slower featuring an intense middle bridge which was paced in a relaxed and measured manner building up to the climactic finish. A nice slow jam with a fired up guitar lead brought this 11:40 minute gem to its close.

The Stones enjoyed playing that one…After “Band Introductions”, Keith’s set began with “Slipping Away” which was a real slow version with him trying to vocally carry it too much and out of key guitar accompaniment to boot. “Before They Make Me Run” had Keith singing in a higher register with a longer spirited offering. “Miss You” was shorter and a close to the vest rendition. “Rough Justice” has become the new Stones anthem of sorts and it kicked in here with blistering high energy. “Start Me Up” served to prove that Charlie just doesn’t let up. “Honky Tonk Women” sounded like the Stones were finishing the song before it really began. The background female vocals complemented Jagger nicely here. “Sympathy For The Devil” took 2:35 minutes before the guitars kicked in. Keith offered rich intermittent guitar leads in this 9:05 minute version. “Paint It Black” sported a melodic guitar intro in usual key. The Stones would be hard-pressed to tank this nugget but Jagger did sound out of breath toward the end as the textured organ breathed more life into it. “Brown Sugar” was a crowd favorite and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” offered crystal clear cymbals and percussion. The 2nd encore, “Satisfaction”, blasted off with a raw fuzzy guitar lead and continued through an 8:00 minute extended jam.

The above concert was also released by the European standby Check This Out! label with 5 bonus tracks: “Gimme Shelter” + “Get Off Of My Cloud” from the Mexico City 2-26-06 performance in very good audience quality and “Angie”, “Paint It Black” + “Satisfaction” from the Munich 7-16-06 concert in excellent audience quality. The SODD release boasts a tremendous stereo audience recording that is simply first rate and a listening treat. The bass is tight and the recording offers excellent separation and crystal clear sound overall compared to the Check This Out! version that is louder, brighter and less defined on the low end. I have found the majority of this labels’ Stones releases to easily rival, if not exceed, the sound quality of all other competing label releases of the same shows. The above LIMITED EDITION SODD release, however, is, without a doubt, the preferred version here and comes highly recommended! (Rawlings)