Welcome To The Voodoo Lounge (Godfather GR 277/278)
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, August 14, 1994
CD 1: Intro, Not Fade Away, Tumbling Dice, You Got Me Rocking, Shattered, Rocks Off, Sparks Will Fly, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Beast Of Burden, Out Of Tears, Wild Horses, All Down The line, Miss You, Can’t Get Next To You, I Go Wild
CD 2: Band Introduction, Honky Tonk Women, Happy, The Worst, Voodoo Lounge Theme, Love Is Strong, Monkey Man, Start Me Up, It’s Only Rock And Roll, Street Fighting Man, Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash. Bonus tracks, Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 25, 1995: It’s All Over Now, Live With Me, Slipping Away. RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., August 1, 1994: Memory Motel, Hot Stuff, Before They Make Me Run
This professionally recorded New Jersey show at Giants Stadium was previously released on silver label issue on Bite The Big Apple (VGP-069), Giants Stadium 1994 (no label), and Sparks Will Fly (KTS 377) which was a single disc title.
The Stones played 4 shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey on 8/12, 8/14, 8/15 and 8/17 in 1994. Mick takes a tasteful turn on harmonica for the opener, “Not Fade Away” on G.R. 277/278. “Tumbling Dice” is given early billing here to follow and it works. “You Got Me Rocking” is a steady as she goes solid version at a jamming pace. Jagger is sharp on vocals with “Shattered” to easily match the steady rhythm beat. “Sparks Will Fly” offers a spirited longer rendition followed by another early infusion of “Satisfaction”.
Jagger laments: “We’re gonna slow things down now cause we know you’re out of breath” leading into “Beast Of Burden” at a measured tempo. Jagger retorts: “We’re gonna do a sadly romantic song” as the band delivers a strong “Out Of Tears” easily surpassing the studio track. A rare offering of “Wild Horses” is delivered with a rich melodic textured piano lead complemented by fine slide guitar. Richards’ harmonization becomes more apparent and audible on this track. “Miss You” is delivered at a slower and more defined pace with the highlight being a screaming horn lead mixed with a guitar lead jam. “Can’t Get Next To You” is played “Al Green Style”.
Ronnie sustains a nice long applause during “Band Introduction”. Charlie is introduced as: The godfather of anti-grunge”. And Mick, interestingly, introduces himself: “Thank you. My name is Mick”. A strong but short country-tinged rendition of “The Worst” is sung by Richards with flowing slide guitar that is smooth on this accomplished gem. The set list is varied with “Love Is Strong”, “Monkey Man”, “Start Me Up”, “It’s Only Rock And Roll” and “Street Fighting Man”. The set closes with an aggressive “Jumping Jack Flash”.
The first 3 bonus tracks from the 2-25-95 (incorrectly labeled 2-25-94) show in South Africa are excellent audience recordings with increased gain and enhanced vibrant audience feedback throughout. The tracks were delivered in a thunderous brisk pace. The other 3 bonus tracks are also excellent audience recordings. These 6 bonus tracks really fill the bill as they are reflective of rarely performed live tracks up to this point.
The Godfatherecords has assembled a fine package here with their usual flare for exquisite and tasteful tri-fold packaging with informative liner notes and compelling graphics. I would not hesitate to recommend G.R. 277/278 in particular as the definitive version of the August 14, 1994 show especially with the inclusion of the 6 bonus tracks in this gorgeous format.
