Head To Head
Log In
Register
Unsung Forum »
Very British
Log In to post a reply

Pages: 6 – [ Previous | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ]
Topic View: Flat | Threaded
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 11, 2007, 21:50
Basically, The Who must be shrewd businessmen who have made a living from their reputation for over thirty years. I like their old records, but really...their legend is built on very few records when you break it down.
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 11, 2007, 21:56
Dog 3000 wrote:
And maybe that explains the Clash's "problem" -- they went "new wave" with Sandanista!



They went new wave before that. There wasn't too much punk stuff on the second album. Dunno if that still sounds the case now, but it was a shock at the time. I remember being at a mates house and hearing something off it on the radio and only guessing who it was cos of the vocals.
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 11, 2007, 21:58
zphage wrote:



T.rex were one hit wonders here. I do't think they ever did regular tours here.




Oh yes they did!

To Bolan's cost over here!!
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 11, 2007, 22:04
IanB wrote:


The fact that the Stones sound was abysmal and people felt that they were phoning it in didn't help. Knowing now the state Keef was in it was amazing they played those dates at all.



I wasn't there, and I haven't heard any bootlegs, but I reckon there's a certain amount of revisionism going down re these things, Ian - like the Velvets apparently being rubbish when they reformed even though everyone I know who saw them though they were great. Well all apart from Lou, maybe! ; )

But I'm sure I remember reading about a Stones UK gig in '76 (think it was the one with 10cc on the bill), and the UK press were going on about how great Keef was, that they'd been HIS gigs.
IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Edited Dec 12, 2007, 11:47
Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 06:52
Trust me I was present with decent seats on what was supposed to be one of the better nights of the six they played at Earls Court and they were dreadful. An unpleasant mix of Jagger's exposure to an urban funk soul sound and Keef's heroin problems. Earls Court is no one's idea of a funky venue and heroin is notoriously bad for creative focus (!). Have you heard the Parisian sides of "Love Me Live" that were taped a week or so later? Well it was like that but with even less sonic finesse.

Keef was by all accounts out of his mind on smack through the London run and Jagger couldn't be arsed to remember the words or to sing without slurring songs in his ludicrous mid 70s Motown voice ("da hand of fate izonmenowah. whoa! do da hussle people mumble mumble sha la la la woaah yeah, handafaayte y'all" etc).

Charlie, Ron, Bill and Billy Preston's excellent keyboards held it all together as best they could while the principals pissed about and pissed their live rep up the wall. Ian Stewart sat in as well giving them a two piano assault which helped make up for the major problems in the guitar dept. Tuning being a fairly serious one. The 22 05 bootleg is probably the best of the bunch if you want to check those shows out.

Since then I have heard boots from both 75 and 76 tours and it would seem that the 75 US tour was much much better than Europe 76. That was another reason for British audiences to be pissed off as there had been massive coverage of the US tour inc a squillion page Rolling Stone feature. The level of expectancy was huge.

The Billy Preston solo slot mid-set and the sheer number of tunes from Black & Blue (5) and It's Only Rock & Roll (3 sometimes 4 when they did Fingerprint File as well) did not help.

In their defence the acoustics woked against them. People today would not believe how bad the live sound could be at 70s arena shows and this was especially dreadful. Like setting up an Alba stereo system in the middle of a railway tunnel, turningit up to 11 and then covering it with a duvet. This was not just a Stones problem. Live sound science was in its infancy over here.

I am not sure if Knebworth happened before or after Keef got another "cure" (and he lost a child in the interim which one presumes would have been sobering) but I think you are right that three months later it was a much better received show. I think they had even dispensed with the never-quite-fully-erect inflatible cock prop by then. There's a metaphor for the Stones of 75/76 if ever there was one!

I saw them again in 1990 and it was a different band altogether. really good, brooding psych blues rock. Probably as close as they ever got to the halcyon performances with Mick Taylor in 69-73.
IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 06:54
I would agree. They've been an oldies act since Who's Next. Saw them at Hammy Odeon Xmas 75 and it was a klller show. One of the best. I wish I had seen The Stones in 73 as I am told that was the only thing that came close to The Who at the top of their game.
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 09:41
IanB wrote:


Ian Stewart sat in as well giving them a two piano assault which helped make up for the major problems in the guitar dept. Tuning being a fairly serious one.





Not for the first time! I've not seen it in a long time, but whilst the Hyde Park film was kinda fascinating, I seem to recall tuning issues there, too - esp Satisfaction iirc.
IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 14:55
It wasn't quite *that* bad but certainly they seemed to have trouble getting both guitars to stay in tune at the same time. Hyde Park is just painful. The 22/05/06 Earls Court bootleg is well worth seeking out for the piano playing alone. It has been available on Torrent sites in various guises. I think it is called something like "Down At The Court".
Dog 3000
Dog 3000
4611 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 17:58
I've always thought "Rope" was sposed to be too "metal" -- sounds like Blue Oyster Cult so they say!
zphage
zphage
3378 posts

Re: Very British
Dec 12, 2007, 18:23
Actually it was rumoured that the Clash were to remastered/ remix "rope'
ala Iggy did with 'Raw Power:" Strip away Pearlman's muddy production.
But nothing has happened.
Pages: 6 – [ Previous | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ] Add a reply to this topic

Unsung Forum Index