Pros: Fantastic performances generally, a great selection of songs and a wonderful overall atmosphere.
Cons: Some songs are weaker than the originals, while some are simply too similar.
The Bottom Line: This acoustic collection of some of the Stones' best but little known music may be an unnecessary part of the Stones collection but it should delight fans everywhere.
ilash's Full Review: Stripped by The Rolling Stones
For so inconsequential an album, The Rolling Stones’ five hundred and sixty third (slight exaggeration) live release, Stripped, is astonishingly good. An MTV Unplugged album in everything but name and royalties, Stripped is a Stones live album with a difference: aside for Darryl Jones’ electric bass, almost all of the instrumentation is acoustic. Perhaps fortunately, most of the songs here are blues, country or ballad, genres that are a perfect fit for acoustic arrangements because while that means that there are no major surprise reinterpretations of classic songs, there are absolutely no embarrassments either. It’s also worth noting that for those who are exclusively fans of the Stones’ more rocking side, this album probably won’t be to their tastes because aside for the first two numbers, Stripped is a very laid back affair. Not too laid back, you understand – it engages this fan throughout its hour-long running time but this is no Get Your Ya Ya’s Out.
Of course just because Stripped can’t hope to match Ya Ya’s as far as energy and musicianship goes, it does have that album beat on one count: the setlist here is far more imaginative. We have the live stalwarts Wild Horses, Angie and Street Fighting Man but the rest of the album consists of some choice covers from the likes of Bob Dylan (at last!) and Willie Dixon along with some superb album cuts from their extensive 60s and early 70s catalogue. A bit of Stones Heaven for those of us who are familiar with more than just the hits, I say. And sure, there are a hundred or so live versions of Street Fighting Man out there but this is the only official live release of it that I’m aware of that has the same acoustic arrangement as the original studio recording. It’s also a fantastic (if slightly deceptive) opening for the album as it uses that acoustic guitar to truly rock the house down – in much the same way as the original song did, all those years ago.
Keeping the energy up for a few more minutes is the album’s second track and last rocker, The Rolling Stones’ genuinely enthused take on that genuinely immortal Bob Dylan classic, Like A Rolling Stone. Genuinely. Now, this take is not going to make anyone forget the original but the boys sound like they’re having such a whale of a time that it’s hard not to get caught up in the festivities. Frankly, this song is worth it alone for Jagger’s typically excellent harmonica playing but it’s nice just to hear the band finally tackle a song that they have seemed destined to cover since it came out way back in 1965. It’s hardly the only worthy cover here. Not Fade Away follows and though it does little to improve on their first recorded cover of the song, which incidentally landed up being the band’s first single, it’s a fine, lively take with some more of that classic Jagger harmonica wailing and faultless Charlie Watts beat.
Better yet is yet another haunting take by the boys on Robert Johnson’s Love In Vain. Again, it’s no better than the other versions of it they have released but the distinctive focus on the beautifully restrained guitar plucking courtesy of Messrs. Richards and Wood makes it a worthwhile alternate to the versions already released on Ya Ya’s and Let It Bleed. Best of all though is the Stones’ treatment of another blues song by one of the genre’s great songwriters, Willie Dixon’s Little Baby. It’s a far more joyous upbeat number than Love In Vain and the Stones perform it with the gusto that befits such a number. If you’re a fan of the acoustic blues, as I’ve recently become, I dare you not to fall in love with this song. Mick may never really be able to stand up to the blues greats on a vocal level but his singing here is as impassioned and warm (thankfully, something that he keeps up for most of the album) as it has ever been.
The only place his vocals fall short is on one of the album’s two remaining hits, Angie. While Keith and Woody do another fine job on their guitars, Mick’s singing sounds phoned in, making this version a mere shadow of the original. As for the final big hit, Wild Horses, it suffers only because the original studio version is so perfect that it’s impossible to improve on it. That doesn’t stop them from trying though because this version is every bit as achingly beautiful as the original and its clear that the members of the band are giving it their utmost. Added to that, the purely acoustic guitars give the song a different dynamic to the original. Is it a necessary remake of an undoubtedly classic song? Well, no, it isn’t but I adore it just the same.
In the same category of great-if-ultimately-irrelevant remakes is Let It Bleed, which is likable enough but is basically indistinguishable from the original and perfectly excellent but entirely familiar takes on two of the Stones’ most beloved straight country songs Sweet Virginia and Dead Flowers. On a personal level though, I will always have a place in my heart for this version of the latter simply because it is through this slightly less countrified take that I came to appreciate the original Sticky Fingers version - and by extension all of the Stones’ classic forays into pure country music. Also, not all that necessary but still very slightly better-than-the-original is Keith’s vocal spotlight Slippin’ Away, which is basically identical to the version found on Steel Wheels but without the glossy production and with one of Ronnie’s loveliest (there really is no other word for it) guitar solos ever. On a related note, it’s worth mentioning that while I hate Don Was’ heavy handed production on the latter day Stones albums his work on this live release is remarkably light giving the album a clear but warm sound that is all too often missing from his studio work.
As for the remaining three tracks, one is much worse than the studio original and two are far superior. Shine A Light suffers simply because Ronnie Wood, a great player in his own right cannot hope to match Mick Taylor’s majestic guitar work that elevated this Exile On Main Street album track to the highest echelons in the Stones’ body of work. The band does give it their utmost but without Taylor in their ranks, it was doomed to fail. Pity. On the other hand, two early Stones album (?) tracks, Spider and the Fly and especially I’m Free are much improved here. The former, a relaxed acoustic blues workout, is given a richness that was wholly absent in the original recording, while the latter is improved considerably by having the song’s now more distinctly relaxed yet spirited tone fit its title to a hilt. It’s such an incredible improvement in fact that I’m Free may well be my favourite track here.
All in all, Stripped is one of the least essential Stones purchases yet released but if you consider yourself a Stone fan of any intensity then this album is a must for your collection. While few of the songs are really all that better or different from their studio counterparts, the overall relaxed vibe that runs throughout gives the album a feel distinctive from the rest of the band’s catalogue.
Summary:
Best Song: I’m Free but there are a number of ace songs here.
Worst Song: Angie
Overall: A wholly deserving ****/5.
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