Rolling Stones - Still Life (1982) + Still Life Revamped EXS-1981-03 (1982)

 (U.S 1962 - Present)

One of the great tours of the first half of the 1980s was undoubtedly the one that the Rolling Stones performed in promotion to their latest studio work: "Tattoo You", released on August 24.1981 The album's release was preceded by the single "Start Me Up / No Use In Crying" on August 14. Single that quickly climbed to the charts reaching number 2 in the United States and Canada.

Between June 30 and July 2, 1981: The Rolling Stones shoot straight studio-performance video clips in New York City for "Start Me Up", "Hang Fire" and "Worried About You". "Neighbors" at the Taft Hotel in New York City and . "Waiting on a Friend" on the streets of Greenwich

After promoter Bill Graham and Keith Richards convinced Mick Jagger of the need to embark on a new world tour, the band met at Long View Farm, North Brookfield, Massachusetts, from August 14 to September 25 to rehearse. But before starting rehearsals Mick and Keith hold a meeting to discuss the tour and tell Ron Wood he will have to curb his cocaine habit if he wants to join them.

August 26, 1981: Mick Jagger holds a press conference at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, announcing the Rolling Stones' 1981 Tattoo You U.S. Tour. Worcester on September 14 in front of 11,000 fans, the tour began in Philadelphia on September 25 at the JFK Stadium, with all tickets sold out, with 181,564 spectators. The tour grossed $50 million in ticket sales when the average ticket price was $16. The Stones were estimated to have reaped about $22 million after expenses. Roughly three million attended the concerts, but unfortunately, this was the Stones' last tour of the United States until 1989.

October 15, 1981: A fan dies at a Stones concert in Seattle after falling 50 feet off a railing. The New Jersey concerts are filmed by director Hal Ashby for the indoor show portion of the film Let's Spend the Night Together. December 13perform at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe (Pheonix), Arizona, where the outdoor part of the film Let's Spend the Night Together is shot. Next day,Kansas City, ick Taylor joins in on the first night and stays through the whole set. The Rolling Stones end the 1981 Tattoo You U.S. Tour with two arena concerts in Hampton, Virginia, with the first concert (on Keith Richards' 38th birthday) telecast across the country on pay-per-view TV. During the show, Keith swings his guitar at a fan rushing the stage during Satisfaction.

February 1982: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards join director Hal Ashby in Los Angeles to start work on the concert film "Let's Spend the Night Together" and on the soundtrack for the film at the Power Station in New York City: a double lp. Ordered Bob Clearmountain and David Hewitt to mix a live album. Mixtures that were made at the Record Plant studios in New York, with the idea that the album coincided with the start of the European tour on June 2, 1982 in Rotterdam.

The original project was to be a double album, where three of its sides were recorded live during this successful American tour and the last one would feature some tracks from Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge with Muddy Waters, the night of November 22,1981. [extract from albums forgotten reconstructed]

Still Life - The Album

The aural equivalent of a Stones t-shirt? Maybe, but this short single-disc live outing, recorded during the band’s 1981 American tour, was released in time for the European leg when the Stones were enjoying a second life in popularity, touring the now canonised 'Tattoo You'.

Still Life sashays exuberantly through the decades, opening with a scintillating ‘Under My Thumb‘, then moving onto Stones staples like ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ and a blistering ‘Shattered’ where the weaving guitars of Ron and Keith are at their brilliant best, as Charlie effortlessly keeps it all together, and pre-departure Bill Wyman is faultless as always on bass – although Bobby Keys, still on the outer with Mick, is sadly absent.

The rhythm section and band interplay is exemplary. A concert movie was also released to accompany the album and Mick’s banter after the opener is priceless:

“Welcome to everyone watching on TV, hoping everyone’s having a good time, sinking a few beers, smoking a few joints…alright!”

They don’t make them like this anymore. The album is heavy on covers: ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ and ‘Going to a Go-Go’, both blues classics, are all garish mannerisms from Mick as he runs from one side of the stage to the other in his spray on tights as Ron and Keith smile and nod at each other with their perennial cigarettes.

There’s occasional vocals from Keith where it sounds like “Return of the Living Dead the Musical”, before they launch into a pacey ska version of Emotional Rescue’s ‘Let Me Go’. It’s delivered at break-neck speed, before Keith unleashes the trippy tones of his MXR Phase 100, a signature sound for this era, for the marvellous ‘Time Is On My Side’. Keith’s guitar treatments are subtle and as always sublime and his plaintive riff ringing out across the crowd is even more bittersweet.

We have room for another cover, Some Girls‘ Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me), a show stopper as Mick, Keith, and Ronnie sing together at the mic – a fine middle-era Stones moment. Then the high octane ‘Start Me Up’ and a super-fast ‘Satisfaction’ are exhausting just listening to them as they close out the album all too soon.

It does finish rather abruptly. I was having a lot of fun but it was brought to a sudden close and the outro ‘Star Spangled Banner’ (the Jimi Hendrix recording) chimes in as the Stones depart stage left.

Despite the album seemingly truncated, super-ultra-brief and probably released as a cash grab as a tour promo, it’s an amazingly enjoyable short burst of Stones live frivolity bringing back some great summer memories.

While it doesn’t document the overall performance of the ’81 shows, it is representative of who the Rolling Stones were at the time: a great live rock ‘n roll band. The album cover, a painting by Japanese artist Kazuhide Yamazaki whose work inspired the tour’s extravagant stage design, is very much of its time [extract from thepressmusicreviews.wordpress.com].

Rolling Stones - JFK Stadium 1981

Bonus - Still Life Revamped EXS-1981-03 (1982)

The Rolling Stones "Still Life" live album highlights eclectic songs from their 1981 tour of America. Leftover tracks were put together as official radio concerts for the "King Biscuit Flower Hour" and "Super Groups In Concert"

"Still Life Revamped" intertwines all of the radio broadcasted songs in to the "Still Life" album or includes them as bonus tracks with official interviews (see stonesworldcollection.blogspot)

The interviews from disc 2 were apparently done in 1982 since they included the Still Life album and the Let's Spend the Night Together movie. Some of what was said by Keith and others places the interviews in 1982.

Apparently the interviews on disc 2 were made for a radio broadcast sent to radio stations on LPs (see images below) and then later used in "The Complete History of the Rolling Stones" radio specials.

The interviews on CD 1 came from "Supergroups in Concert" radio broadcasts of the 1981 tour (see above). Many of the same musical performances were included in the King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcasts but KBFH didn't include the interviews from disc 1.

This post consists of 2 RIPS, all in FLAC format. The first, the official release of Still Life was taken from my Vinyl which I purchased back in 1982. As usual I am including full album artwork for both LP and CD releases, along with label scans.  Although I enjoy this live set, it was far too short in my opinion and my preference has always been to play their double album Love You Live when I'm in the mood to hear some live Stones.

Because this live album has no real track separation and most tracks simply run into one another, I am providing an alternative rip for your pleasure that has no track breaks (ie. Side 1 & 2 only).

The second rip is an extended bootleg release of Still Life which was sourced from the Stones forum "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" thanks to 'Exilestones'. This double CD set includes additional tracks and interviews sourced from various radio shows, also ripped from vinyl. Full CD artwork (including booklet) and vinyl label scans are also included.

Still Life Track Listing

01 - Intro (Take the A Train)

02 - Under My Thumb

03 - Let’s Spend the Night Together

04 - Shattered

05 - Twenty Flight Rock

06 - Going to a Go-Go

07 - Let Me Go

08 - Time is On My Side

09 - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)

10 - Start Me Up

11 - Satisfaction

12 - Outro (Star Spangled Banner)

Still Life Link (242Mb) 

New Link 06/09/2023

Still Life - No Track Separation (242Mb)

Still Life Revamped Track Listing

101 - Take The A Train (Intro)

102 - Under My Thumb

103 - Let's Spendf The Night Together

104 - Shattered

105 - Twenty Flight Rock

106 - Going To A Go Go

107 - Let me In

108 - Time Is On My Side

109 - Beast Of Burden

110 - Waiting For Friend

111 - Let It Bleed

112 - Just My Imagination

113 - Miss You

114 - Start Me Up

115 - Satisfaction

116 - Star Spangled Banner (Outro)

117 - Jumping Jack Flash

118 - Interviews Part 01

201 - Still Life Interview

202 - Under My Thumb

203 - Let's Spend The Night Together

204 - Shattered

205 - Black Limousine

206 - Twenty Flight Rock

207 - Going To A Go Go

208 - Time Is On My Side

209 - You Can't Always Get What You Want

210 - She's So Cold

211 - Hang Fire

212 - Brown Sugar

213 - Start Me Up

214 - Satisfaction

Still Life Revamped Link (1.19G)