The Rolling Stones

Shine a Light (2008)

 

  1.Jumpin' Jack Flash
  2.Shattered
  3.She Was Hot
  4.All Down the Line
  5.Loving Cup
  6.As Tears Go By
  7.Some Girls
  8.Just My Imagination
  9.Faraway Eyes
 10.Champagne and Reefer
 11.Band Introductions
 12.You Got the Silver
 13.Connection
 14.Sympathy for the Devil
 15.Live With Me
 16.Start Me Up
 17.Brown Sugar
  

  

If you take a step back and survey the last twenty years of the Rolling Stones’ career, one thing becomes abundantly clear: few artists have documented their live performances with such relentless thoroughness. Between CDs, DVDs, theatrical releases, and deluxe packages, the sheer volume is staggering. And yet, somehow, it never seems repetitive. That’s because the band, to their credit, refuses to rest on routine. Each tour is treated as a new canvas—setlists change, stage designs evolve, surprise guests appear, and the shows never quite feel like a repeat of the last one.

For their A Bigger Bang tour, they went one step further and invited none other than Martin Scorsese to direct the affair. The result was Shine a Light, a high-profile film shot at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Now, to be fair, I’ve never seen the movie. I’ll take everyone else’s word for it that it’s a spectacular visual experience. What I can speak to is the live album that accompanied it—and it’s yet another reminder that this band remains one of the best live acts in history.

The main album itself is a tight, lean performance with just enough curveballs in the setlist to make things interesting. We’re spared the usual run-through of the obvious crowd-pleasers, and several of the tracks here had never been released in a live format before. The performances are as tight as ever, and even after all these years, the energy is unmistakably real. All you really need to do is glance at the track list and know that, yes, it sounds as good as you hope it would.

But there’s more—much more, if you’re willing to go the extra mile. A special edition double CD includes the full show, and it’s here that the release becomes essential. In addition to what’s on the standard album, this expanded version adds Tumbling Dice, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Paint It Black, Little T&A, I’m Free, and of course, the title track Shine a Light. And frankly, it’s worth the few extra dollars just for those additions alone.

What you’re left with is not just another live album, but a document—one more carefully preserved artifact of a band that refuses to age gracefully, and are all the better for it. Not essential in the strictest sense, but thoroughly rewarding nonetheless.

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