The Rolling Stones

Sticky Fingers Live (2015)

 


  1. Sway
  2. Dead Flowers
  3. Wild Horses
  4. Sister Morphine
  5. You Gotta Move
  6. Bitch
  7. Can't You Hear Me Knocking?
  8. I Got the Blues
  9. Moonlight Mile
  10.Brown Sugar
  

  

This one came out of left field. At first glance, Sticky Fingers – Live appeared to be nothing more than a repackaging job—perhaps an offshoot of the deluxe edition that had surfaced earlier in the year. That release had included a second disc of live material, so it seemed entirely plausible that this was merely that same content dressed in new clothes for the streaming age.

But as it turns out, not quite. This recording is a standalone performance, apparently captured around the time of the reissue, and designed to promote it. A clever move, really. What’s even more admirable is that the band—clearly aware of how flat a track-by-track rehash of the original album could sound in a live setting—chose not to follow the album’s running order. Instead, the songs are shuffled around to create a more dynamic, unpredictable concert flow. It’s a small detail, but a meaningful one, and it gives the show a sense of freshness that most “album-playthrough” sets tend to lack.

Now, full disclosure: Sticky Fingers has never been among my favourite Stones albums. Most fans place it high in their rankings—top five, easily—but I’ve always found it a bit too woozy, too drenched in post-party haze to truly connect with. That said, the material here is delivered with enough energy and precision to make even the more sluggish tracks feel sharper. There are moments—several, in fact—where the band sounds as good as ever. And it’s especially gratifying to hear a few cuts that had never made it into the live rotation before.

Will I be returning to it often? Probably not. The Stones’ catalogue of live recordings is already so vast that there’s little room left for anything but the best of the best. But as a document, and as a complement to the reissue campaign, it’s perfectly respectable. And while we’re on the subject, how about doing the same treatment for Exile on Main St.? Now that would be something worth queueing up for.

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