The Wayback Machine: Rare Rolling Stones vinyl reviewed (Earl's Court 5/22/76)

Liver' II #127 of 300

[Review by Bill Glahn]

Rolling Stones: Liver’ II (Southern Records TRS-01)

Venue: Earl’s Court, London, UK 5/22/76

Sound: Although Southern Records used quality sources for all 3 of their releases, this is the cream, an excellent stereo soundboard with enough audience picked up by the stage mics to give it a room ambience not found on so many soundboard recordings. Great instrument separation and zero tape hiss or warble. An online Stones database (dbboots) lists this record as “excellent audience recording.” They are wrong. A soundboard/audience mix of this show is available in far lesser quality on YouTube (listed as soundboard). I’ll post it at the end. You be the judge. I’m betting dbboots was making assumptions and only had a picture of the cover and a tape to go by. It’s that rare.

Cover: Plain white jacket with numbered sticker on front and insert in back. 300 #d copies. The insert lists “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The record labels don’t. The labels are correct. The song was played, but it doesn’t appear. 

Tracklist: (side a) If You Can’t Rock Me/ Get Off My Cloud/ Hand Of Fate/ Hey Negrita/ Ain’t Too Proud To Beg (side b) Fool To Cry/ Hot Stuff/ Star Star/ You Gotta Move (side c) Happy/ Tumbling Dice/ Nothin’ From Nothin’/ Outta Space (side d) Midnight Rambler/ It’s Only Rock & Roll/ Brown Sugar

Comments: In 1989, as the CD era was advancing at lightning speed, Southern Records released a series of 3 vinyl double LPs in celebration of 20 years of rock bootlegs on vinyl started by those “white cover folks” in 1969. Prior to establishing label names, such as Trademark of Quality, The Amazing Kornyphone Record Label, Rubber Dubber, Contraband Music and Wizardo, those early bootlegs appeared with such labels as Lurch (Rolling Stones), Blimp (Led Zeppelin), or just plain white labels (Dylan, Great White Wonder, the first appeared this way before utilizing Rocolian Records and finally Trademark of Quality). Like those earliest labels, Southern Records wasn’t heard of before, and hasn’t been heard of since. They used previously unbooted concerts and titled them as 2nd and 3rd editions of the earliest bootleg vinyl. With a limited production run, they have become some of the most sought after bootlegs from the late vinyl period.

While Liver’ II is missing the first song of the set (Honky Tonk Woman) one song from the middle of the set (Can’t Always Get…) and the three encores (Jumping Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, and Sympathy For The Devil), as a two LP set it’s packed with the bulk of the show and a hot performance. It’s definitely worth having. Billy Preston shines with some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll piano riffs since Johnnie Johnson was pounding the ivories for Chuck Berry. Preston also gets his own spotlight for two numbers with the Stones performing as his backup group. 

Ron Wood also puts in some stellar performances, recalling his days with The Faces and putting to rest suggestions that the Stones were finished the moment Mick Taylor left the group. I may prefer the Taylor-era line-up, but Wood shows a bit more versatility here. I’ll admit that “You Gotta Move” is marginal at best, but he burns the frets on rockers like “Starfucker (Star Star)” and “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll.” 

Mick Jagger also gives an exemplary performance, void of his usual “out-of-breath” vocalisms – the result of too much prancing and showboating on stage. The lone exception is on “Midnight Rambler,” most likely the result of his “Peter Pan” bit while the band was pounding out “Outta Space” on the previous tune. The band sounds unusually out of sync at the beginning of “Rambler” as well after performing Preston’s funky instrumental. They recover, but this version will not make you forget the explosive version from Get Your Leeds Lungs Out (Leeds, UK 1971).

Charlie Watts is Charlie Watts and his drums are highly defined in the mix, as are his rhythm partners, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman.

Despite it’s incompleteness (there’s only so much you can stick on two slabs of vinyl), I’ve got to give this album a solid thumbs up. If you can find it.

Grade: A

Bonus: YouTube “soundboard” of the show. Honky Tonk Women is cut (the reason for its omission?) and the encores are from an audience source.