Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/Dr. Doyle/Rolling Stones/beat.txt

Text File | 1994-10-23 | 28KB | 502 lines

THE ROLLING STONES - BEAT BY BEAT

Mick Jagger had first ruo ioto Keith Richards when both were at school in
Dartford, Kent. The legend has them then bumping into each other on the
platform at Dartford railway station, where Keith notices a blues album under
Mick's arm. A bond is struck immediately and the pair go on to form a band
with a variety of personnel, who eventually include a boogie woogie pianoist
called Ian Stewart and a gifted blonde blues guitarist from Cheltenham called
Brian Jones (although at the time he is calling himself Elmo Lewis for added
authenticity).

1962
The Stones are just three of a growing circle of musicians who were devoted to
the music of American artists like Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and
Elmae James. They perform these artists' songs with an almost missionary zeal
to further the RB cause, as well as earn enough money to stay alive. For some
months, the impoverished early Stones live in squalor io London's Edith Grove.
They beg gigs from older, jazz-tinged luminaries like Chris Barber, Cyril
Davies and Alexis Korner, yet such is the Stones' raw enery and rapid
development, they soon leave behind the somewhat purist and divided world of
the jazz and blues establishment.

In July, the Stones take their name from a Muddy Waters song called Rollin'
Stone Blues'' and make their live debut at London's Marquee Club (minus Bill
and Charlie). They sart playing pubs and clubs around the city and suburbs.
Bill Wyman joins late in the year - the popular story being that he was asked
because he had his own amplifier!

1963

In January, Charlie Watts joins the Stones and plays his first gigs. roe band
ggs constantly with residencies at venues like Ealing Jaz Club, Ken Colyer's
Studio 51 and Eel Pie Island in Twickeram Audiences often consist of fellow
budding blues mus.icians lille Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.
Their weekly steamy nights at the Crawdaddy at Richmond's Station Hotel result
in ecstatic press reviews, and in April a sharp young mover called Andrew Loog
Oldham catches the Stones at the Crawdaddy and signs them to his management
company the next day.  He starts the "Would you let your daughter marry a
Rolling Stone" press campaign which endears the group to hordes of youngsters
who find the Beatles a tad cute. The shockwaves are still being felt today.

In May, the Stones are signed to Decca Records by an AR man infamous for
turning down the Beatles. A month later "Come On," the first Rolling Stones
single, is released. An older generation recoils in horror as the group
perform the song on top pop TV show Thank Your Lucky Stars. The song - an
obscure Chuck Berry cover - climbs to number 21 in the UK charts. The second
single, "I Wanna Be Your Man," is given to the group by John Lennon and Paul
McCartney after they run into the Stones in the street. They finish writing it
on the spot. That reaches number 12. Live gigs are already attracting hordes
of screaming teenage girls who drovn out the band.

1964

The group start the year on their first major package tour supporing America's
Ronettes, the girl group produced by Phil Spector. In January, 7he Rollirlg
St4res EP - four covers of current US rock'n'soul classics - appears. In
February, tbey lease a third single, a version of Bo Diddley's "Not Fade
Away," which features Phil Spector on maracas.

By now the Stones are becoming a ferocious RB machine. They ditch the stage
uniforms, grow their hair longer and inspire a legion of lookalikes. No group
in history has sparked such horror in the older generation.  "Not Fade Away"
becomes the Stones ' first Top 10 entry, hitting Number Three. The first album
immediately sparks controversy by being untitled and featuring no writing on
the cover. It reaches Number One. The record mainly consists of raw, feisty
covers by heroes like Chuck Berry and Willie Dixion. It also features the
first bona fide Jagger/Richards composition, "Tell Me," which was written
after Andrew Oldham locked them in his kitchen with the brief to write some
songs. In April there's teen mayhem when they play the NME Pollwinners' Concert
at Wembley.

In June, the band's cover of the Valentinos' "It's All Over Now" becomes the
Stonse' first Number One and gold record. It was recorded at Chicago's legendar
y
Chess studios - home of Muddy Waters and other Stones heroes - during the
group's first visit to the States that month. The Stones go on to predate the
dance music explosion by 25 years and headline their fan club's All Night Rave
at London Alexandra Palace, which also features John Lee Hooker and winds up at
6:30 in the morning.

In August, more Chess material appears on the Five Five EP and November sees
off an eventful year with another chart-topper - a cover of Willie Dixon's
"Little Red Rooster."

1965
The momentum continues - as does the band's superhuman schedule - with a
second chart-topping album, Rolling Stones Number 2. In February, the single
"The Last Time" (the first A side to be written by Mick and Keith) also hits
number one.

In March, a discreet pee behind an East London guage wall blows up into the
infamous gas station incident. Despite the fact the Press would distort any
tidbit to make the Stones look bad, the band's reputation is only enhanced.

In August "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" sweeps the world and becomes one of
the biggest Stones anthems ever.  Keith says he woke up in the middle of the
night in a motel room with that riff in his head and had to whack it down
there and then. The following month sees the Got Live If You Want It EP - a
noisy record of the live show recorded over the first three days of the March
UK tour. The Out Of Our Heads album, recorded between US dates and featuring a
bunch of Jagger/Richards gems, is released in July. The chart topping "Get Off
My Cloud" puts the cap on another action-packed year.

1966 February sees the single "19th Nervous Breakdown, followed by the
ground-breaking, chart-vaulting Aftermath, where the Stones start to
experirnent with different insuments and 11 minute tracks. Every song is
written by Mick and Keith. In May, the expansion of the Stones' sound
continues on the Nurnber One "Paint It Black" single, where Brian's sitar
rides the purmnelling beat. September's "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby,
Standing In The Shadows?" single sees the group's first dabblings with full-on
psychedelia. October sees the group's last UK tour for three years (with Ike &
Tina Turner supporting).

1967
The Between The Buttons album sees a further flowering of the psychedelically
inclined studio experimentation expanding the Stones' current whimsical
English pop music. In February, Mick and Keith are arrested when Keith's
Redlands home is raided by the police and thus starts the run of high-profile
court appearances which divides the nation's generations and are widely
believed to be part of some greater conspiracy to silence the unbelievably
powerful Stones. But despite all the charges hurled against Jagger, Richards
and Jones, no Stone went to jail for any extended period.

After the bust the Stones tour Europe, to literally riotous response in many
cases, and headline the massively popular Sunday Night At The London Palladium
TV show, where they perform the already-controversial "Let's Spend The Night
Together" single and its genteel nip "Ruby Tuesday." They spark further
outrage by refusing to ride on the silly roundabout at the end of the show.

In August, the hastily assembled "We Love You" single is released to thank the
public for their support during the Jagger/Richards trials. Lennon and
McCartney pop up on backing vocals while Mick and girlfriend Marianne Faithfil
return the favor by joining in with The Beatles "All You Need Is Love" for the
"Our World" simultaneous satellite TV broadcast In December, the
highly-experimental Their Satanic Majesties Request album baffles many with
its extended psychedelic explorations, but still hits the top three. Much
mention is focused on its three-dimensional sleeve.

1968
In May, the Stones make a surprise appearance at the end of the NME
Pollwinners' Concert. It is immediately obvious tbat the group have returned
to their blues roots as they tear into the new "Jumpin' Jack Flash" single and
"Satisfaction." After the uncertainty of the previous year the Stones are back
to claim their crown as Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band In The World. "Jumpin' Jack
Flash" is released later that month and polevaults to the top. The Beggars
Banquet album is supposed to follow in August, but Decca objects to the
Stones' graffiti.plattered toilet wall sleeve and it finally emerges in a
plain white cover in December. The album launch party ends up with the Stones
hurling custard pies in the faces of Decca executives. The album itself shows
a new maturity and bluesy raunch, as well as the dark and dangerous image
epitomized by "Sympathy For The Devil." The album's produced by Jimmy Miller,
who went on to do the next five, and in the 90's, worked with Primal Scream.

1969

After a neting with other band members, Brian leaves the Stones on June 8,
saying he wants to forn a new group. A few days later the Stones hold a photo
call in London's Hyde Park to introduce their new guitaris Mick Taylor, who
was formerly in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He will make his live debut with
the Stones at a free concert to be held in the park on July 5 and plays on the
upcoming single, "Honky Tonk Women"/"You Can't Always Get What You Want."

On July 3, Brian Jones is found dead in his swimming pool in Sussex. The Hyde
Park gig becomes a memorial for Brian and the group unveil their new songs. The
classic bar room raunch of "Honky Tonk Women" is unleashed a week later and
shoots to Number One.

The chart-topping Let It Be album is released in Decernber and turns out to
be another feast of apocalyptic blues ("Gimme Shelter"), salacious melodrama
("Midnight Rambler") and more tales from the darkside. The Stones embark on
their first US tour since 1966 and, in the new climate of audienes who sit and
listen, find the new live power and sense of occasion which remains with them
to this day. The US tour climaxes in December with the tragic Altamont
Speedway concert.

1970
Two years after it was filmed, Mick Jagger's movie debut in Nic Roeg and
Donald Cammell' s Performace finally gets released. Jagger plays reclusive
rock star Turner. It's accompanied by a soundtrack to which Mick contributed
"Memo from Turner."

In September, a live album of tbe previous year's Madison Square Garden show Ne
w
York, Get Yer Y-Ys Out, hits Number One It's initially designed as an official
alternative to the Stones bootlegs starting to appear. The '69 tour also
results io the Gimme Shelter movie.

1971
The Stones, whose contract with Decca has expired, launch their Rolling Stones
Records imprint with the mighty double header of "Brown Sugar" and "Bitch,"
whicb continue to push the barriers and court controversy with their Lyrics.
The band undertake a farewell tour of the UK as they prepare to go into tax
exile in the South Of France. In April the mothership album, Sticky Fingers,
appears with a sleeve designed by Andy Warhol which depicts a mystery groin
complete with adjustabe zipper! While the rock n'roll is sleazier than ever, a
beautifilly damaged haze hangs over tracks like Sister Morphine" and "Wild
Horses," which features the country influence of Keith's new mate Gram Parsons
from the Flying Burrito Brothers.

1972
In April the Top Five "Tumbling Dice" is the first single to trailer the
upcoming double album Exile On Mainstreet, recorded in the basement of Keith's
house in the South of France. The album is derided at the time for sprawling
self-indulgence but Keith is always glad to point out that it is now held up
among the band's most enduring work.

The Stones tour the States - described by organizer Pete Rudge as "not like a
rock'n'roll tour, more like the Normandy landing." It sees the group seting a
standard of the grand spectacle required for stadium gigs.

1973
In August, the ballastic "Angie" trailers the more melodic Goats Head
Soup album, recorded in Jamaica and stirring it up with the controversial
"Starfucker" finale. Another Top Five occupant. The tour hits Europe including
a spectacular stretch at Wembley Arena

1974
July's top ten single, "It's Only Rock'N'Roll," started life in Ronnie Wood's
South London home studio with David Bowie on backing vocals and The Faces'
Kenny Jones on drums. The roughhouse rock feel is continued on the album of
the same name, although the highlight could be considered the haunting ballad,
"Time Waits For No One."

The Stones/Wood connection becomes closer when Keith appears on most of
Ronnie's first solo album, I've Got My Own Album To Do, and both Mick Taylor
and Jagger guest. Keith appears with Ronnie at his Kilburn State gig in July.
In December Mick Taylor quits to pursue a solo career.

1975
After much speculation and a string of recording sessions-cum-auditions in
Munich which evenally give birth to the Black and Blue album, the Stones
announce Mick Taylor's replacement - Ronnie Wood! (Candidaes who didn't get
past the jamming phase include jeff Beck, Peter Frampton and Rory Gallagher).
Ronnie has already taken leave from The Faces to tour with the Stones and
Keith admits he nearly asked him to join back when Brian left.

1976
Black and Blue is released in April and features those guest spots from
guitarists Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins and the successful Mr. Wood. "Fool to
Cry" is the single and makes the Top 10. That summer, the group tour and
appear straddling an unfolding lotus stage complete with giant inflatable
penis and Tarzan rope for Mick.

1977
In February, Keith and Anita Pallenber are busted in Toronto, where the Stones
are playing some low-key club dates to record for an upcoming live album
October's Love You Liive double album features songs from the previous tour
and a side from the Toronto gigs at the El Mocambo club.

1978
Tbe dance music-influenced "Miss You" (one of the early 12 inch singles) hits
the Number One spot in the USA. Tbe Some Girls LP follows. It was originally
called Some More Fast Numbers and some say the charged energy level is
influenoed by tbe recent punk rock explosion. In fact, the next single,
"Respectable," shows the group commenting on their new status as "pillars of
society" - before slamming into brief acquaintace Margaret Trudeau, the
Stones-slumming wife of the Canadian Prime Minister.

The Stones tour America to wildly enthusiilstic audiences and equally ecstatic
reviews. All stage props have been stripped back to allow room for tbe new
energy coursing through the group with a totally integrated Ronnie Wood and
fully-cylindered Keith Richards.

1979
Ronnie releases a third solo album, Gimme Some Neck which again features Keith
and Mick. In April the Stones join together to support Keith doing a set for
the Benefit Concert for the blind which honors the Toronto court's sentencing
commitment. Keith then joins Ronnie for the New Barbarians tour. The Barbs
appear at the Knebworth Festival supporting Led Zeppelin.

1980
In June a new single, the reggae and disco-tinged "Emotional Rescue," trailers
the album of the same name and hits the Top 10.

1981
August sees "Start Me Up" motor into the Top 10 as a slashing kickstart
traiier for tbe upcoming album, Tattoo You which also includes the warm
follow-up single, "Waiting On A Friend."  The Stones undertake the first of
perodic mega-tours which sees them astride a colossal stadium stage complete
with hydraulic platforms and huge avant garde paintings.

1982
The Stones tour hits Europe, including several nights at London's Wembley
Stadium. In June, the Stones release Still Life, a live album drawn from the
'81 American gigs along with the group's cover of "Going To A Go Go."

1983
It's August and in typical Stones fashion, an agreement is reached and signed
at 3:00 AM in Paris' Ritz Hotel by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and CBS head
Walter Yetnikoff. The deal is reportedly worth 28 million dollars and call for
The Stones to deliver four studio albums.

In October, the "Undercover of The Night" single is unveiled with the theme of
South American political unrest dominating an epic video directed by Julien
Temple. Mick's execution scene stirs some controversy while Keith sports a
skull mask and a gun. The single .reached the Top 10, while the album with its
peel-the-stickers-off-the-stripper sleeve follows.

1984
Big Brother is Watching

1985
In February, the Stones are in Paris recording Dirty Work at Pathe-Marconi
Studio.  Mick Jagger releases his first solo album, She's The Boss. In June he
duets with David Bowie on the specially recorded version of "Dancing In The
Street" for Live Aid. Mick also appears at the all-day event in Philadelphia,
singing a saucy duet with Tina Turner in which he whips off her skirt. It's
his first ever live solo set performed in front of 1.5 billion viewers. Later
that day, Keith and Ronnie flank Bob Dylan for an acoustic set to close the
show at JFK Stadium. Three months later, Keith and Ronnie repeat their
acoustic double act, backing Bono for a version of "Silver And Gold," which
appears on the Artists United Against Apartheid LP.

Later that year the Stones begin work on a new album.  Near the end of the
sessions - which the group later admit were not their most harmonious - their
road manager, soul brother and "Sixth Stone" Ian Stewart dies of a massive
heart attack in London at the age of 47. Ian had been with the group since the
start and still played piano on stage.  "We all felt the glue had come
unstuck," says a grieving Keith.

1986
"Harlem Shuffle" - a cover of Bob Earl's 1964 hit featuring soul 1egend Bobby
Womack on backing vocals - is released in March and hits the Top 20. The Dirty
Work album follows and is dedicated to Ian Stewart. It closes with one of
Keith's most moving ballads, "Sleep Tonight." Again there is no tour although
Charlie takes the big band across the States later that year and repeats the
exercise during lulls in the Stones' schedule from then on.

1987
Keith records his first solo album for Virgin Records at Monteal's Le Studio.
Taylor Hackford's Chuck Berry tribute, Hail! Hail! Rock'N'Roll, opens in
October. Keith is the musical director of the movie, which features
performances by Chuck Lerry, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Julian Lennon, Robert
Cray and Richards himself.

1988
Mick releases his second solo album, Pimitive Cool, and enjoys a hugely
successful tour of Japan and Australia. In September, Keith's debut album
Talk Is Cheap is released. He follows this with a three-week sold-out tour of
the U.S.  with his back-up band, the X-Pensive Winos. "Take It So Hard" is the
first single and video released.

On October 16th, Keith, whose house in Jamaica suffered hurricane damage,
guests at "Snile Jamaica" hurricane relief benefit concert at Donimion
Theater, London. He plays two songs with U2: "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love
Comes To Town."

1989

At the start of the year, the Rolling Stones are inducted into the Rock'N'Roll
Hall Of Fame. Mick, Keith, Ron and Mick Taylor are present at the ceremony
held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.. The absence of Wyman and presence of
Taylor sparks rumors that the Stooes will tour with Taylor replacing Wyman,
and Ron Wood will move to the bass. Pete Townshend helps induct the Stones,
telling themn in his speech, "Guys, whatever you do, don't try to grow old
gracefully. It wouldn't suit you" Mick replies in his own speech: "After a
lifetime of bad behavior, it's slightly ironic that tonight you see us on our
best behavior." Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and Mick Taylor join the now- expected
all-star jam session, during which Mick duets with Tina Turner on "Hooky Tonk
Women," and with Little Richard on "Can't Turn You Loose" and "Bony Morome."
He then brings down the house with "Start Me up".

Keith releases his second video "Make No Mistake," directed by Paula Grief,
from Talk is Cheap in March and in May, is presented with the "Living Legend
Award" at the International Rock Awards.

Earliar, Mick and Keith meet at Eddy Grant's studio in Barbados to see if they
can still write soogs together. Before the meeting, there's speculation as to
whether the two can still remain in the same room. But two months later, they
have 12 new tunes ready plus the usual welter of unfinished ideas. Working
like they did on the classic albums of the '60's and '70's from the
groundfloor and building, they come out with a string of gems which are then
hooed and bashed into shape by the whole group at George Martin's AIR Studios
in Montserrat with Chris Kimsey co-producing. The band whack everything down
live in five weeks to be mixed in London.

In July the Rolling Stones hold a press conference in New York's Grand Central
Station to announce their forthcoming Steel Wheels tour and album. Mick holds
up a ghetto blaster and plays the new "Mixed Emotions" single to the assembled
world media It's released in August and puts the group back onto the world's
charts.

Steel Wheels is a Stones classic. A complete album of new stuff, as opposed to
touched up old demos like much of the late-'70's and '80's output. The sound
is raw and bristling on tracks like the first single, "Mixed Emotions," but the
album also proves the band can still deliver gorgeous ballads like "Almost
Hear You Sigh," or Keith's lovely "Slippin' Away."

While the album is generaLly acclaimed as the group's best for years, the
group make it a double whammy with the awesome scope and spectacle of the
"Steel Wheels" tour. The stage set is the biggest ever, a sureal post-nuclear
nightmare factory, all girders, funnels and catwalks bathed in ferocious
lighting and walls of fire and smoke. The set straddles the Stones' entire
career in over two hours with every song a piece-de-resistance from the giant
inflatable "Honky Tonk Women" to Mick's materialization one hundred feet above
the stage for "Sympathy." The group play like their Lives depend on it, and als
o
like they were having a total blast.

Starting in Philadelphia on August 30, the huge operation (a veritable mobile
army) goes on to play around 70 gigs. In December, the US leg ends up at the
Atlantic City Convention Centre for a radio-TV simulcasst. Guests include John
Lee Hooker, Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin from Guns 'N Roses, and Eric Clapton.

1990
In February, the Stones tour Japan for the first time with ten sold-out shows
at Tokyo's Korakuen Dome playing to 50,000 a night. For Europe, Steel Wheels
gives way to Urban Jungle - partly because European stadiums aren't big
enough for the huge set, partly because the Lighting had to change because it
gets dark later, and mainly because the band want to create a fresh new show.
The stage resembles a postnuclear tropical ruin with giant inflatable dogs
appearing during "Street Fighting Man." It hits Wembley in July, then again
in August at the end of the tour with the resurrection of the Steel Wheels
set. Over the past year the Stones had pLayed 115 shows to over six million
people.

1991
All five band members immerse themselves in solo projects. In November, at the
London office of the Stones' financial advisor Rupert Loewenstcin, Mick,
Keith, Charlie, Ronnie are present for the signing of the Stones' deal with
Virgin Records.

1992
The Stones take the year off to recharge their batteries. Meanwhile Richards
records and releases his second solo album, Main Offender, on Virgin. He tours
Europe and then goes where no Stone has gone before - Argentina, where the
X-Pensive Winos play to a Buenos Aires crowd of 40,000.

1993
The Stones celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their first
single. During a live interview on the BBC's London Tonight nevs program in
January, Bill Wyman finally makes it official: I really don't want to do it
anymore. Regarding his efforts to prevent Bill from quitting, Keith states: "I
did everything but hold him at gunpoint. Also in January, Ronnie plays the
first of four solo concerts in Japan, wrapping up on the 14th at Tokyo's
Budokan. Three days later in Seattle, Keith opens the U.S. Leg of his Main
Offendcr tour. Later in the year, Billy Joel inducts Keith into the
Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Mick releases his third solo album, Wandering Spirit. The night of
release, Mick plays a private concert for 1200 invited guests at New York's
Webster Hall. Guests include Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola, and Vanessa
Paradis. Mick performs 11 songs from his new album, then encores with the
Stones' Rip This Joint," "Live With Me, and Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby
(Standing In The Shadows)?"

1994

After production in Barbados, the Stones gather in Dublin, Ireland at Windmill
Studios to star work on a new album, their first under a new deal with Virgin,
which has also seen much of the back catalogue re mastered on CD.  Don Was is
picked as co-producer of Voodoo Lounge alongside The Glimmcr Twins. Was, who
made his name vith the surreal rock 'n' soul of Was Not Was has recently
produced Bonnie Rait, B-52's Bob Dylan, and Iggy Pop.  Bassist Darryl Jones
and keyboard player Chuck Leavell are called into help out. Other guests
include Ivan Neville, Bobby Womack, Bernard Fowler, Benmont Tench, Flaco
Jimenez and Luis Jardim.

The results are staggering. As virtually all reviews have pointed out, Voodoo
Lounge is peak Stones. A group firing on all cylinders. After the success of
the Steel Wheels project, the Stones know they have nothing to prove and the
new sound seems less self conscious and more inventive than their recent work.
It's the sound of a group getting together and raising the hell they know and
love. Mick's singing is stronger and more expressive than usuaL notably on the
chilling anti-terrorism ballad "Blinded By Rainbows," and lascivious car song
"Brand New Car," which is in the best tradition of double entendre blues.

The guitar firm of Richards and Wood is in deadly form, spiking ballsy
grinders like "I Go Wild" with steely sprays of chords and fills. Keith peels
off an arsenal of addictive, killer Stones riffs with blood-curdling force.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Wood plays an inspired haunting pedal steel solo on "The
Worst," and fires off one of his best slide solos ever on "Out Of Tears." To
coin a phrase from Get Yer Ya-Yas Out "Charlie's good tonight, in'e?" The might
y
Watts is spot-on as ever, but benefits from a distinctly live sound and tackles
a kicking hip-hop groove on the sleazy "Suck On The Jugular."

Full-on rock'n'roll comes courtesy of salivating steamers like "You Got Me
Rocking" or "Sparks Will Fly" (where the adoaline rush of the live recording
comes through loud and clear). Devotees of the Stones ballad will not be
disappointed by the Latin-flavored "Sweethearts Together," or "New Faces,"
which could be the Drifters tackling "Ruby Tuesday" as harpsichord tones
provide the main riff. Then tbere's the majestically building "Out Of Tears,"
which is up there with heart-pulling classics like "Wild Horses." Meanwhile,
Keith pulls out an aching, lonesome country wail for "The Worst" and opens his
heart again on " Thru And Thru," one of his classic ballads.

Blues, country, Latin, ballads, rock'n'roll and funk: all the styles that the
Stones have played and pioneered rub grooves and riffs and tunes with that
effortless ease that can only come with loving their craft and nurturing a
spirit which the group will readily admit has taken the odd bashing in the past
But it's still here - and kicking like a mule.

The album and its accompanying tour is announced in New York - this time after
tbe group arrive via boat at Pier 60.  The tour kicks off on August 1 at
Washington DC's RFK Stadium and plays the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South
America, and the Far East. As Bobby Keys, long time Stones sax pLayer, once
remarked in a choice moment during the 1971 outing: "Looks like rock'n'roll is
on the road again!"