The Stones' Best/Worst: Studio vs Live 

Out Of Control, brilliant live. But the studio version does not have the energy it has live, with the crowd and the Glimmer Twin interaction.

Yes. Fingerprint File MUST return to their live set!!!!!!

First time I ever heard Midnight Rambler was in Oakland during the “Ya Ya’s” tour. Made my 15 year old head explode.

Totally agree - Fingerprint File from Love you Live is EPIC

Love the live versions of Sympathy from the 89-90 /94-95 tours.

Always liked the live versions of under my thumb.

For me, the definitive live version of “Midnight Rambler” is the one from Brussels Affair.

"It's all over now" is a good one to compare live vs album. Listen to the album version, then The live 1995 Johannesburg performance. Both great, just depends on what mood you're in.👍

It was good to hear your takes on Keith's guitar choices & being perplexed by them. Couldn't agree more. Keith's black tele custom era is my favorite, and Keith using a semi hollowbody guitar to play Little T&A is worse than a war crime.

I couldn't agree more with Scott on his take on "Let me go". Wonderful song! Studioversion defenately is the greatest version.

I love the live at Leeds 82 You can't always get what you want the whole 81/82 tour.

I loved this discussion and love even more all the comments. I look forward to tracking down all the live versions mentioned and checking them out. My beef has always been Shattered. Great studio version with a cool staccato lick that got turned into a weird phaser lick when played live. All the grit from the studio performance was lost. Dont mind the maggots. Rocks Off is also a great studio tune that never converted well to live IMO. Charlie, RIP, let the boys drag that one way too much. So many of the Stripped tracks are amazing, some really great work at those shows.

Nice video! 3 quick thoughts: 1. Thanks to Scott for the 1990 live IORR Germany version. Keith's solo is wow - I can't think of any Stones song, studio or live, on which he plays quite like the short fast arpeggio section he does near the end. He played so beautifully in the late 1980s - we all know the 1989/90 tours of the US and Japan, and also check out his rehearsal jam in 1986 with Chuck and Clapton. Lovely stuff. 2. I do and don't agree about Let Me Go live. The studio cut is a gorgeous medium temp song with a lovely country rock solo by Keith. The live 1981 "booze and coca-cola" version, while losing that gorgeous medium easy tempo, is blessed with long solos from Keith, who extended it each night to cover MJ as he did his audience walkabouts. I love those long solos, which were always classy and beautifully played. 3. I wonder if Keith's use of 335s and the Les Paul Junior suit his more cramped playing style. The 335 certainly has a narrower neck than his more traditional guitars, and while I haven't played a Junior, I wonder if it is a bit easier to manage too.

Factory Girl - Flashpoint live is amazing.

Love this discussion. It’s always fascinated me what works and what doesn’t work live with the Stones. Some bands are capable of almost studio-like recreations of their work, the Stones don’t even try, I don’t think they are interested in that. Stray Cat Blues from the 2005 Paris Olympia show is the best version with the Get Your Ya Yas Out version a close second. Both are superior to the studio version IMHO. Let it Bleed on the 81 Let’s Spend the Night Together movie also outshines the studio original. The recent rendition with Dwayne Doopsie in NO was also pretty great. Rocks Off never works live for me nor does All Down the Line. However, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia and Shine A Light (rare) from EOM all translate well to the stage.

Great topic. There are so many things to discuss here, but Im surprised you guys didnt talk about Tumbling Dice. Its a perfect song on stage wher they play it on a slower version (Bridges tour for example) but it takes all the good things from the song when they speed up the tempo (I cant stand the version from 90's tour). My perfect setlist for the boys considering only songs that sound great on stage: 1. Under my Thumb 2. Lets Spend the Night 3. You got me Rocking 4. Get off my Cloud 5. Mess it up 6. Time is on My Side 7. Sweet Virginia 8. Waiting on a Friend 9. Just my Imagination 10. Dont Stop 11. Tumbling Dice 12. Connection 13. You got the Silver 14. Sweet Sounds 15. Paint it Black 16. Midnight Rambler 17. Gimme Shelter 18. Honky Tonk 19. Start me up 20. JJF 21. Brown Sugar BIS 22. Cant Always Get 23. Everybody needs somebody to love 24. Satisfaction

Here with go with my live stuff......can,t help writing when you talk about the Stones ....."Heartbreaker Brussels "affair (with Taylor and Keith funky section ) "When the whip come down " didn't even like the Studio version ....."Going to a go go" Hampton coliseum , obviously "Miss you " in many live versions especially the Bass line (when Jagger says I wish I could play the bass like Darrel ) A prime song that comes to mind is "Cant always get what you want" with the extended Bobby Keys and Ronnie wood solos .The stand out of all is probably Midnight Rambler on get yer Ya Yas out ..".one hit to the body" thats probably enough for now ..... oh yeah and of course "just my imagination" and Beast of burden also Hampton Coliseum as a Stones fan you know which ones I am talking about .....thanks for your great channel .......lovin it

Great conversation between you two. Thanks Justin !

…recently heard the live version of their hackney diamonds tune “mess it up” and thought it sounded better live than studio (imo). Interesting topic here. Thanks for posting.

Love this subject

Holy crap that IORR version I’ve never heard of. What a revelation!

Best thing about The Stones - on any given night you get the best and the worst of almost every song. Organized chaos.

The 69 Satisfaction is just the best live version they ever did. It was totally different than the 65 classic recording - but damn it is great. Taylor’s virtuosity took this song to a higher and bluesier level.

I think 'Rough Justice' is so ballsy, nasty and greasy on 'Bigger Bang'--the riff, the rhythm, that flooding bass line that comes in underneath, the way the drum cracks it in half--that just doesn't happen on the live version. It really should be one of their most played modern rockers, but they never seem to capture the same thrust the Don Was version gives us...and hence, we rarely see it in the set. And you should do something on Keith's guitars!--I actually love him playing those 335s...because I love the sound of them so much. That being said, I too was very surprised when I noticed him going to those on stage more about 20 years ago--I think they need a more 'screaming' type of amp to come alive. The thing is, as great as, say, the '81 shows were, too many times on that tour, the guitars just seemed to thin and trebly. Thanks for all of your great Stones content Justin! I really love what you do for them and their music!

Fave live? 'Goin' Home' and 'Satisfaction', when performed as a medley on the spring 1967 European tour, was unbelievable. Check out the bootleg from Paris '67: 'Goin' Home' clearly features TWO harmonicas (first Brian while Mick sings, and then Mick while Brian straps on his guitar), and then 'Satisfaction' has Brian playing with feedback Hendrix-style while Keith plays the famous riff with a ferocity rarely heard elsewhere. Also on that tour, 'Get Off Of My Cloud' was both souped-up and extended, and included a sizeable excerpt of 'Yesterday's Papers' (sung in the same higher key as Chris Farlowe's minor hit cover version) in the middle. Pretty much every live audio I've heard from '64-'67 has the band on full throttle, a bit off-key, and on the verge of falling apart musically, but with a youthful, wired vigour not heard later. Sure, they got "better" on stage, i.e. had greater musical quality (particularly with Mick Taylor), but that dangerous, proto-punk band from the Brian era were something else!

Keith played some his most tasty, crisp and precise solos on those white Music Man Silhouette guitars between Talk Is Cheap and the Urban Jungle Tour: Especially Sympathy and Whip It Up with the Winos.

I like Ronnie playing the Gibson LP, when he's standing still, focused and not running around the stage. I agree about Keith on the 335. Too many songs with the 335. It's a beautiful guitar, but I love the era with '72 Custom and MESA BOOGIE! That combination was mint.

Songs I love in the studio but fall flat live: Start Me Up, Miss You, Worried About You. That's all I can think of pre Dirty Work. Anything after I don't really count as I don't enjoy them in any version. Except for the HD stuff. Sweet Sounds is already a warhorse in my opinion. Quite a feat after all these years.

Dancing with Mr D. Is great one live. The same has hey Negrita

Just My Imagination is vastly superior live. There is such a swing and groove to the live version that blows the og version and the Stone's studio version out of the water, plus Mick's attitude and conviction are much cooler and better. Overall, I think i prefer some of the live versions of Tumblin Dice over the studio track, same goes with Happy and You Got to Move from Love You Live; Black Limo, Waiting on A Friend, Let it Bleed, Ruby Tuesday, and Out of Control... Miss You live from Lets Spend the Night Together is soooo great. Its this raw, seedy, gritty night club version that just drips coolness with Keith's guitar feeding back and those red lights above.

I agree with Scott, they perform Honky Tonk Women live very well. I'm not sure if there is a live version of a song I would prefer over the studio. I love some of the changes they make to the live versions, Get Off My Cloud is different live but it's really good. Yeah, that Fingerprint File version off of Love You Live is great. Bill at his best on the base.

Live Whip - Sucking in the Seventies. Keith at his driving best and Ronnie rises to the occasion. Bill and Charlie swinging hard…

Justin I did not realize you were a guitarist. Your insight is appreciated. I recall a conversation I had with BV the day before a Stones’ show in Philly in 2013. I asked him why they were only using Taylor on two songs per show. He was so incensed that I dare to question their judgment - he pretty much shut down the conversation and abruptly left. Hell, I love the Stones as much as he does - but it is not sacrilege to question their strategy. And for the record - Taylor killed it on Rambler, CYHMK that night. He even played a bit of acoustic guitar on the closing Satisfaction. He also did the final bow with the core band upon Charlie’s insistence. Mick was visibly annoyed.

For HTW I love the revved up version from Brussels 73 but always loved the chorus parts from Hyde Park 69, although a ramshackle version it rocked. Ask the black guy dancing on the video! And I dare say the show in Nashville 2015 was a killer version for me in person.

The music from Brussels Affire and la form, is the best live performance.

I don't think they did Midnight Rambler as well in the studio version as they did live.

You cant always get what you want on love you live is Ronnie's top solo and have always really enjoyed that better than the album version

Honky Tonk Women ALWAYS works 😁

My favourite live version of Sympathy will always be Hyde Park 69. Enough said ! Discussion closed 😁

I still wish they would do the “intro” to Jumping Jack Flash EVEN ONCE like they did on the original single! Of course its in a different tuning for Keith but its so cool on the original. Ps : I am sick of Start Me Up…monotonous.

Any live version of "Love In Vain" when Mick Taylor was in the band

Tops

Better in studio was Sympathy by far. Especially since they do this percussion sample in the 90s. The live version I like most is the ya-ya's one because it's got its own vibe and don't try to replicate the studio version and of course the fantastic Mick Taylor solo.

My favorite version of It's Only Rock & Roll is (by far) the version from El Macambo, that is just incendiary!

This is a great topic…

There's a Stones song nobody ever talks about. Yet it's one of their best! I'm talking about Going Home on Aftemath. Like Midnight Rambler, I'm sure it would be great live, and better than on the album. The song lasts 11 mins, and from 3 mins onwards, for the first time in their career, I hear the future Mick Jagger, with attitude and swag. There’s so much place for an amazing live guitar and harmonica jam in that song.

The Brian Jones years were always good live and in the studio but If you weren’t educated in hearing instruments and pointing them out like me then the live versions can be beneficial if it’s performance on Ready Steady Go or Ed Sullivan

Midnight Rambler is the song The Stones have consistently performed well live. Over the years i think it has been the one you could most rely on. The studio version, perhaps lacks the drama, but i really enjoy its bluesy sound. Songs that have come up wanting live over the years for the most part - It's Only Rock 'N' Roll, Miss You, perhaps Brown Sugar, too, which rarely, if ever, has the swagger of the original studio version. However, like many of the older tracks, if i was forced to pick a live version, the early seventies version would be the one i'd go for. Start Me Up is another which never quite captures the greatness of the original. Jagger isn't embarrassing as a singer for his age, like McCartney, but he rarely these days really goes for the more difficult notes. His singing has a tossed off, going through the motions feel. The spectacle with him i believe is what is really important. The shows are an event, but the performances rarely stand up to real scrutiny. In the early days it was The Stones.long lost youthful raw energy that saw them through. Having said that, i have been really impressed with Ronnie's contributions on this latest tour.

Better live real quick : Midnight Rambler; All Down the Line; Star Star; Street Fighting Man. Worst: Honky Tonk; Miss You; Sympathy.

Jumpin Jack Flash 1972 on Ladies and Gentleman. Cannot beat it. Mick Taylor is absolutely blazing on it

"Undercover of the night" sounded better live, without that disco beat and "Route 66" is wild on those sixties live recordings, almost like grunge. Then i kinda like "Under my thumb" on that 1981-tour, when guitars play that melody. That version sounded great as a kid when that record came out. Original sixties version is great too, but it's quite different sounding. I guess that Gibson semi-acoustic is kinda Chuck Berry-thing for Keith.

89 tour was the best, voodo was great, alll shows rock, just i saw bill and charlie on that in 89

Hey, Justin. Many songs in both categories, loads mentioned here, so I just wanna go for one clear case ( for me ); Sympathy studio rules, even though there are lots of live versions I love !

When you go down this particular Stones' Rabbit Hole....Songs tour to tour, even with the same basic lineup change drastically some times. Such an interesting topic......it could go on hours in a group of friends.

Miss You on the Voodoo Lounge tour was great.

Sympathy worked best live in 69.

"Gimme Shelter" from "Totally Stripped". Lisa Fisher is amazing in this version. Dare I say better than the original? I tend to listen to this version more because of her. First noticed it in the film "Casino".

I prefer live, but there are studio versions like Get off of my Cloud that will never sound the same

Best JJF and Satisfaction are on YaYas, Gimme Shelter on Brussels might be the best of the best -- Keef's tone!! Love Start me up and Sympathy on Flashpoint and Whip and Respectable on Some Girls Live from Texas. Agree about Live With Me. Studio Stray Cats Charlie kills it as he does for Sympathy in Love You Live.

Your right, Honky Tonk doesn't sound anything like the studio version which could be one of the all time greatest studio songs but I enjoy it live also. Keith starts on with one hand and does that solo in the middle that he could do in his sleep! But its classic! And then they added the keyboards of Chuck Levell 2/3rds through and he kicks his leg up on the keyboard. Mick does his sprint too! Cheers!

I loved the live versions of flip the switch. The studio version seemed to lack energy. I was surprised you did not like live versions of honky tonk woman. I think there are many great live versions of that song. I wish they would bring back Brown Sugar.

All the lives with Ronnie Wood where he has to play a Blues song

I’ll Rambler off of Brussels Affair over ya’s ya’s everyday of the week BUT!! Don’t get me wrong I love ya ya’s also but Brussels is just more rougher and harder

Classic Stones tunes and the year they peaked live Sympathy 69 Shelter. 73 Rambler 69 Fighting Man 71 Bitch 72 Jack Flash 69 Satisfaction (never)

Seems like their most recent first singles: Angry, Rough Justice, Anybody Seen my Baby, Love Is Strong and Mixed Emotions never worked on stage. I think it's the mix. For some reason, Keith's guitar on LIS, ME and RJ was never loud enough on stage to be the driver it was in the studio. As far as Angry, ASMB - those are Mick songs and you can tell Keith has no interest in trying on those. LOL. I agree with Scott on IORR, key of B...the "Carol" intro, Chuck licks....love it. Midnight Rambler is better live...still love the studio version. The energy on Satisfaction is better live, but that starts with 81 and going forward. Sympathy used to be better in the early years (69) on stage, in later years, staring with 89, they started playing to track and that's never good.

Miss You Live: try The 98 show in rio (apoteose concert).

I was just going to say the gigantic B chord - that is still great on Sympathy! - (yea he hits the blues note on the E but the B is still great!) Obviously Ya Yas is the definitive Midnight R but they may have still not yet played their best MR - Still my fav moment of the show! (I'm not w you on the 335 :0 - I think he kills on it)

There’s no bad version of Honky Tonk Woman. I love it every time I hear it live too. I love Street Fighting Man live from the late 60s/early 70s. Jumping Jack Flash live is always sensational. Midnight Rambler live is electric. The yellow Gibson you’re referring to that Keith plays on Midnight Rambler and Satisfaction….he might play it on sympathy too….are you kidding me? That guitar is a beast…it’s rude… nasty…aggressive…in other words fucking perfect for those songs. I love the sound of that guitar. Also, the Gibson Ronnie plays on midnight rambler is equally sinister.

Midnight Rambler in Brussels Affair and also in Havana Moon are Fantastic; Simpathy in 89/90 tour is The best version with Keith killing in The solo; Start me up, for me, never achieve The greatness of The studio version, but I Love The versions from 2015 to now. Love You Live has a lot of great versions. Satisfaction: live versions are better Then studio. Glastonborry in 2013 is awsome.

U never know with the Stones. I like Sympathy on 1990 tour with the awsome Keith solo. That tour was so stabble. But I also like the dirty Sympathy remix with NERD. Slipping away one of those songs that I preffer live.

I wish they would do country honk acoustically live

The 69 & 72 versions of Love in Van just sore. I do love the studio version too. Justin, what's you opinion on the Ya-Ya's HTW? I love the slow paced throb of that version. I kinda like the Licks versions too. I love the mix and arrangement on the studio version of IORR. Such great guitar tones too. I prefer it to any live version. Another song that I think is generally really strong live, be it 69/70 or later days, is Live With Me. So killer. Studio version is 10/10 too. I don't really like the recent version of Cloud. But I imagine it might be different in person. I love the 355's. But that white Tele is really wonderful, I agree. Def keen for a guitar-based video. As always, thank you for the videos.

I totally agree about Honky Tonk Woman. The Stones have never been able/willing to play "cool" songs cooly, everything tends to be a bit too hot for me. Keith's solution to his arthritic fingers no longer cooperating has been to crank things up to 11, especially on Jumpin Jack Flash.

All Shattered version I know are better than the studio version. Because they have a guitar riff I miss in the studio version. I think the best one is on Still Life (Hampton ‘81)

Chuck Berry, red 335, Fender Showman.

Jumping Jack flash: any version Live from 94-2003

My favorite live Stones are the hit-singles I liked the least: "Start Me Up" and "Miss You." Yet when they played them live with Charlie it was the best. Like they knew they made the most $ off of these ones after they were 30.

Get your ya yas out . #1 live album from the stones.

The 76 tour crackled wood on brown sugar and jjflash was fantastic now on the classics he plays boring sound bites

Long repeative drawn out endings to some of the live songs drive me crazy.

I think part of the appeal of the Gibson semi-hollowbodies when they play live is their relatively light weight. Keith has referenced back problems on several occasions. And, I think those guitars play (really) great though I understand the arguments that they are not very Keith-like in terms of tone. My .02 YMMV

Midnight Rambler Brussels’ 73 version is superior to GYYO one. Such rage.

It's only rock n roll rubbish live and Miss You

Hot stuff studio is okay but love it on Love You Live. Fave Brian Jones era live tracks are Im Alright and Route 66 Mick Taylor era live is Gimmie Shelter and Bitch Ron Wood, nothing really blows me away except select tracks on El Mocambo

Here's one that had real potential but they dropped it too soon on the SW tour: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kC3rQxeal-U.htmlsi=gU6nSk63BCHK-3F8 I was fortunate to hear it at Three Rivers and it sounded massive live.

I have a different question: Why does Jagger feel compelled to change shirts, taking them on and off, so many times during the show? He's nearly 81, maybe he gets cold? 🤔

Studio better than Live: Emotional Rescue Let Me Go She’s So Cold She Was Hot Live better than Studio (particular): Start Me Up 1989-99 Honky Tonk Women 1975-76, 1978, 1981 Shattered 1994 (8-14-1994 especially) IORR (mentioned in video; 1989-90) Jumpin’ Jack Flash - 1969 Midnight Rambler - any tour Live With Me - 1969 SFTD - 1969. 1975-76 is decent. Since then it sucks. Under My Thumb - 1981-82 Black Limousine - 1995 B-side (heavily edited vs the TOTALLY STRIPPED BRIXTON version) Both: Gimme Shelter - NO SECURITY version is excellent Street Fighting Man - 1969, 2002-03 are fantastic Monkey Man - 1994 was good but 2002 was excellent Miss You - 1989 only There are probably others but

The track that makes it perfectly every f...... time: Brown Sugar. And then they stopped playing it in fear of The Allmighthy Political Correctness. I love The Stones and are still attending the concerts. Also know that they’re Big Business now as opposed to a young band crawling up the ladder with provocative attitudes as a means of achievement. But please, couldn’t you be just a bit controversial, Mr. Jagger...?

Midnight rambler is the best at Brussels affair is the great. Then Get your ya ya out

Nowadays I can't stand It's Only RnR live.. it's been done to death.

I have wondered why the Stones insist on keeping the original key. To where it seems to hurt the live performance. IMO "Rocks Off" has never sounded good on stage. The verses in studio ride a lot on the harmonies. W/o them the verses sound disjoined on stage. Jagger never seems to know which way to go. Another one was "Anybody seen my baby". In the verses he had to dig low, and then couldn't reach it in the chorus.

I always felt some live performances of Midnight Rambler were better than the record....IMO

Miss You singalong is basically not that easy for a crowd to sing and respond on. Never as good as the studio version. Tumbling Dice on a par.

Loving Cup live without Taylor's rhythm counterpart is missing a huge part.

Hi Justin! Another fun talk with Scott--thanks. A point of (fun, I hope) disagreement: I'd say the '78 and '81 performances of "Honky Tonk Women" top even the mighty single. '75-'76 is strong, and so is '89-'90. But '78 and '81 are just...WICKED. Alas, the tune has been tossed off pretty much ever since. NOT cool. "Out of Control" is a latter-day onstage triumph. And so was "Back of My Hand" in its brief life.

Out Of Control is great on the album but it's awesome live. I've heard Might As Well Get Juiced live and it's not as good as the album version. Also,that was just getting good and you guys stopped lol.

The Studio Version of dead flowers is boring but listen to the Amsterdam 1995 concert version

If your gonna talk Bout guitars how about amps and eqs? The stones sounded best through ampegs... The guitars sound thin and brittle because of the fender amps and the their settings...

Undercover and One Hit don't come close to the recordings. Undercover isn't bad, though.

Angry is great in the Studio but the live Versions this Tour is not great