The Rolling Stones - Hofheinz Pavillion, Houston, 25 June 1972 (2nd Show)

Apologies for the half assed attempt to have SOME content today. I was going to post this one yesterday but never got around to it. Surprise.

There has been much hub-bub this week about the Stones releasing the remastered version of Exile on Main St, which I have yet to hear. I'm usually not terribly interested in studio outtakes and the few snippets of the previously unreleased bonus tracks that were played on the Hardline yesterday did not impress me too much. They did play an alternate version of "Loving Cup" that left me wanting a little more. I'm also not really sure how remastering this record can really improve the listening experience, but I suppose I'll reserve judgment until I actually hear it. Can's Tago Mago had kicked my ass for years and I was speechless when I heard how great the 2004 remaster sounded.

The Stones' 1972 tour is rock and roll legend and hardly needs to be discussed here. Harold Colson has a great site about the Stones Touring Party that can fill in more than enough details for those that are curious.

This show was really my second choice to share, but the copy of the previous day's performance at Tarrant County Convention Center that I have is pretty shitty in the way of fidelity. This one sounds pretty nice for what I believe is an audience recording; Charlie's drums come through well and Nicky Hopkins' piano isn't buried. The Texas stops were during the middle of the tour and the band was really in full swing by this point- Mick and Keith were sharing the microphone, Mick Taylor was killing on all of his leads, and Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman were relentlessly bringing up the rear. This was the only show of the tour that Stevie Wonder didn't open, so there is no "Uptight/Satisfaction" medley.

The Fort Worth and Houston shows were also recorded to video for the concert film "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones," which was released theatrically in 1974. There has never been an official home video or dvd release of this film, but bootleg copies have circulated since the 80s. I'm working on scoring the video in some sort of computer file form if anyone is interested- I have the dvd but can't get it on my computer. After watching it about 100 times I can say that it is hands down the best concert film that I've ever seen and I hope that it sees the light of day some time.