Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Stones Release Second Boot: Hampton 1981

The Rolling Stones have released the second of six bootleg concerts planned for this year: Hampton, Virginia, December 18, 1981.

While Hampton was one of the better shows from the Tattoo You tour, the choice is a bit underwhelming, especially for fans like me, who were hoping for something like the two March 1977 club shows at Toronto's El Mocambo.

The Hampton show was one of six concerts taped for a King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcast. It has been available - nearly complete, missing only four songs - on various bootlegs over the years in excellent soundboard quality.

The new boot of the complete show is available only in the U.S. at the moment - $4.99 at 320 mp3 - but that should change soon. Oddly, it's not even listed on the Stones Archives site yet. Initial reviews report a stunning mix from Bob Clearmountain - similar to the fantastic work he did on the first release, Brussels '73 - with amazing separation, especially between the guitars. (You can hear most of the show right now at Wolfgang's Vault.)

4 comments:

allan said...

Just bought it! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

allan said...

Sweet Creamy Jesus - This sounds amazing!

Do I have to now re-assess my opinions about the '81 tour?

allan said...

The guitar interplay is stunning. And the nearly 10-minute version of Just My Imagination is worth the price of the set by itself.

laura k said...

"Do I have to now re-assess my opinions about the '81 tour?"

No.