US, AND THEM
AND AFTER ALL
WE'RE ONLY ORDINARY MEN
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
The Steve Miller Band & Boz Scaggs : '68 Carousel Ballroom San Francisco (04/28/68)
BEFORE YOU
COME 'ROUND MY DOOR
WOMAN
GONNA SEE WHERE
YOU'RE COMIN FROM
Chicago : Chicago Transit Authority
AS I WAS WALKING DOWN
THE STREET ONE DAY
THE STREET ONE DAY
A MAN CAME UP TO ME
AND ASKED ME
WHAT THE TIME WAS
THAT WAS ON MY WATCH...
Monday, April 27, 2026
Thursday, April 23, 2026
The Rolling Stones : Black and Blue (Super Deluxe Edition)
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DADDY, YOU'RE A FOOL TO CRY
YOU'RE A FOOL TO CRY
AND IT MAKES ME WONDER WHY
The World’s Greatest
Rock and Roll Band
was in a
period of transition.
In December 1974,
guitarist
Mick Taylor
announced he was
leaving The Rolling Stones.
The Stones had already
weathered the loss of
Brian Jones in 1969
and now they were,
once again,
without a guitarist.
The sound of music was changing, too,
with the rise of punk
and disco
even as prog
and
heavy rock remained
entrenched on the charts.
Where did that leave
the band who had
just proclaimed
“It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”
on their 1974 album?
The answer would be
found on 1976’s
Black and Blue,
an album which today
remains somewhat
lost in the shuffle
coming between
It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll
and 1978’s
Some Girls.
Now,
Black and Blue has returned
in a brand-new remix
by the prolific
Steven Wilson,
available in a variety of formats
Black and Blue
is the sound of a band
working to rediscover itself.
Keith Richards
took on the lion’s share
of the guitar work
after Taylor’s departure
while the group
“auditioned” others.
Guitar heroes
Jeff Beck,
Harvey Mandel,
Robert A. Johnson,
and
Wayne Perkins
all contributed
to the sessions,
as did Faces’
Ronnie Wood.
Having previously
inspired and played
on the title track of
1974’s
It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll
and toured with
the band in 1975,
Wood was
uniquely positioned.
He played on
three songs
on
Black and Blue
“Cherry Oh Baby,”
“Hey Negrita,”
and
“Crazy Mama”
and was introduced on
the album’s release date
(and its cover photograph)
as an official member
a position he
holds to this day.
He seamlessly joined
Richards,
Mick Jagger,
Charlie Watts,
and
Bill Wyman
in the lineup
The band’s second album
to be co-produced by
Jagger and Richards
as
The Glimmer Twins,
Black and Blue
featured the Stones’
trademark blend of
blues and rock
alongside reggae,
jazz,
soul,
and funk influences.
Percussionist/drummer
Ollie Brown
and pianist
Ian Stewart
were on hand alongside
Billy Preston,
whose piano
and/or organ
could be heard on
six of the LP’s
eight original tracks,
and another longtime
Stones keyboardist pal,
Nicky Hopkins.
Jagger and Richards
contributed all of the songs
save for the cover of
Jamaican singer
Eric Donaldson’s
“Cherry Oh Baby.”
Black and Blue
flirted with the fusion of
disco and rock on
the opening
“Hot Stuff.”
Though little more than an
extended riff on
the title phrase,
it anticipated Some Girls‘
chart-topping
“Miss You”
which proved the Stones
could rule the dancefloor
without sacrificing their
musical integrity.
Even better was
“Hand of Fate,”
a western-evoking,
murder-themed rocker
in the tried-and-true
Stones style with
perhaps the album’s
strongest hook.
The Glimmer Twins
cooked up a lengthy,
sentimental ode with
“Memory Motel,”
a bittersweet paean to
faded remembrances of
lovers past
“You’re just a sweet memory/
And it used to mean so much to me…”)
Distinguishing the track is a rare,
shared lead vocal from
Mick and Keith.
The deep-soul ballad
“Fool to Cry”
shimmers in
Steven Wilson’s new mix,
bringing subtle detail
to the fore
in both the band
performance
(including Wayne Perkins’ guitar solo)
and Jagger’s deeply-felt lead.
Ronnie Wood
inspired the
down-and-dirty
“Hey Negrita,”
another loose,
riff-based jam
with lyrics taking a
backseat to the
Latin-tinged funk.
A dash of reggae
could also be heard on
“Hey Negrita,”
Deluxe Black and Blue
continues with a short
bonus disc
or EP
(mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent)
which opens with
two outtakes.
“I Love Ladies”
has Jagger deploying
his best falsetto
while the track channels
a bit of a Philly
soul vibe
in its crisp intro,
as well.
A storming and
funky cover of
Shirley and Company’s
1974 disco smash
“Shame, Shame, Shame”
once again shows
the Stones meeting
the dancefloor
on their own terms.
Four instrumental jams
round out the disc.
The “Chuck Berry Style Jam”
with Harvey Mandel
pays homage to the
rock and roll pioneer
with recognizably
Berry-esque licks
and appropriately
pounding piano.
Ronnie Wood’s
old pal
Jeff Beck
is heard on
three tracks,
among the most coveted
to see official release.
On
“Rotterdam,”
he trades licks with
Richards and
Robert A. Johnson.
It’s a boisterous and
spirited high-energy jam
anchored by the
versatile
Charlie Watts’ drums.
The slow-burning scorcher
“Blues Jam”
finds Beck in
purely dazzling mode
as he plays with his
volume knobs in
lyrical mode
over the primitive
blues rhythm.
A version of
Jeff Beck Group
keyboardist
Max Middleton’s
“Freeway Jam”
appears here, too;
while
Charlie Watts sounds
right and home
with its jazz modes,
the Stones jam
failed to ignite
the magic of the
recording included on
Beck’s own,
George Martin-produced
1975 album
Blow by Blow.
Fascinating though they are,
these jams are unlikely
to have much repeat value
(unlike the two strong outtakes);
some alternate takes
of the album’s songs
might have fleshed
this disc out.
Far more exciting
is the live material
included in
the Super Deluxe sets.
The 2-CD
concert album
Live at Earls Court 1976
has been sourced
from the band’s
six-night May ’76
residency at the
(now-demolished)
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
in London
and mixed by
Declan Gafney.
Black and Blue
guests
Billy Preston,
Ian Stewart,
and
Ollie Brown
joined the Stones
for the concerts.
In addition to
the expected old favorites
(but no “Satisfaction”),
the setlist includes
“Fool to Cry,”
“Hey Negrita,”
“Hot Stuff,”
and
“Hand of Fate”
as well as exciting
Preston solo spots
on his
1974 chart-topper
“Nothing from Nothing”
and 1971 hit
“Outa-Space.
”Black and Blue
tends to be
overshadowed by
the albums
which came directly
before and after.
If its songcraft isn’t as
uniformly strong as
those albums
or the Stones’ finest,
it remains a testament to the joy
they found in playing
together and with friends.
The new Super Deluxe Edition
is short on revealing
studio material
despite the electrifying
presence of
Jeff Beck
but strong on
live music
and presentation.
There’s no
shame, shame, shame
in that.
TRACKLIST
CD 1
(Steven Wilson Remix 2025)
Hot Stuff
Hand of Fate
Cherry Oh Baby
Memory Motel
Hey Negrita
(Inspiration by Ron Wood)
Melody
(Inspiration by Billy Preston)
Fool To Cry
Crazy Mama
Fool To Cry
(Live from Les Abattoirs, Paris, France 1976) [*]
Hot Stuff
(Live from Les Abattoirs, Paris, France 1976) [*]
CD 2
(Outtakes and Jams)
I Live Ladies
Shame, Shame, Shame
Chuck Berry Style Jam
(With Harvey Mandel)
Blues Jam
(With Jeff Beck)
Rotterdam Jam
(With Jeff Beck and Robert A. Johnson)
Freeway Jam
(With Jeff Beck)
Fool To Cry
(outtake) [*]
Built That Way
(Remix) [*]
I Got A Letter [*]
Come On Sugar [*]
CD 3
(Live at Earls Court 05/22/76)
(Part 1)
Honky Tonk Women
f You Can’t Rock Me/Get Off My Cloud
Hand Of Fate
Hey Negrita
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
Fool To Cry
Hot Stuff
Star Star
(Starfucker)
You Gotta Move
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Band Intro
Happy
Tumbling Dice
Nothing From Nothing
(Billy Preston)
Outa-Space
(Billy Preston)
CD 4
(Live at Earls Court 05/2276)
(Part 2)
Midnight Rambler
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll
(But I Like It)
Brown Sugar
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Street Fighting Man
Sympathy For The Devil
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