Review Summary: The Rolling Stones get the chance to rebuttal a decent, but hugely flawed, first live album with an epic, sensational second live record for the ages.
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! marks The Rolling Stones' first true live album. Though
Got LIVE If You Want It! arrived 4 years before this, it was almost immediately disowned by the band. This was largely due to the fact that it suffered from a messy editing process, making the record sound like an all-around amateurish effort. Something which it unfortunately was, as the album was only complied in the first place due to a contractual obligation between the band and London Records at the time (in 1966). So The Stones finally decided to release their own full-fledged live album and it was welcomed with tons of critical praise, as well as a platinum-certification; whereas
Got LIVE If You Want It! only received a gold-certification.
The album starts out with a claim that The Rolling Stones are
"the greatest rock 'n roll band in the world". While some may argue against this claim, this was no doubt a proven statement at the time, not only because the band had become multi-platinum superstars, but also due to the fact that they forever revolutionized the industry with their bad boy personas; opting to cut away from the typical clean-cut, boy scout personalities of that era.
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" starts and remains just as confusing as it ever was, this being due to nearly incomprehensible vocals from Mick Jagger. Easily a part of the track's undying charm though, the sheer velocity of the instrumentals delivered throughout make it even more so fascinating to unravel with time and makes for a fantastic album opener.
"Carol" follows soon after and still remains one of the finest covers in history. The Rolling Stones have always had a great love for Chuck Berry, and the awesome guitar solos throughout, from Keith Richards and Mick Taylor respectively, pay him a wonderful tribute.
Side two starts off in hilarious fashion with a woman from the audience shouting:
"Paint it Black. Paint it Black. Paint it Black, you devil!". Funny enough, the band never give the lady the satisfaction, jumping right into a rendition of
"Sympathy for the Devil" instead, as she's shuffled away and never heard from again. While the track undeniably lacks the energy of the studio version, it's hard to fault all the same; the demanding woman clearly made Jagger pretty mad to begin with, as he starts off the track with a rather annoyed type of attitude (seeing as how
"Paint it Black" was never a part of the set-list in the first place). As the track progresses, Jagger's performance only gets better, same with the other members, as the whole band seemingly break out of their momentary comfort zones and deal a devilishly engrossing classic for a hungry crowd of gatherers.
Of the ten tracks on here,
"Stray Cat Blues" is easily the most forgettable. Though the drumming by Charlie Watts is incredible, and the guitar solo after the second chorus is a lot of fun, Jagger seems to be in
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" mode throughout, as you can hardly understand what in the world he's talking about.
"Love in Vain" keeps the train rolling much smoother though, as Jagger's vocal performance is heightened by a slower pace and bluesier melodies than the previous tracks. Even better is
"Midnight Rambler", the longest track on the record (clocking in at an epic 9 minutes), as it features a slew of stunning guitar solos, an incredibly rising mid-section, which includes a humorous little moment where an audience member yells out
"God damn!" after the line
"Well you heard about the Boston", and Mick Jagger rocking it on the harmonica. With all of that combined,
"Midnight Rambler" is easily the best song on the album, an epic, wholly enjoyable menace of a track.
As usual, The Rolling Stones live up to their superstar personas with
Get Yer Ya Ya's Out!. The album is brimming with utterly awe-inspiring classics such as another great Chuck Berry cover (in
"Little Queenie"),
"Honky Tonk Women" and the excellent album closer (
"Street Fighting Man"). The boys were clearly having a blast while performing this phenomenal concert, but the arena-filled cheers of the crowd signify that they may have had the best time out of all; especially in seeing a band that many considered to be
"the greatest rock 'n roll band in the world". First-rate songs such as
"Jumpin' Jack Flash",
"Carol" and
"Midnight Rambler" make this a must-listen for not only fans of the band, but for music fanatics alike. It's a wonderful experience.
