In 1970, the Stones released Get Your Ya-Yas Out! Whether it’s still, as Lester Bangs declared upon its release, the greatest live album ever is open to debate, but most of us would agree it’s by far the best Stones live album – definitely better than the band’s 1970 appearance in Milan, Italy. Check out the live clip that kicks off this round: did they leave Bernard Purdie home for this show?
In terms of this Battle Royale, however, perhaps the most significant development was the actual release date of Rod Stewart’s first album with Faces, First Step, which was mistakenly identified and entered as a 1969 release in Round 1 of our Rod vs Stones, 1969-1976 showdown! This changes the landscape of this contest, relieving the Stones of some body blows in Round 1 while beginning to stack the deck in Rod’s favor in Round 2. Go back and listen to the Faces tracks posted in Round 1 if you don’t think the Stones’ best live album is already suffering in comparison.
Rod Stewart, “You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want to Discuss It)”
Building momentum for Rod’s 1971 campaign, 1970 also saw the release of Gasoline Alley, the first Stewart-associated release in which the man’s musical personality coalesced, without the residual effects of having recently sung for Jeff Beck’s proto-blooz rock outfit as well as the responsibility of helping Faces fit into the post-Marriott ’70s landscape. The title track, in particular, with its earnest, simple boy’s look back and folky arrangement, marks the beginning of Stewart’s most effective musical personality. Seemingly cognizant of this future analysis, Rod continues to build other pieces in his persona, with covers both the Small Faces‘ “My Way of Giving” (backed by his mates in Faces rather his slightly different backing musicians on the bulk of his early solo albums) and the Stones’ well-known cover of “It’s All Over Now”.
Watching the above clip of Rod and the Faces performing songs from one of each of these albums shows positive effect that the newly empowered Rod would bring to the rebuilding group. Check out the unabashed admiration Ronnie Lane expresses for Rod beginning 52 seconds into the seemingly impromptu performance of “Gasoline Alley”. Then the band cooks, with no regrets about leaving Pretty Purdie back home. Under the confident leadership of Stewart, future Faces albums would have their own, distinctive, down-to-earth sound, breaking with the band members’ collective Pete Frame Family Tree of influences. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.
It’s the cover of an obscure ’60s song by Rhinoceros that I posted above, “You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want to Discuss It)” that I think requires special consideration. This is the only other song on which Stewart is backed by most of Faces (Ian McLagan is listed as “not available due to bus strike”). An easy way to dismiss Stewart and Faces, especially when compared to the conventionally accepted musical seekers known as Mick Taylor-era Stones, is to call them a “great party band.” Check out the original version, which follows in a sound-only YouTube clip, and tell me that a mere party band would have what it takes to make something out of such a formless turd of a song. Rod and his mates may not have been able to synthesize broad musical traditions the way the Stones could, but damn if they couldn’t dig in and elevate the material they covered and otherwise plundered. This ain’t no party.
Without having to resort to use of Rod’s guest vocals for the Australian group Python Lee Jackson‘s “In a Broken Dream”, the judges hereby declare their winner for 1970…
ROUND 2: Rod Stewart
I was amazed listening to Ya Ya’s recently, after not having done so for a long time, how crappy it sounds. And I just read that Jagger re-recorded half of the vocals on the album in the studio afterwards.
I saw the Faces a couple of times back in the day, not in ’70, maybe ’72 or so, and they were sloppy but really a lot of fun live. A party band in the best sense, with a real sense of camaraderie and real connection with the audience. They were not deep and made no pretense of being so. And you didn’t get mandolins and dobros live, just Stonesy capital R Rock.
On the other hand when I saw the Stones in ’75, they weren’t exactly deep either. It was in Baton Rouge, the first date of their first tour with Woody, and it sounded like they hadn’t rehearsed at all. The Meters blew them off the stage, or maybe it just seemed like they did, because I was peaking on mushrooms at exactly the right time to feel that way.
In the studio Jagger’s one of my favorite vocalists, but I have rarely heard even a decent performance from him live, or even overdubbed “live” vocals, for that matter. His studio tone can’t cut it live; the Stones might as well have David Johanssen sing live.
Another fine post, Mod. This time though I’m not as convinced of your conclusion. I kept waiting for the explanation of why Stewart had achieved a knockout here, but I don’t see it. That in itself is something in your favor: the fact that the Stones don’t clearly win is big news. But you’re trying to give it to the challenger on points; your conclusion tries to nuance things. But how many champs really go down on points? Everybody knows that the challenger has to win convincingly, and I don’t see the convincing reasons here. I don’t see the in-your-face no-doubt-about-it Magic Johnson style heroics.
Ya-Ya’s, an album by a great band who’s making a great live party band record. Funny that it’s the Stones who are the party band in this year. Stewart, stretching out into some more original and fully achieved songs relative to his own history, while at the same time there’s nothing here that’s gonna make anybody forget “Jumping Jack Flash.” Show me the knockout, man. I wanna see the knockout.
Mwall, please don’t pull that Party Band blanket up under your chin. You’re too smart for that. Ya-Yas was a contractual obligation album. It’s their last album under their deal with Allen Klein. Stewart wins on points. Winning is winning. This may not be a 12-round heavyweight fight but one of those 3-round amateur fights. The Stones LOSE Round 2!
johanssen!!!
hahaha! yeah!
that was awesome!
and true!
I won’t look at a discography to refresh my memory and potentially set up a bias for myself, but if the Stones only put out a live album every year from 1971-1976, Rod might have a shot at winning this.
Alexmagic, I’d advise you to buckle your seatbelt.
I’m strapped in and have my helmet on.
I don’t concede that Rod has won this round. Ya Ya’s has held up pretty well, and while the whole thing is utterly overdubbed and edited to the point where it’s hardly a live album, it’s a great record. It’s historical position in rock and roll overall is miles above Gasoline Alley, which is a good album. But it’s certainly not great. His interpretation of It’s All Over Now sounds much more like the icky way The Stones played it in 98 or so. It’s too awkward and clumsy. I’ll pass on Country Comforts, too.
Ya Ya’s isn’t a good document of the 69 tour, but it is a great record, and I can’t think of any weak points, besides an unforgivable edit in Sympathy for the Devil. Historically, it’s the album the label never wanted to release, but because of Trade Mark of Quality’s Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be bootleg, Ya Ya’s came into being, and the bootleggers became the target of the RIAA and BPI.
I say Rod’s not even up on his hands and knees yet. Let It Bleed almost killed him, and Ya Ya’s may not have landed the knockout punch, but it doesn’t lose anything to Gasoline Alley. Rod’s wearing boots of lead, and The Stones aren’t even sweating yet.
2K, you’re rejecting Rod’s work on the first Faces album, which has been transferred to its rightful place in 1970? That album alone is more worth a listeners’ time than Ya-Yas. Let’s keep it real. Rod’s starting to come into his own. He landed a few combos. Beside the “live” version of “Midnight Rambler”, the Stones delivered nothing special. Go back and study the admiration and thanks Ronnie Lane has for Rod in the clip I posted. Listen to how bad that Rhinoceros song is and how decent Stewart and his Faces buddies made it. The Stones did not expect such a fundamentally sound opponent! It’s not like they won’t be able to answer the bell for Round 3, which admittedly Stewart was in jeopardy of after Round 1, but something tells me 1971 is going to see a more focused round by the Stones.
I’m still splitting the difference between Mod’s and 2000’s position and coming up with: Judgment Call. Narrow strike zone or too many touch fouls. Mod’s the ref here, so for the moment I’m going to let him call the game his way. But refs look pretty bad lately, that’s a fact.
Leaving aside Hot Rocks, Ya-Ya’s and Exile are the two best Stones records for party time. I’d put Some Girls there too except a couple of the songs are likely to make the ladies angry. Just for the record, when I say party I mean it can’t just be a bunch of guys huffing beside the nitro tank.
Even moving First Step to 1970, which means as of 1969 Let It Bleed disintegrated Rod and he never even saw 1970, I still don’t think Rod has enough momentum to catch up to Let It Bleed and Get Your Ya Ya’s out. So far, Let It Bleed is undisputedly the best of that bunch, and I’d say Gasoline Alley is the weak link of the four. I like First Step, but I’ve never liked it enough to go buy it. Hasn’t First Step even gone out of print on occasion? I think two of those records are cornerstones of Classic Rock, and I don’t think First Step is one of them.
I’ll show more love the Faces way, but for now I see a reeling Rod, having given the champ a good couple of body blows, finding out that it didn’t hurt the champ much, and it just seems to have pissed him off. The champ hasn’t even used his strong hand yet!
2K, I think you may be surprised by what’s to come. I trust your boys, the Stones, will be better prepared.