Rolling Stones/Melbourn,Australia 2014

After the YouTube recording on the first day of Perth, the “genuine” audience recording that I had been waiting for appeared in Melbourne on November 5th. The opening SE was a powerful and clear recording, which is a real audience recording, and the recording condition was superb enough to convince me of its high quality. There is no doubt that you will be impressed not only by Mick’s vocals, but also by the on-sound pressure of the entire band. The opening of this day started with “Jumping Jack Flash”, which was often played at this position on this Australian tour. As was the case at the Budokan in 2003, the opening from this song is reminiscent of the golden age of 1969 and 1970, and it can be said that it is a pattern that makes your heart beat with excitement. However, what happened? Mick is singing the whole song with the usual melody line lowered, and I can’t help but be surprised at how uninflected it is. On the contrary, this strange way of singing with the melody line lowered continued afterwards, and even though Ronnie probably wasn’t lured by it, there was something terrible about the way he missed the notes during the interlude of “You Got Me Rocking”. Yes, Mick’s pharyngitis caused the postponement of the Hanging Rock performance on November 8th, but it is clear that the illness had already happened to him at this point. From Mick’s perspective, he may have felt that “my throat hurts, but if I do today’s live performance, I’ll have two days off.” Although Mick felt such a disturbance, he went on stage, but when the live performance started, he was swept up in the waves of illness, and the tearful figure of him pushing through with a singing style that somehow protected his throat was captured. Even just listening to the first few songs of the live performance, you can tell that Mick was in a bad mood, but what’s amazing about Mick and the Stones is that it doesn’t end there. “Wild Horses” was a great performance, with its quiet melody and Mick’s restrained and soft singing style. It was a blessing in disguise that his singing style fit the song so well. Moreover, in Europe, this song had a tendency to get too energetic, but here, the backing performance, which was restrained like at the Tokyo Dome, was also wonderful. However, Mick’s MC before that was dark like a funeral… It’s a real problem. But the situation gets even more serious. After this, Mick was waiting for the intense tune “Doom And Gloom”… However, Mick was fired up at the first verse, and sang surprisingly energetically considering his poor performance up to that point, but such efforts ended in vain, and as the song progressed to the second and third verses, Mick lost more and more strength. The third verse was so good that if he made a mistake, it would sound like a different song. The next song, “Street Fighting Man,” was like listening to a foreigner’s karaoke (bitter smile). In this situation, when it comes to the relatively recent song “Out Of Control,” it’s like he’s successfully cheating, and he doesn’t seem to be in a lot of pain. After finishing the familiar “Honky Tonk Women,” Mick can rest his throat in Keith Corner. It’s going pretty well around here. However, the break didn’t seem to comfort Mick in the intense “Midnight Rambler.” Another song without spirit. If Mick lowers the melody line in this kind of song, the performance will not be tight. There are even scenes where Mick’s voice seems to be in pain. In front of Mick, the band’s performance is also uncooked from start to finish, which is a lie compared to the incandescent heat in Perth, but the fact that Taylor’s performance was inspired only at the end is quite moving. And as for Mick after this, it’s just a parade of songs without any intonation or spirit. Is it the biggest shock since the middle of the 1981 tour when he dramatically changed the way he sings? Mick’s singing in “Start Me Up” and the last song “Satisfaction” is so close to fading that it’s hard to believe that this is the second half of the live performance, which is usually a lively event. While Mick’s presence is gradually fading, another attraction is that you can listen carefully to the saxophone of Karl Denson, who replaced the sick Bobby Keys, on “Miss You” and “Brown Sugar”. I like the performance that respects Bobby. Even so, contrary to the fact that the sound source that finally appeared was a superb sound source, it was also a document that vividly captured Mick’s struggling with illness… Such a shocking sound source will be released. In any case, Mick’s poor health is rare in recent years, so it’s understandable that the next performance will be postponed. Live At Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia 11.05.2014 Disc 1 (72:01) 1. Intro 2. Jumping Jack Flash 3. You Got Me Rocking 4. It’s Only Rock’n Roll 5. Tumbling Dice 6. Wild Horses 7. Doom And Gloom 8. Street Fighting Man 9. Out Of Control 10. Honky Tonk Women 11. Band Introductions 12. Before They Make Me Run 13. Happy 14. Midnight Rambler (with Mick Taylor) Disc 2 (53:01) 1. Miss You 2. Gimme Shelter 3. Start Me Up 4. Sympathy For The Devil 5. Brown Sugar 6. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (with The Consort Of Melbourne) 7. Satisfaction (with Mick Taylor)