The Rolling Stones/Totally Stripped(2016)

You gotta love The Stones  even though they too have a ton of compilations,greatest hits sets,live albums they can always make it interesting.

Case in point. Totally Stripped is The Stones rocking it still and even though it’s the Stones stripping back on a lot of bells and whistles and rocking out these 14 tracks.  These tracks are not snooze ville renditions! No Way Jose! It’s the Stones playing with a ferocity a hard swift boot in the ass that makes this album real enjoyable!

Mick Jagger/Keef/Ronnie Wood/Charlie Watts/Daryl Jones/Chuck Leavell/Bobby Keys/Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fisher Lay down the Stones Juggernaut Sonically!

Check out these 14 Bad Boys….

“Not Fade Away” – Amsterdam
“Honky Tonk Women” – Paris
“Dead Flowers” – Amsterdam
“Faraway Eyes” – London
“Shine A Light” – Amsterdam
“I Go Wild” – Paris
“Miss You” – London
“Like A Rolling Stone” – Amsterdam
“Brown Sugar” – Paris
“Midnight Rambler” – London
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – Paris
“Gimme Shelter” – Amsterdam
“Rip This Joint” – Amsterdam
“Street Fighting Man” – Amsterdam

First of all these recordings are from 1995 so their  2 plus decades old! No biggie as the Stones were firing on all 4 cylinders during the Voodoo Lounge Tour..

1995 The Stones released Stripped which features some of these tunes but these songs on Totally Stripped are recorded on  different nights (except for Street Fighting Man)  than what was heard on Stripped!

Cool idea and to be honest once I read that I was onboard!

Neat that I Go Wild from the Voodoo Lounge album is featured here in a rocked up jam out version and I will tell you that Mick N Keef are strong here while Ronnie bends and flicks some neat riffs..

Faraway Eyes is featured and is rarely played so thats a bonus as it’s a great track. A slower paced Stones track…..

The real deal for me on this album is Midnight Rambler. Always have and always will love this track. This is the song for me that makes The Stones great! Ron and Keef lock horns on the guitars while Charlie drives the tune from behind his drum kit! Everyone talks about Jagger and his deal as one of the best frontman in rock but no one talks about his harmonica playing. Mick gives er on the Gob Iron. Midnight Rambler is one of those songs you don’t want to end and what is most impressive is how the Stones slow the tune right down and then on cue ramp it up without falling all over themselves as they crank it back up! Total Gem!

Gimmie Shelter….is another song built around that guitar riff and the backing vocal of Fisher who Grand Slams it out of the park with her singing! I always think of the movie Casino and Coke  when I hear this song! Ha! Another all time great..what can be said about it?

A real nice addition here is the inclusion of Rip This Joint. The boys start it and Mick kinda drifts and then Bam it stops within the first few bars! The band rock it back up and are off! It’s good to see them leave mistakes on here as it shows they can still be a bar band at heart and be sloppy yet they can mop up their mistake and continue without missing a beat! This is what makes em great!

Glad this album came out as don’t be fooled by the title as you may think its a whole unplugged deal…

Nope its the Stones…an all out Barroom Boogie Assault!