I never was a big Rolling Stones fan, but I have enough of the band’s catalog on LP and CD, I think. But I see there are plenty of Live albums released over the past few decades, a number of post-2000 releases which me both curious and skeptical. However, one I’ve had since the 80s is the 1982 release Still Life. This was recorded on the band’s American tour (see title), in support of their highly successful Tattoo You album, so of the 10 songs here, is the obvious hit “Start Me Up” from that record.

At the time this came out I was listening to 97 Rock (Buffalo), and they’d regularly play the intro (Duke Ellington’s “Take The A Train”) and “Going To. Go-Go”, the hit single from Still Life. As a more ‘distant’ Stones fan, this album suits me fine; it is a solid set of classics from the 60s right til their most recent. The performances are energetic, as (to me) the band still sounds at their peak.

Opening track “Under My Thumb” sounds excellent, as do fellow classics like “Shattered” and “Let Me Go”, as well as the band’s performance of The Temptations hit “Just My Imagination” (written by Norman Whitfield).

I dig the cover art as well, and gatefold design of the LP. And although I think this worked well at the time as a single LP, an expanded ‘full’ concert version of this is overdue. Surely the band played more from Tattoo You at the time(?), as well as other classics from their 60s and 70s catalog. I do see a few shows from this tour on YouTube, so hopefully there’s something to be given a proper release in the future.