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Licks World Tour 2002 - 2003


Shepherds Bush Empire, London - December 11, 2001
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Topic: Don't Stop review Return to archive Page: 1 2
08-27-02 10:07 AM
Mathijs Well, I listened for about ten times to Don�t Stop, and to me it really sounds like an unfinished Voodoo Lounge/Goddess ITD outtake. It sounds like they recorded 20 songs, released the 14 best on an album, and Don�t Stop is one of six they never bothered to finish since it didn�t seem to go anywhere. Something we hard core fans listen to on boots of bad quality. I really have the feeling it is unfinished �the way the songs start (a loose guitar, and Charlie seems to feel the beat for the first ten seconds and then chooses what drum part to play, something he wouldn�t to on the final take). Apparently the Stones wanted to record a bare record, but now, without some organ, percussion of background vocals (but do I hear some hand-claps?) it�s so bare it sounds like a work in progress.

The verses are quite nice, but within two sentences the song immediately moves to a Joy-like chorus, which is Stones-unworthy simple main stream Americana rock, with a twist of Primitive Cool thrown in. The first bridge is a pure Just Another Night rip-off, and so typical of Jagger�s solo-stuff (unfortunately not the good Wandering Spirit stuff). It reminds me so much of Primitive Cool I really want to turn Don�t Stop off �and that�s not a good thing. I do like the sound of the guitars, they�re quite dirty and up front. Keith adds some nice riffs, and Woods� solo is very effective due to its simplicity.

I hoped the song would catch me after a while, but it even starts to turn me off more. After listening 5 times I really felt like I�ve known this track for ten years already, and I felt like putting on some good music. I really doubt this track will stay in the hit lists for longer than 2 weeks. Who of the record buying audience would want to buy this single? Springsteen scored a hit because the Rising is a truly powerful and strong song, something I hoped the Stones could come up with too.

Mathijs
08-27-02 10:25 AM
T&A ....and, from the other side of the room...

I didn't like the song at first listen - but after about 10 listens now, I am getting more impressed. It's one of those "feel" songs. Mathijs - I think you are over-analyzing it. It's rock-n-roll - as Keith has said - it's all below the waist.

It rocks, it grooves...it works.

Tod
08-27-02 10:35 AM
Joey And What a great review this truly is ........Thanks .

In this magnificent analysis you have given us the grand and absorbing saga of The Rolling Stones in the new century . Your richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I cannot conceive of a better review-- Indeed , this is an epic achievement in the art of critique .

Bless you my son ...........

Bunny Jo






08-27-02 10:41 AM
Nellcote My two cents....

Is it not Keith who has consistently noted all songs
08-27-02 10:42 AM
nankerphelge I listened to it again on my lo-fi system here and I like it better today than I did yesterday. I wouldn't expect some hard-cores to like it because it is very poppy and designed for air-play. But I think it has that repetitive bouncy feel that most FM listeners seem to want -- it has a good groove and I think it'll out-do anything since '89 as far as mass-mkt appeal.

But what the fuck do I know...

08-27-02 10:43 AM
lucasd4 I really like it...it's got the best guitar sound on a Stones single since "One Hit." The production is much better than the overproduced B2B stuff...the guitars sound tougher than they did on anything from VL and STEEL WHEELS...the only weak area, IMO, is the vocals...Mick's vocals sound a little thin and he's still over-enunciating a bit...the vocals are also a little too upfront for my tastes...they need to go back to the classic Stones mix with the vocals buried deeper...It probably is mostly a Jagger song, but it's obvious that Keith's touch is in there too....
08-27-02 11:02 AM
Nellcote Is it not Keith who has steadfastly claimed
"All songs are cousins?"

08-27-02 11:48 AM
egon i agree with mathijs to some extent.
this song does not kick you in the balls!!
for me the stones do not have to quit, but if they never
record a new song again, that's fine by me.
08-27-02 12:09 PM
jb Mathjis .......you once were considered a Stones scholar who offered wonderful analysis of Stone boots, music, and the "Brussels affair" recordings.
Regrettably, from the day this tour was announced you pulled a Jekyl and Hyde and have posted some of the most venemous, insipid, vengeful, and anti-stones messages to date.
Please tell us what is happening in your life which has caused this metamorphisis from Stones lover to Stones basher. Clearly, you are dealing with some personal issues which have effected your judgment. Help is out there...we as Stones fans still consider you part of the Stones family and are here to help you..you, however, must take the first step ....We all love you but you must learn to love yourself!
08-27-02 12:33 PM
Mikey I personnally think that "Don't Stop" has an abbreviated shelf life in front of it. I mean, OOC and Saint of Me, two "new" classics are ones I consider fabulous songs, yet had limited staying power. I think I heard "Saint" about 2 times on the radio and OOC, once.

Its not that I don't want DS to flourish and get some airplay, i do, but I'm a realist and these days, if its not SFTD, BS or JJF, it doesn't get any exposure or props.

Mikey
08-27-02 12:51 PM
Maxlugar I'm sad to say that I played it once and did not even remotely feel like playing it again when it was finished.

And all I had to do is point and click and it would have started again!

I just went right on surfing for porn.

Hopefully, this is just another bad decision on their part and the better ones are the other three (Although ANOTHER Keith ballad?). They seem to be in a rut as far as picking the first single.

It does sound lose and not over produced which is GREAT.

But, I don't know....

It's just so forgetable.

Unlike this:

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaxy!!!

08-27-02 12:53 PM
jb Max, you seem somewhat melancholy...try shaving all of your body hair and rolling in satin sheets..it did the trick for me....Your "dirty works" friend, Joshyyyy!!!
08-27-02 12:54 PM
lucasd4
quote:
Mikey wrote:
I personnally think that "Don't Stop" has an abbreviated shelf life in front of it. I mean, OOC and Saint of Me, two "new" classics are ones I consider fabulous songs, yet had limited staying power. I think I heard "Saint" about 2 times on the radio and OOC, once.

Its not that I don't want DS to flourish and get some airplay, i do, but I'm a realist and these days, if its not SFTD, BS or JJF, it doesn't get any exposure or props.

Mikey




Even if they came out with something as good as their greatest songs, it wouldn't get much airplay today...times are different and radio is too fragmented and segregated...new music by classic artists like the Stones doesn't fit any popular radio format right now....the oldies stations play their 60's stuff...classic rock plays stuff into the 80's....modern/alternative rock won't touch anything they do...and forget about top 40....I'll be surprised if the song cracks the top 100 on the top 40 charts...even though it certainly deserves to
08-27-02 12:55 PM
Scot Rocks Ok, 7/10, a B-, not as good as highwire, whatever u wanna say

It aint going to be a great hit, but it's ok.


Mark
08-27-02 12:57 PM
Spear Shaker
Don't Stop is a fun, bouncy, mid-tempo guitar/drums song. . . The production is appropriately guitar-driven and balanced. It's the right single style for a compilation album. Thank God it's not in the Anybody Seen My Baby vein. . . It's great to hear Keith's open tuning chops, and Ron is assertive on lead. Charlie's fills always take off, and the verse/chorus has got hooks. . . only critique is that I MISS BILL WYMAN - I much prefer half and quarter bass notes to the eighths and sixteenths that are standard fare today. Good job lads -
08-27-02 01:02 PM
steel driving hammer " After listening 5 times I really felt like I�ve known this track for ten years already, "

Hmm. I agree. The ability to stay on course.

Could be like we were all born from the same monkey.
08-27-02 01:34 PM
gotdablouse Matthijs, while I'm as disappointed as you are by the absence of a new album, I think we should get over it, be reasonable and take a quiet look at what's on offer. We've bitched about this long enough and I must say your negativeness is starting to worry me a bit.

I'll repost what I posted yesterday about Don't Stop.

I think it's a keeper. It's quite possibly the best (i.e. not OVER) produced track they've put out since the Tattoo You era. It succeeds where their previous attempt at a similar sound failed, i.e. Highwire in 1991. I do resent them for writing the usual shitty love/sex lyrics, especially at their age. Without going to the Undercover extremes, it would still be great if they could go back to the "poetry" of Moonlight Mile or Sway.

This one's got a better rythm part, more bouncy. And it's not ALL Mick, there's some pretty mean Keith playing in the background. Dig that acoustic a la Brown Sugar too. Too bad they didn't include the Hammond from the live version.
This will be a hit !

As to identifying the lead player, I'd swear it's played on a Stratocaster and I don't think Keith's ever played one unlike Ron who uses them a lot...Mick too ! Another similarity with Highwire is that no one ever found out for sure who played that freaky solo in there !

They (Mick for the most aprt) have always been trying to explore new ground. Apart from Miss You they never had much success and since Tattoo You it's failed altogether.
08-27-02 01:39 PM
Honky Tonk Man Two Words describes it

Its Rubbish

Now im going to listen to the Vines

Alex
08-27-02 02:11 PM
Boomhauer Me gusto "DOn't Stop" mucho!
08-27-02 03:33 PM
Staffan Yes, I agree with Mathijs, SDH, and all you others who think it's pretty boring... It aint rubbish BECAUSE Ronnie does a great solo IMO, it's awesome really and it's not often I that like guitar solo's by Ron.
It's way too poppy and commercial (which is something I HATE with today's music industry!).
I love world music and the way it works... imagine people sitting in forests learning each other the Tumbling Dice riff... oh, it's a song that's 200 years old....
08-27-02 03:44 PM
Boomhauer Yeah, "Don't Stop" should be way more like:

Start Me Up
Miss You
Satisfaction
IORR
Gimme Shelter
Sympathy
Get off of my cloud
Let it Bleed
Honky tonk women
Undercover
Love is strong
Out of time
heart of stone
angie
etc, etc, etc.......... because the STones are "NOT" known to have more of a variety in music and different sounds in their songs. "Don't Stop" should be like the other songs, right?







Stupid shit.
08-27-02 05:07 PM
Sir Stonesalot Well, obviously, the only thing that is gonna make some of you happy is another "Brown Sugar" or Exile....

My sincere advice is to just bury your heads back in the headphones and keep reliving the past with all those neato bootlegs with Mick Taylor on them. Don't even bother with anything past 1973.

The rest of us will scarf up what the Stones are serving tonight for dinner....hot, fresh tunage.

Don't Stop is not the greatest single they've ever released. I didn't really think it would be. But it's certainly better than a bunch of other singles that I can think of. It's a catchy, hook driven pop song. It's exactly what AC stations like to play. OOC and SOM, while great songs, are too long for most radio stations....I'm convinced that is why they got no attention. ASMB sucked, and that's why it didn't get any play. Don't Stop fits the radio playbill nicely. If they can pull out a cool video to go with it, you could see this song do well in the charts.

Did it actually get released yet? I called around today to see if anyone was gonna carry the CD single, but no one knew what I was talking about, and the cool CD stores that I haunt don't carry CD singles.
08-27-02 05:14 PM
Joey " My sincere advice is to just bury your heads back in the headphones and keep reliving the past with all those neato bootlegs with Mick Taylor on them. Don't even bother with anything past 1973. "

OK !

J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joe J Jo Joey

The Joey




08-27-02 05:16 PM
sirmoonie I'm sorry. I really hate to impose like this, but would someone please be kind enough to (1) inform me as to how to hear Don't Stop w/o using Real One or (2) walk me thru how to use Real One. I cannot get the fucking thing to work and it is ruining my life.

Thanks in advance.
08-27-02 05:21 PM
Sir Stonesalot Just go to real.com, download the free real one player, restart your computer. Then hit the link for Don't Stop, and start dancing like a muthahfukkah.

08-27-02 05:23 PM
T&A it goes out to radio this week I believe. I think I read that the single may not come out now until after 40Licks is released.
08-27-02 05:38 PM
DiamondsDisease I'm sure Don't stop is gonna work perfectly for the older fans but in my opinion it's quite a conservative song. I don't agree it's rubbish but it surely doesn't impress me. When Steel Wheels came out I was suprised by it. They developped their style. When Wandering Spirit came out I was suprised by it in a positive way, cause I never expected to be this good. Voodoo Lounge didn't suprise me, but at least it was a great solid album. Then finally B2B came out. I remember hearing ASMB? for the first time. My first reaction was "What the fuck is this?" But pretty soon I loved that song, and still do. And the whole album really suprised me. Once again they changed their sound, without making themself look foolish like Bowie did. I guess nobody agrees with me but I love the dust brother songs. Especially might as well get used. People still talk about ASMB? many of you in a negative way but still everybody seems to have an opinion about it. I'm afraid nobody will talk about Don't Stop about a month from now.
I guess someone really should lock up Mick and Keith in the kitchen again, like Oldham did. Cause they can do much better than this. But who can do it, who has the gutts to do it? I guess only Charlie can but I'm afraid he is much too friendly for that. Just do it Charlie, lock those guys up and throw away the key. Only let them out when they can suprise you again. As a matter in fact it's your band right?
Well maybe it's just me, I guess I'm just spoiled with too many great songs of this band
08-27-02 07:05 PM
TheSavageYoungXyzzy I've decided:

It's catchy.
I like it.

Is it great? No.

Is it better than that tripe known as "Anybody Seen My Baby?" Yes.
Is it better than "Fool To Cry"? Umm... yes!
Does it sound like a Stones cover of a Mick solo song? Yes.
Have a disturbing number of songs taken this trend? Yes.
Has Mick released *good* solo material? Yes.

Do I like it? Yes.

And Sir Stones-O-Rama... if we stopped at 1973 we would miss It's Only Rock'n'Roll. And that being Taylor's final hurrah in a consistantly great carreer with the Stones.... oh, and we wouldn't get to dance along to "If You Can't Rock Me" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Like It)" and so on and so forth ad nauseum... pretty much everything except "If You Want To Be My Friend".

Oh, and Diamonds! Yes! Good plan! Or... even better... threaten Ronnie with Mick Taylor and see how fast he runs to throw away the key.

-tSYX --- Are ya safe asleep?
08-27-02 07:42 PM
Nellcote This is the Stones, circa '02

Mick's a knight, out with women half his age, with children who could be his grandchildren. Still has the voice.

Ron's a recovering boozer, who knew enough to stop, so we hear, who, by all reports, has found his stride.

Charlie is a frustrated jazz drummer, who tolerates this whole situation because he still enjoys it, he has NEVER
lost the groove.

Keith wishes he could play every day, tour with the Stones
constantly, has to settle for Sheryl Crow duets, he still provides the solid frame to this horse with his playing.

Summary: Four men who are in the late stages of life, who
come together to earn their keep, have fun, provide the best entertainment. We are treated to four new songs, from four men who got together for three weeks in June to record.
Probably goaded by the record firm to produce more,put out what they could finish given the timing.

Result: Don't Stop. Fresh, bouncy, stays with you music from The Greatest Rock N Roll Band in the world. It's not a lyric masterpiece, however, we never knew this from the Stones. Sounds familiar, yeah, did you want it to sound like, say Flock of Seagulls? Could it have been better, I do not know, given the amount of time they had to record, I doubt it. However, given where the world is now, product from this group, any product, still is a complete gas.

So, enjoy it, look for the upcoming tour when it stops your way, buy the remasters, book the ppv, and frankly, act as we have always, waiting with baited breath for anything they will release, at any time.

Don't Stop does it for me. Has since 615am yesterday, does now. It's a keeper.
08-27-02 07:54 PM
Sir Stonesalot Fuck yup Nelly. Fuck yup.
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Rolling Stones tour 2002 - Rolling Stones World Tour - Rolling Stones on the road