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| soraya |
i just read a article online (it's only rock and roll but they like it.the article is 2 hours old) from the sunday times uk. jagger says the stones will not stop touring. they won't do long tour as before but they will tour more regularly.and he says that they will make a new record soon.jagger will start planning for the long future in january. |
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| TheSavageYoungXyzzy |
Best news I've heard in ages.
Anyone have the full text?
-tSYX --- How can you do it all by yourself? How can you do it alone? |
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| Mr T |
seeing these guys at their more ambitious moments is a great thing. Mick already talking about more touring and an album (I mean 'already' in reference to the time they've been off the road, not since the last album)
its believable too, they did seem a lot more 'into it' this tour
but if they take a break after whatever's next, I hope we see another Keith solo record (and if Mick does anything else I hope it involves Jeff Beck) |
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| Hannalee |
[quote]TheSavageYoungXyzzy wrote:
Best news I've heard in ages.
Anyone have the full text?
Your wish is my command:
The Sunday Times
November 16, 2003
Rock: It�s only rock�n�roll, but they like it
Forty years on, they are getting satisfaction. Live performance is the one habit the Stones are unlikely to kick, says Robin Eggar
Could this be the last time? Forget it. After 40 years, the Rolling Stones have no intention of packing it in. Usually at the end of a tour, the band head off in four different directions. But at the New York launch of Four Flicks, a four-DVD set of the 40 Licks Tour, each Stone displayed an unprecedented enthusiasm for both the past tour and the immediate future. Even Charlie Watts.
After December 18, when Keith Richards turns 60, three of the four members will be sexagenarians. Not that you�d know it on stage. Or indeed off. Their body shapes and hair colour (Watts excepted) have not changed since the 1960s. Their faces are well lived-in, clear-eyed if deeply lined. Richards still resembles a raggle-taggle gypsy. He chain-smokes Marlboros in nonsmoking rooms, enjoys a slug of vodka that would stun an ox, and is more alive than most teenagers.
In post-tour mode, no longer the spoilt �princess in a fairy tower�, Mick Jagger is restlessly bouncing around the five-star hotels of the world until Christmas, when he will succumb to doing the �washing-up and putting out the garbage�. (By contrast, Charlie went straight home, where he does the washing-up by hand because machines damage his antique plates.) In January, Jagger will draw up plans for a long future. �I can�t see us stopping. Not at the moment,� he laughs. �Maybe we won�t tour as we did � 16 months nonstop � but more regularly. I don�t like to stay away from the stage too long, but I don�t see us just as a live act. I think we have to do a record soon. Being a live band gives you instant gratification. Records don�t.�
For the first time, the Stones toured without having to promote a new album (just 40 Licks, a greatest-hits compilation with four new tracks). Having played stadiums for 30 years, for this last outing the band decided to play three types of venue � stadiums, arenas and small theatres � mixing and matching their immense repertoire to fit. The results surpassed expectations, earning critical praise and inspiring the band to make what may be their best-ever live recordings. One DVD is devoted to each concert format, recorded at Madison Square Garden, Twickenham and the Olympia in Paris; the fourth contains two behind-the-scenes documentaries. Like them or loathe them, their concerts proved that the Stones have not forgotten what it is all about.
There is a telling moment from the Olympia concert after Jagger gives a staggering, impassioned, extemporised performance of That�s How Strong My Love Is. Keith points at him, steps back and applauds. �He really hit the spot that day,� he says. �It�s nice when you get all of the juice out of him.�
�We are like the proverbial old building,� says Jagger. �We�ve been around so long, we�ve gone back into being cool. We were so baroque on the last (Bridges to Babylon) tour, I wanted to tone it down a bit. This new format really did break it up. I was surprised and delighted. It worked for the audience, and it kept us awake. Routine kills spontaneity. As a result, I am not as tired coming off the tour, not as drained.�
�It was the best-ever tour,� enthuses Ronnie Wood, the baby at 56. His first decade as a fully fledged, earning Stone (he started playing with the band in 1975, but was only promoted to a full financial share in 1989) was fuelled by three bottles of vodka a day. �For me, it was the first tour I really saw, knowing everything I am playing ... and remembering it the next day. In the past, I did a lot of hard work, still played good, but it wasn�t with clarity, it was using the crutches of alcohol and dope. Doing it with a new and more sober attitude was quite a lesson for me. Quite a kick. It was very rewarding to know I was someone who could be relied on.�
The Stones possess a unique ability to consume their members from within but somehow keep on rolling. In the 1960s, Brian Jones went down to drugs; in the 1970s, Mick Taylor left the band with a serious habit that almost killed him, while Keith spent the decade in a heroin haze; in the 1980s, even the level-headed Watts succumbed to smack. �It does seem to hang out like that, doesn�t it?� he nods soberly, then he grins: �It�s Mick�s turn next. We�ve all decided.� Wood adds: �We didn�t plan it, it�s just what happens. With four different characters like what we are, somebody is going to have a personal problem and try to wash away the reality by getting drunk or stoned, or both.�
All the band members have their individual ways of getting pumped up for a show. Watts is dressed three hours before the start, then he watches and waits. �I get dragged into the excitement,� he insists. �I don�t actually get excited myself. I always get very nervous when they�re filming, because you can play a song 200 times � which we usually do � and the one night they choose to film the bloody thing, you muck it up.�
Keith and Ronnie often play snooker. �I think Keith has won about nine frames,� Wood says. �Quite genuinely so. He is getting better. It used to be none.� The musicians can and do play through minor illnesses and damaged fingers for �the adrenaline that comes off the audience � it cures lots of illnesses�.
It is harder for Jagger, because if he can�t sing, there is no show. He approaches touring like Pavarotti. It takes two hours to prepare for a show: vocal warm-ups, followed by physical warm-ups, then costume and make-up. If there is a break in the tour, he still spends up to three hours a day singing; exercises are followed by a karaoke session. �I have to be disciplined,� he says. �It is so much easier to tour when you�re completely straight. It was hard for Ronnie to do a tour cleaned up, but it is harder when you don�t know what you are doing half the time. I have had to be in control of myself since 1976. I can�t do what I do and do drugs and drink. It is always the wrong night to go out.�
Jagger is quick to dismiss suggestions that advancing years forced the cancellation of more shows than in the past. �I didn�t cancel any,� he snaps. �I postponed three out of 115. Which is better than the last tour.� Postponing two shows in Amsterdam and Twickenham did affect filming for the DVD, which Jagger concedes is a mix of the two gigs. Attempts to play mainland China have been frustrated twice, first by the Sars epidemic and then by bureaucracy. �The Chinese are being a bit obscure � let�s put it that way,� says Richards, �but we wanted to play there. I hate to miss gigs. I want to play everywhere. I�ll play Outer Mongolia, even Inner Mongolia. If you are scared of a rock�n�roll band, you�ve got problems. We�re not running opium. Mind you, the way I was brought up, I never expected to play Moscow. �
The Stones have always, as Richards puts it in one of his poetic metaphors, been like Magellan, sailing into uncharted territory. In 1963, bands had a handful of hit singles, lasted two years and were lucky to make a few quid. Now the Stones are a global brand, regularly hyped as �the greatest rock�n�roll band in the world�. Richards� ambition has always been a little more restrained: to be the greatest bar band in the world. While Jagger enjoys the big shows, the guitarist prefers more controlled environments.
�In a football stadium, you never know what anybody else is hearing, it depends on the way the wind is blowing. God joins the band and you keep your fingers crossed. In arenas and theatres, I can virtually feel the band breathe. Those two hours a day when I am on stage make up for the travelling, the shitty food, the lousy broads and everything else on the road that people consider a drag. After 40 years, you could expect me to say it�s just another gig, but it never is.
I wish I could be that blas�. The whole point of rock�n�roll is that there should be an element of danger. The Stones are probably the only band left who do that. It is thrilling up there because you don�t know what is going to happen next. Nobody plays safe. Sometimes we�ll do things I can�t remember. It�s done in the flash of a second, but there are daring escapes, daredevil stunts going on, without anybody else realising it.�
The crux, the creative heart of the Rolling Stones, is the relationship between Jagger and Richards. There have been times when they would barely speak. Keith was unimpressed when Mick was given a knighthood, but otherwise all parties agreed that the tour was pretty harmonious. �We got on the same as usual,� says Watts. �Actually, it was a bit better. We didn�t have as many dramas. Keith brings emotion, Mick brings direction.� Jagger says they get on 95% of the time, while Richards agrees they haven�t been bickering as much. �We change the subject ... depending on the phase of the moon. It evens itself out. We put up with each other�s visions of what the Stones are all about and still love each other. Under- lying it all is a very strong bond.�
�I sometimes think we must be puppets for a force,� Richards continues. �This is a damn good working band and we love what we do. It is a unique combination, not just for the longevity. Us guys are kicking 60, but when we gather in a room to play, we�re 16 again. There is the same glee, the same thrill, when it goes right as there was in the Station Hotel, Richmond. I was deliberately trying to crash it over precipices years ago �� he sighs, and downs his Smirnoff �� but it just won�t go away.�
�It will only stop when something happens,� says Watts. �Being morbid.�
�Like somebody dying,� explains Ronnie helpfully. �We should die on stage ... all of us together.� �No,� says Watts, deadpan. �You go first.�
Four Flicks is released by Warner Vision tomorrow; �49.99
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| corgi37 |
Great interview. The whole band seemed so honest and open. Even Jagger. That last paragraph of Keith's should be an inspiration to any struggling band/muso. I love their attitude to the future. Instead of world-wide conquests, there will be hit and run missions. Could be the end of stadium shows though. And it simply has to be said, though we all know, how amazing is Mr. Watts? |
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| marko |
Yeah,just like i said on the End is near thread.Lod of shit,
about them stopping now.They ain�t going nowhere in next
5-7 years or so. |
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| Monkey Woman |
Now, that's good news! Thanks a lot, Soraya and Hannalee. 
The Stones are happy to go on, and we are happy that they are!  |
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| UGot2Rollme |
thanks for this post - made my day! |
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| hotlicks |
Many thanks Soraya & Hannalee, it looks like a new album and then tour in 2005........better start saving!!!! |
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| Steel Wheels |
If this isn't the best damn news all year, I don't know what is.
Such enthusiasm, arrogance, and direction is always welcomed from The Rolling Stones.
A new album please! This is longer than the Dirty Work to Steel Wheels layoff, which at the time was unthinkable. It's even longer than the Steel Wheels to Voodoo hiatus.
I need new tunes! |
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| LadyJane |
What a great way to start the day!!
Not surprised. Watched the Twickenham Show last night. Expected to be let down after Olympia. Nope. It's obvious they are having a blast!!!
They nailed Paint It Black. NAILED IT!! Charlie was grinning throughout the song!
New album and tour to follow. It makes perfect sense.
LJ. |
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| TracyGene |
Thanks for the article.What a great way to start Sun. A.M. It will make Mon. easier to deal with too. Great to hear the boys are getting along post tour. |
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| kahoosier |
I just hope that all the negative people that have Ronnie in his grave with Mick and Keith at each others' throat have read this. Off course it will do little ggod, someone will claim it is all PR by Mick to boost sales of Four Flicks which is nothing but their last wheeze. Jeeeze, I cannot understand why these doom and gloom guys post so often and even more amazing, as much as some of them bitch about the Stones, why they seem to be the guys that see the most shows LOL! They must be masochists at heart, in which case, this news must be causing them the most exquisie pain!!! |
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| corgi37 |
If Mick wanted to boost sales of 4f, he's just gotta say "This is it, no more. We "probably" wont tour again. Instead, and he doesnt have to, and HE'S usually the most vocal about being cagey on upcoming projects, he comes out and says, in effect, "we aint done yet". For a next tour, it would be cool to keep ticket prices down by eliminating some side men. Do we need Blondie? I'd say they need Chuck more than we do, so i guess he's gotta stay. I can do without trumpets on Satisfaction and JJFlash. Some stuff like Street fighting man, honky tonk, tumbling dice, and unless they radically alter it to what it should be, sympathy, can be rested. They should really, really include some obscure stuff. All the time. No stadiums, just theatres and arenas. That should save on the huge stage design/transport costs. Of course, they might not get out of their coffins for anything less than a guaranteed $400,000,000. |
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| Flashpoint |
I agree with you corgi. I'm sick of trumpets on the war horses, obviously i can't stand that piano too
And if Jagger still wants to do stadiums/arenas/clubs they definitely can't include warhorses in the theater setlists.
They did it in the Licks tour and that's it
Charlie put your foot down and tell Jagger you want to play Dandelion, that you get bored with Honky and Satisfaction. |
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| hotlicks |
let's hope they sack Chuck and bring back THE MIGHTY MAC!!!! |
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| glencar |
Chuck does a good job with the setlists. Just lower his piano in the mix. |
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| glencar |
And bring on a new album. |
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| FotiniD |
�It will only stop when something happens,� says Watts. �Being morbid.�
SEE? It should do good to all the rumours posts we've seen the last days. I mean, it's even coming from Charlie, how about that? |
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| sammy davis jr. |
I'm suprised, I'll admit.....But happily suprised, great news! |
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| Glimmer |
Let's lose the backup singers and get back to having Keith sing all the backup vocals...even if his voice can't take it...it's all about the image. |
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| marko |
Forget it. |
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| jb |
They would be lost without Chuck and the gang....sad, but true. |
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| Mikey |
I actually somewhat agree with JB. Besides, the piano, organ and backup singers are integral parts of a majority of the warhorses (TD, YCAGWYW, HTW). You rather go without them?? |
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| Glimmer |
Please go and watch Keith sing back up vocals on Let's Spend The Night Together (movie) and tell me that isn't the Stones at their best. He is so cool when he's singing as well as riffing. Keith & Ronnie singing backup on Shattered & JJF, just to name a few. The 70s and the 81 Tour are a main reason I fell in love with the Stones. This is just my humble opinion...I respect all of yours that disagree with me but I thought I would just share my thoughts. |
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| marko |
Well thats the stones,which i fell in love some 23 years ago.And thats a long time ago.Give chuck a piano,,,,or let
him play organ,not the fucking plink,klonk KORG.
I think they could still use less horns&backing singers.
Only on songs,on which they were originally,like bitch.
Lisa on shelter etc........
Keith has said,that loves to play with ALL these guys on stage. |
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| glencar |
I'd rather go without some of the warhorses but I don't think they can lose too many of them. Casual fans definitely have their wishes & they deserve to have them met too. |
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| T&A |
yes, of course the show will go on...who ever said it wouldn't? There's no news here, really.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to a Rod/Ronnie reunion in early 2004. That's been rumored for sometime and it appears to be taking shape. Will be good therapy for RW - get/keep his chops into shape, etc. I would think/hope that in the meanwhile Mick and Keith may take some time to come up with some new material. Keith always says the road is the inspiration for new musical ideas - well, here's your chance to prove it, padre!
I like Chuck - always did. He's an ace...especially good on the organ (notice nobody ever complains about when he plays organ?). Not a big fan of Lisa, but Bernard's a keeper as is Blondie, who is a MASTER musician that nobody seems to appreciate...sad. |
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| Mikey |
Would you kindly elaborate on Blondie's master musical talents on the past tour. |
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| T&A |
For those that have followed Blondie's long and storied career closely, there's no question about his abilities. I'm not saying the Stones have leveraged it to anything close to full effect, mind you. But, I think he's a nice "insurance policy" for the Stones (which, is frankly, why I think he is there) and he's a helluva cool dude, too... |
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