STILL LIFE IN KANSAS CITY 1981

Disc One: 1. Take The A Train, 2. Under My Thumb, 3. When The Whip Comes Down, 4. Let’s Spend The Night Together, 5. Shattered, 6. Neighbours, 7. Black Limousine, 8. Just My Imagination, 9. Twenty Flight Rock, 10. Going To A Go Go, 11. Let Me Go, 12. Time Is On My Side, 13. Beast Of Burden, 14. Waiting On A Friend, 15. Let It Bleed.

Disc Two: 1. You Can t Always Get What You Want, 2. Band Introduction, 3. Little T&A, 4. Tumbling Dice, 5. She’s So Cold, 6. Hang Fire, 7. Miss You, 8.   Honky Tonk Women, 9. Brown Sugar, 10. Start Me Up, 11. Jumping Jack Flash, 12. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, 13. Star Spangled Banner.

This Mayflower release is subtitled Multiband Remaster which in the label’s words means: “the instrumental and vocals parts are separated by AI system, bass, guitar, drums etc. and every instrument is remastered and remixed with the correct balance.”; this concert is famous due to Mick Taylor guesting, allegedly from Black Limousine onwards: in fact it is possible to hear Jagger saying “Thank you Mick” right after Black Limousine and clearly audible at the beginning of Time Is On My Side, on Let It Bleed, You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Satisfaction; he is however introduced formally by Jagger just after Going To A Go Go; another guest of the show was Bobby Keys (thanked by Jagger after Brown Sugar). Here we can find probably one of the best live versions of Jumping Jack Flash. A recording of this show came out as Did We Meet Somewhere Before? (VGP 129) which had tracks up to Let It Bleed from the 15^th and the tracks from You Can t Always Get What You Want from the 14^th where Taylor played on, as audience like on Well…Come Back My Sweetheart (Shaved Discs 004-5) and Kansas City ‘81 (Hot Lips HLR RS 014-5) and Together At Last (UM 019-20). Then as mono soundboard came out Kansas City, December 14 1981 (Crossfire Hurricane), Mick Taylor We Love You And We’ll Always Do (EVSD 210-1) that contained audience recordings of both shows, Mick Taylor We Thank You (Pignose 021) a 2 cdr set with the recording as stereo soundboard, while Guitar Onslaught (C030220C 5500Y and DAC 005) take their title from Jagger’s words after Let It Bleed and are in mono. It’s Okay I’m With the Band (OMS   045-8) has the recording of the following day too, other titles being Guitar Onslaught-Four’s a Crowd (Tattoo Board TB5) and as part of American Tour 1981 Part 3 (WLR USA 1981). Time Is On My Side came out on Live Rarities (RS 9201). The basic question for this release is: can Mick Taylor be heard more clearly here with regards to the other versions? Well…not that much, frankly, although it must be said that overall all the instruments seem clearer than before, but there is not much you can do to the original mix, however this is a nice release that presents the Kansas City 81 show in the best possible shape.