Confessions of a Fanboy

What on earth took them so long?

The Rolling Stones have been around long enough that it could be the much-discussed 11th Commandment that any Stones tour will be chronicled with a live CD or DVD. The band broke their own attendance and financial records on the tour for 2005’s A Bigger Bang. While it’s true that the tour is technically still active – the band is playing a string of dates in Europe, many of them to makeup for gigs canceled due to various health-related mishaps – a tour souvenir is long overdue.

That will be corrected June 12th in the form of a 4-DVD package, The Biggest Bang.

The package will include two full-length concerts: the Rio do Janeiro and Austin, TX shows are present in their entirety. In addition to the two full shows, there will be two separate tour documentaries and an enormous amount of bonus performance footage and behind-the-scenes footage. You’re not likely to see Keith Richards’ now famous coconut tree accident, but just about everything else is fair game. Some of the bonus performance footage will include never-before seen performances with guest stars like Eddie Vedder, Bonnie Raitt, and Dave Matthews. The classics are represented as well as rarely-performed nuggets from the band’s mythical catalog.

What are some of those rarities? How about the fabulous “Sway” from Sticky Fingers? We’ve got Keith singing the deliciously dirty and juvenile “Little T&A” (Tattoo You)! “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” a great cover from their It’s Only Rock and Roll album made a return to the setlist. “Get Off My Cloud” and “Under My Thumb” are also included.

I’m also looking forward to hearing some of the Bigger Bang cuts performed. It was a very good album and it went a bit underappreciated. I’m mildly disappointed that more of the new album isn’t represented here. I may be the only one, though. We’re not getting a live version of my favorite song from Bang, the brilliant “Infamy,” nor do we get the fabulous “She Saw Me Coming.”

The package is being sold for a mere $29.99, which is incredibly reasonable. The bad news? Best Buy again gets the exclusive on the set, at least initially. I’m not a huge fan of these exclusive deals, even if I set aside my series of personal disputes with Best Buy. Still, $29.99 is a steal for this set! You can pre-order your copy at BestBuy.com or pick your copy up at a nearby store on June 12.

Here is the full rundown of what’s included in The Biggest Bang:

Disc 1: Zilker Park, Austin, Texas
Opening (intro)
1.You Got Me Rocking
2. Let’s Spend The Night Together
3. She’s So Cold
4. Oh No, Not You Again
5. Sway
6. Bob Wills Is Still The King
7. Streets Of Love
8. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
9. Tumbling Dice
10. Learning The Game
11. Little T&A
12. Under My Thumb
13. Get Off My Cloud
14. Honky Tonk Women
15. Sympathy For The Devil
16. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
17. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
18. Brown Sugar

Bonus Features:
1. Austin Mini-Documentary
2. “I Can’t Be Satisfied” from Milan, Italy
3. Jukebox Feature

Disc 2: Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Opening (intro)
1. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
2. It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll
3. You Got Me Rocking
4. Wild Horses
5. Rain Fall Down
6. Midnight Rambler
7. Night Time Is The Right Time
8. Happy
9. Miss You
10. Rough Justice
11. Get Off My Cloud
12. Honky Tonk Women
13. Start Me Up
14. Brown Sugar
15. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
16. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Bonus Feature: Rio de Janeiro Documentary

Disc 3: Rest Of The World
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan

Opening (intro)
1. Let’s Spend The Night Together
Sapporo (segue)
2. Rain Fall Down
Tokyo Dome (segue)
3. Rough Justice
Cherry Blossoms (segue)

Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China

Opening (intro)
1. Bitch
2. Midnight Rambler
3. Gimme Shelter
4. This Place Is Empty
That’s What I Do (segue)
5. It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll
China, A Slow Process (segue)

River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Opening (intro)
1. Worried About You
Football Chant (segue)
2. Happy
3. Miss You
Ronnie & Audience (segue)
4. Paint It Black
5. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Featurettes:
1. Bonnie Raitt featurette “Shine A Light”
2. Eddie Vedder featurette “Wild Horses”
3. Dave Matthews featurette “Let It Bleed”

Duets:
1. “Shine A Light” featuring Bonnie Raitt
2. “Wild Horses” featuring Eddie Vedder
3. “Let It Bleed” featuring Dave Matthews
4. “Wild Horses” featuring Cui Jian

Jukebox Feature

Disc-4
Salt Of The Earth A Bigger Bang Tour Documentary

Bonus Songs:
1. “Get Up, Stand Up”
2. “Mr. Pitiful”

Bonus Features:
1. If It Ain’t Got That Swing featuring Charlie Watts
2. “Hurricane” featuring Keith Richards
3. Outlets Of Emotion featuring Ron Wood
4. Busking featuring Mick Jagger

Filed under: Musical Musings and Random Ramblings, Rolling Stones