Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've loved this album since I bought it on vinyl at a used record store in 1983. The Stones have put out a ton of live material, but I've always considered this their very best. The heart-pounding, fists-clenched version of Midnight Rambler is probably the best live track the Rolling Stones ever produced. Bluesy yet energetic renditions of lesser Stones classics like Live With Me and Stray Cat Blues stand out too. A couple of Chuck Berry chestnuts are lovingly rendered, retaining the original fun while adding depth and texture. Mick's iconic banter with the audience ("I've just busted a button on my trousers...") is a lot of fun, too. I could go on, but anyone considering buying this thing already knows and loves this collection. When I first heard about a new version, with unreleased tracks and even some video, I bought it without hesitation. I should have hesitated. The new edition is nothing if not well-packaged, coming in a thick box that's just a bit too tall to fit onto most CD shelves. Inside, there's a hardcover book with lots of pictures and some bland text by the usual bunch of self-important Rolling Stone (the mag, not the band) writers and critics. And then there are the discs. Disc 1 is the original album, supposedly remastered, but I didn't hear a difference. To be fair, when I ripped disc 1 into iTunes using Apple Lossless Encoding, it did register a slightly higher bitrate than the original CD, which I purchased in the late 1980s. So...there's that. Disc 2 has the unreleased tracks. Oh boy! Now we're getting somewhere. After 40 years, some new material from that amazing performance. So I popped it into my CD player and heard a very nice version of Prodigal Son, followed by 4 undistinguished tracks AND THAT'S IT. Five tracks count 'em FIVE. I was pretty disappointed, but there were 2 more discs, so I soldiered on. Disc 3 contains highlights from the other performers who played with (maybe "warmed up for" is too harsh) the Stones. There's some ok stuff here from B.B. King and Ike and Tina Turner, but both artists put out better material on their own. disc 4 was the "Bonus DVD" with live footage from these legendary shows. I was amped again, despite the disappointment of disc 2. Again, I was disappointed. Yes, there is some nice footage of Mick and Keith doing that same version of Prodigal Son, and snippets of some other stuff, and there is some nearly-wordless footage of Keith talking to Jimi Hendrix. Then there is some pointlessly lengthy footage of Mick trying to direct the album cover photo shoot on a highway that was closed down while the Stones dithered and complained about the cold. I think the whole DVD was about 20 minutes long. This could have been an effective release if they had ditched the fancy package and hardcover book, added the unreleased tracks to disc one, jettisoned discs 3 and 4 altogether, and put it out as a augmented and remastered version of Get Yer Ya Yas Out. Then again, they couldn't charge $42 for that, which is what I paid for it, let alone the $60 suggested retail price. Hopefully, some of you will read this and avoid making the same mistake.