The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
It was only three short years since the Stones toured the States in 1969, but it may have well been thirty. No more screaming crowds or 30 minute sets as was the standard in 1966. Audiences could now hear the music being played and they were listening. The 1969 tour was triumphant return to live performance with a band again capable of touring. What could be more fitting a tribute than a live record to "document" the Rolling Stones claim as the "Greatest Rock n' Roll Band in the World". It has been written that "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" (GYYYO) was released to counter sales of the bootleg LP "Liver Than You'll Ever Be", but the audio and video taping of several East Coast shows was certainly a premeditated event destine to permanently set the record straight. "Ya-Ya's" continues to this day, in the opinion of many, to be the ultimate expression of a live recording of a Rolling Stones performance.
The December 28, 1969, issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine reported on the Madison Square Garden (MSG) performances as follows:
"The band got better and better the more they performed. That was clear to anyone who heard them on the West Coast, in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and then, later, in New York or West Palm Beach. It was clear to Mick, who noted: 'Compared to the way we sounded later along, we were terrible in San Francisco. Ragged. By the time we were in Detroit, I'd say, it was like a one hundred percent improvement.'"
One of the first audience recordings of the November, 1969, Madison Square Garden shows surfaced on an LP titled "Stoned-M.S.G.". I first saw a picture of the recording in a special edition magazine put out by "Rolling Stone" that featured Stones articles from October 12, 1968 to January 30, 1975. There was a special discography at the end of the book which gave me my first exposure to bootlegs. I'd never seen such record covers, song lists, or album titles before. I went over to a nearby town where I figured I could find such contraband and I did! Rows and rows of "Great White Wonders" (all the record jackets were white in those days) at $3.00 a pop! If I knew then what I know now... I still remember the ultra rare titles that I sifted through that day and never saw again, but it was a time when I was only interested in the song titles on the records. I left with a copy of my first unauthorized recording: "Bedspring Symphony".
"Stoned-M.S.G."
(102 - A/B)
Head Records
"Stoned-M.S.G." provided the earliest look at the level of overdubbing that took place on "Ya-Ya's". There are at least two variations of the disc; one with a plain white jacket, and the other with a dark (TMoQ) green jacket. It represents only one of the New York shows though, so it only provides one of several puzzle pieces. The track listing for the disc is:
Side 1: Jumpin' Jack Flash/Carol/Sympathy for the Devil/Under My Thumb-I'mFree (medley)
Side 2: Midnight Rambler/Love In Vain/Satisfaction/Honky Tonk Women
The cover insert is a publicity shot of the Stones at Hyde Park 1969. There are several mistakes in the track listing on the cover. It is the November 27, 1969 performance at MSG. This date and the 28th of November are listed on the cover of GYYYO as sources of the official recording. "Stoned-M.S.G." is a very good recording for the time, and I would go as far as to say that it is the work of the infamous Trade Mark of Quality (TMoQ), under one their many aliases. There is virtually no audience noise which leads me to believe that it was recorded with the same "shotgun" microphone that was used by TMoQ for the West Coast shows. Several of these MSG tracks also surfaced on the TMoQ (smoking pig vintage) LP "Play With Fire" (2815-A/B) from the same tape source. The MSG 11/27/69 tracks are on Side 2:
Under My Thumb-I'm Free(medley)/Satisfaction/Honky Tonk Women
"Play With Fire"
(2815-A/B)
Trade Mark of Quality
This disc was also reissued as "Who Killed Brian" on Psycho Productions /Dreamlab Records, which uses a copy of the "Reggae 'n' Roll" cover as its artwork. 100 numbered copies were made. The TMoQ matrix is scratched out and replaced with (HHCER108-A/B). This matrix is indicative of the TMoQ front label Highway Hi-Fi, but this doesn't seem to be the work of TMoQ.
"Who Killed Brian"
(HHCER108-A/B)
Dreamlab Records
Identifying the baseline of critical known audience and soundboard recordings will help to establish the reference points. These sources will provide some compelling objective evidence, and possibly shed new light on the mysteries that will remain.
The November 27, 1969, Performance at Madison Square Garden
The Set List:
Jumpin' Jack Flash/Carol/Sympathy for the Devil/Stray Cat Blues/Love In Vain/Prodigal Son/You Gotta Move/Under My Thumb-I'm Free(medley)/Midnight Rambler/Live With Me/Little Queenie/Satisfaction/Honky Tonk Women/Street Fighting Man
CD Sources:
"Stoned-M.S.G. 1969"
(HR-102)
Vinyl Gang Product
Jumpin' Jack Flash 4:28/Carol 3:33/Sympathy for the Devil 7:52/Stray Cat Blues 4:04/Love In Vain 5:02/Prodical Son 2:48/You Gotta Move 2:27/Under My Thumb-I'm Free 6:40/Midnight Rambler 9:29/Live With Me 3:05/Little Queenie 4:12/(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 6:03/Honky Tonk Women 3:14/Street Fighting Man 4:36
"It's No Hangin Matter"
(VGP-096-02)
Vinyl Gang Product
CD 2: Jumpin' Jack Flash 4:26/Carol 3:32/Sympathy For The Devil 7:50/Stray Cat Blues 4:03/Love In Vain 5:09/Prodigal Son 3:02/You Gotta Move 2:13/Under My Thumb - I'm Free 6:39/Midnight Rambler 9:30/Live With Me 3:10/Little Queenie 4:07/(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 6:03/Honky Tonk Women 3:20/Street Fighting Man 4:28
"M.S.G. 69"
(HLRR 5010)
Hot Lips Records
Jumping Jack Flash 4:07/Carol 4:02/Sympathy For The Devil 7:57/Stray Cat Blues 3:57/Love In Vain 5:29/Prodigal Son 3:10/You Gotta Move 2:43/Under My Thumb 4:02/I'm Free 2:46/Midnight Rambler 9:30/Live With Me 3:32/Little Queenie 4:27/Satisfaction 5:40/Honky Tonk Women 3:58/Street Fighting Man 7:27
"Live In New York"
(PH5139)
Idol Mind Productions
CD 1: Jumpin' Jack Flash 4:21/Carol 3:26/Sympathy For The Devil 7:41/Stray Cat Blues 3:57/Love In Vain 4:34/Prodigal Son 3:17/You Gotta Move 2:19/Under My Thumb-I'm Free 6:31/Midnight Rambler 8:39/Live With Me 3:43/Little Queenie 4:07/Satisfaction 5:55/Honky Tonk Women 3:10/Street Fighting Man 4:29
"New York City - The Big Apple - 1969"
(CD-R)
Sister Morphine
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, November 27, 1969