ROLLING STONES - CD
ODE TO A FLOWN BIRD (PRAYING AND PLAYING)

LABEL:
OBR CD 93 040
SOURCE:
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro September 20th 2021
FORMAT:
2 picture cds
RUNNING TIME:
49.16/47.53
SOUND/SOURCE:
Audience mono
PACKAGING:
Trifold Cardboard Sleeve, Lim Ed. of 300 numbered copies
 


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SOUND 7.5 / PACKAGING 9 / PERFORMANCE 7.5

 
TRACK LIST:

Disc One: 1. Let’s Spend The Night Together, 2. Tumbling Dice, 3. Statement For Charlie Watts, 4. Under My Thumb, 5. Trouble’s A Coming, 6. Living In A Ghost Town, 7. You Can’t Always Get What You Want, 8. Midnight Rambler.

Disc Two: 1. Band Introduction, 2. Miss You, 3. 19th Nervous Breakdown, 4. Start Me Up, 5. Gimme Shelter, 6. Sympathy For The Devil, 7. Jumping Jack Flash, 8. Satisfaction.

 
REVIEW:

Charlie Watts loved jazz so much that in June 1964 (right after his 23rd birthday) on the first US Tour of the Stones when all the other band members went to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem he visited by himself New York West 52nd Street, also known as Swing Street, it was jazz main place with Birdland, The Three Deuces, Embers, Onyx live music venues; later on December 21st of the same year he released Ode To a High Flying Bird a book consisting of his sketches that tells Charlie Parker’s story (re-released when the cd From One Charlie came out in April 1991) and it is just to such title this release is referring to. It is not clear when this was released because on the artwork and discs it is written 11-2021, but in fact it came out at the beginning of the new year.

OBR, the renowned European label that since the 90s has delivered quality Stones products, mostly studio outtakes, this time has instead released a recording of the private concert that happened before the start of the Stones 2021 US Tour at the Gillette Stadium, or more accurately on a tent on its field as specified inside the cardboard sleeve, a show that was arranged for the friends of Robert Kraft, the Kraft Group CEO that manages the New England Patriots as well as the Gillette Stadium. He was highly featured in the news already in 1994 when he bought the Patriots franchise for a stunning 175 million dollars avoiding the team transfer to St. Louis and starting their successful 6 wins of the Superbowl. A funny thing happened in 2005 when Kraft accused President Putin to have stolen his Superbowl ring; anyway his 8.3 billion dollars net worth have allowed him to hire the Stones, but has also distributed for free 900.000 masks in Massachusetts in May 2021. It is rumoured the Stones got 5 million dollars for the night. Anyway, the Stones concert happened a week before the start of the band’s 2021 No Filter US Tour, but it was conceived ad agreed well before Charlie Watts passing less than a month before this show for Kraft’s birthday (who was born on June 5th 1941, by the way). This in fact turned out to be a very historical concert which has so far remained unheard (the audience consisted mostly of Kraft’s friends) so it is remarkable not only because it is the first live act of the band with Steve Jordan on drums, but also for the live debut of Living In a Ghost Town and of Trouble’s A Coming, the latter an obscure cover of a Chi Lites 1970 track, unreleased at the time. Just snippets of some songs were heard on the Stones official App and a small amateur cell phone video appeared on YouTube later, other than that no complete song from this show ever surfaced, so this is a must for Stones fans and collector (expect a vinyl release too along the line as per OBR habits). The frst song Let’s Spend The Night Together is the opening one for the first time; this release is subtitled Praying And Playing which are Ron Wood’s words pronounced during the tribute to Charlie that happened right after Tumbling Dice when the 3 surviving members hugged each other watching a video of their 59 years companion. After this they unexpectedly played Under My Thumb followed by Trouble’s A Coming, “a song we recorded long time ago that will be part of Tattoo You re-release” in Jagger words. Living In A Ghost Town premiered soon after, welcomed by the audience that did participate to it. Interesting is also the Band Introduction where Steve Jordan is called “a great friend of Charlie”, but there is also a Happy Birthday for Robert Kraft (was that part of the deal?) where Jagger says: “It is great to say happy birthday to someone even older than us”; it would be interesting to know if the setlist had been changed on request of Mr.Kraft, but I guess we will never know that. Regardless, Miss You is remarkable also for the saxophone solos duel between Karl Denson and Tim Ries. Street Fighting Man should have been played, it seems, but was skipped for unknow reasons. This is a nice audience recording, unfortunately in mono, that is significant for its uniqueness and shall be regarded as another substantial chapter in the Stones alternative story written by this underground label. At this time it is not known if the original recording was in stereo (as it should have been) and has only been allowed to be released in mono, or if that decision was forced by an imbalance between the channels; whatever the case the recording is clear enough and enjoyable. The band plays reasonably well, of course all eyes and ears are for Steve Jordan, who tries not to overwork too much in order to somehow replicate Charlie Watts touch, however his way of hitting the drums is different and noticeable especially on Sympathy; Jagger is out of breath a lot after some songs, showing not to have yet been in shape.

Packaging is essential in compliance to the label’s history but at the same time very tasty with a back cover artwork that shows Charlie’s drums kit without anyone sitting there and a sign that commemorates him, using From One Charlie fonts.


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Feb 23, 2022 - 1:19:00 PM


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