The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels Live Review

Keith Richards once noted the problem with The Rolling Stones’ setlists. Mick Jagger operates with the pop wow factor and struggles to rein it in. Even with Richards, Ronnie Wood, and the rest of the band on hand to steer him in the right direction, the setlist is contentious at the best of times. Steel Wheels Live highlights this more than any of the band’s official live album releases. Start Me Up serves as the opener not because the song has any power to it as an introduction to the live show, but because the word “start” is in the title. Jagger has shared as much. It’s what becomes such an ongoing frustration when listening to the band’s live work, however great it may sound. Steel Wheels Live is a fantastic piece of work from the band, though it does stumble in some spots. A fantastic compilation of the band’s all-time great works, with the occasional clunker in there. Such is the case for most live shows, after all.  

Special guests are a frequent addition to these shows. Eric Clapton and Axl Rose are notable names which crop up on Steel Wheels Live, and as is the case for Bruce Springsteen on the GRRR Live! release, the song doesn’t change all that much despite the versatile skill on show. Some of the songs featured here are, simply, songs that have never been The Rolling Stones at their best. You can add as much big band and brass oomph as you like to Bitch, it’ll still be a regressive and ridiculously dull song. The Rolling Stones are not a band that misses a step because of arguably weaker material. That much is made clear on the Steel Wheels Live release. Undercover of the Night is a strong example of this. Reliant on backing vocals, some well-timed percussion from Charlie Watts, and a sensational vocal performance from Jagger. That’s always been the case for the band at their live best. Jagger still sounds outstanding, and that’s present across the band’s biggest hits and covers like Harlem Shuffle.  

A staggeringly upbeat Miss You is what Steel Wheels Live gets right. The band rely on that Some Girls opener, and it’s one of their strongest live song adaptations. Ruby Tuesday, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, and Paint It Black are never not great. A rarity to hear Axl Rose give a decent vocal performance too, and yet here he is, duetting with Jagger on Salt of the Earth with undeniable quality. Instrumentally glorious versions of Honky Tonk Women and Midnight Rambler serve as fantastic examples of what can be done when archival tape is touched up and remastered. Steel Wheels Live sounds phenomenally fresh and in your face, a miracle given this performance was decades old before its official release. But these are the timeless moments The Rolling Stones, and Jagger particularly, had promised with their time in the studio and on stage. Richards takes on lead vocal duties for Can’t Be Seen, and it’s that extra kick of energy the group needed at that moment in the performance.  

This is a similar selection of rocked-out and acoustic-driven stylings to that of Flashpoint, which was recorded a short while later. Paint it, Black, has plenty of similarities between the two versions. A slight flamenco tinge, an incredible guitar solo and some hammered-out percussion is what the band brings to the song. It’s the noticeable difference that gives The Rolling Stones their edge here. What Steel Wheels Live highlights is the band’s depth of hits. Even the massive, twenty-seven-song setlist omits some of their very best. The Rolling Stones have a spoil of rich and necessary material and their selection across Steel Wheels Live is nothing short of magnificent. Sympathy for the Devil and Gimme Shelter feel like cheat codes for finding a perfect end to the show, and yet the Jagger-fronted group continues, persevering as only rock and roll legends can. Steel Wheels Live is a must-listen for even the passing fan of The Stones.