New Video/Single from The Hard Quartet "Rio's Song"

The second single released from The Hard Quartet is titled "Rio's Song" and while the video is a fun homage to The Rolling Stones "Waiting On A Friend", the song itself is a winner all around. 

RtBE are really looking forward to this record, which will be released in October. Check out "Rio's Song" below:

Sazerwrap 2024

In years past we have delivered a Sazerwrap to catalog our personal Jazzfest experience, so we will continue this year. 

We have reviewed some of the shows we caught already and it should be stated: Jazzfest in New Orleans is RtBE's absolute favorite time of the year. 

2024 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Artists Announced

We already knew The Rolling Stones were going to be there, now we know the rest of the lineup for the best festival in the country, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. 

RtBE predicted who would be playing yesterday, and we got a few right. Check out this great video to get you pumped:

Some highlights for RtBE:

The Rolling Stones Announce Tour, Playing New Orleans Jazz Fest

On the back of Hackney Diamonds, The Rolling Stones announced another world tour today, with a stop at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

They have tried this twice in the past, so hopefully the third time is the charm for the Stones and JF. RtBE will certainly be there. 

Here is a tune to get you in the Stones mood:

Album Review: The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

The Rolling Stones

Hackney Diamonds

** out of *****

The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds is the first studio album of original material by the band since 2005's A Bigger Bang and the group's first release following the 2021 death of drummer Charlie Watts.

It also sounds like what AI would come up with if someone plugged the phrase “year 2023...new Rolling Stones album” into it, as Hackney Diamonds resembles what makes The Stones great on the surface, with touchpoints to past successes, yet, when you dig a little deeper things aren’t all that satisfying.

Working with producer/co-writer on a few tracks, Andrew Watt, the band sounds modern, fully taut, and glossed up as the production is overly pristine, robust, and gleaming. The booming hits from new drummer Steve Jordan and strutting riffs from Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood kick things off on album opener “Angry”, playing like a checklist of Stones attributes, but without a true connection.

The band has been corporate for literal decades at this point, and many of these songs will work in commercials and remind fans of even better past tunes, such as the disco touches of “Mess It Up” recalling the late 70’s/early 80’s efforts, the countryish Let it Bleed-like “Dreamy Skies” and the sax work on “Get Close”, yet this is not Sticky Fingers, more like Buffed Manicured Nails.

A few touches stand out positively, guest Beatle Paul McCartney surprisingly distorts up a punkish jam titled “Bite My Head Off” with giddy, infectious bass work before the band strap on a good guitar solo for “Whole Wide World”, but for one of the innovators of the genre Richards doesn’t have many memorable riffs here.

Jagger as well delivers a perfectly fine performance vocally, especially considering his age, but lyrically nothing is worth remembering after a few spins, as the vagueness of his words and the idea of still living a “hitting and running through" life style has all been heard before and can sound pretty stale from the great grandfather.

Then again, what is expected from 80 year old rockers? Overall, this is not a bad album, just an incredibly over-polished one from an aging band and maybe the fact that it exists at all on a totally acceptable-to-many-bands/middle-of-the-road level, is a complete success on its own. 

One of the best moments occurs when Charlie Watts is reborn with old bassist Bill Wyman for “Live By the Sword” which feels looser, almost as if the old guard were still workshopping the song, with Jagger’s lyrics in particular needing an upgrade.

If this happens to be the last studio album from the Stones, they went out on a high note to wrap it up. The band close Hackney Diamonds by showcasing the over the top drama they mastered during their peak years as Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder join for “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” whose extended, vibrant, interplay turns it into the clear standout track on the record. They then finish with a nod to their blues foundation, delivering a version of Muddy Waters “Rolling Stone Blues” which gave the legendary rockers their name.

It is hard not to grade The Stones against themselves, one of the greatest bands of all-time. No one outside of the band needed A Bigger Bang in 2005, and the same holds true for Hackney Diamonds in 2023. Also, no one should ever tell artists when to quit, and the fact that Mick, Keith, and Ronnie wanted to go through the writing/recording/release process all over again (with a host of A list friends helping them out) is perfectly fine. 

A high gloss, fairly bland, modern sounding album like Hackney Diamonds is just another step-on-down the road for The Rolling Stones.

____________________

Support the band, buy the album, and peep some video below:

Live Streams: Love Rocks NYC - Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos and more

We are now heading into the new normal with live music during the Covid-19 era. Live shows will need to be flexible and live streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are (hopefully) improving on the pandemic front but live streams will be an option for artists during the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can check out our weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always, please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: Love Rocks NYC - Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos and more

A great benefit takes place uptown in NYC tonight as Love Rocks hits the Beacon. Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos, Mavis Staples, Hozier, Warren Haynes, Melissa Etheridge, Allison Russel, Larkin Poe, Tyler Brant, David Shaw, Anderson Osborne, Celisse, Jimmy Vivino, Maggie Rose + Connor Kennedy and more. 

Check it out here at 8pm and to get in the mood, here is a live X-Pensive Winos song:

Nola Jazzfest 2022 Artist Predections

 So... we did this back in early 2020, and got a bunch right...then Jazzfest was canceled. Then tried again for a special October 2021 edition of Jazzfest and that was canceled as well...third times a charm for 2022? 

The lineup for the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be announced tomorrow but RtBE got the early scoop...

Actually no we don't...but since it is fun to predict, lets look into the crystal ball and guess who will be and who should be playing.

We will exclude the brass bands and local acts (even though they are truly the main reason we go each year) including nationally touring NOLA acts like Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, Funky Big Sam,  Galactic, Trombone Shorty who will all definitely be there.

Also we are obviously skipping the great jazz, blues and gospel acts who will be the foundation of the festival in their respective tents. Lets just talk about the bigger national touring artists for now....We will focus more on locals closer to the show. 

To get in the southern festive NOLA mood, here is a great video done by Jeronimo Acero that my friend the fantastic Lu Brow sent north to warm me up during the winter.

a glimpse of LOUISIANA from Jeronimo Acero on Vimeo.

Now on to the predictions....

RIP Charlie Watts

RIP to Charlie Watts. The legendary drummer was 80. 

He was famously the backbone of the Rolling Stones, and one cool cat. RtBE were lucky enough to see him play with the band a few times and we wrote about him when we covered the Stones in our Masters Series so we won't say much more here. 

It is a rough year for drummers, well, it is a rough year for everyone. Let's remember Mr.Watts in the best way, by listening to his songs.

 

Full Jazzfest Lineup Announced with Rolling Stones Special Day

A surprising late announcement (after the initial announcement) finds the best festival in America adding a first ever Wednesday to their schedule and fulfilling the dream of having The Rolling Stones play the Fairgrounds.  

What a major score and RtBE will be there. We were pumped to catch them back in 2019 when they were scheduled to play and wrote about them in the Masters Series that month, but it never came to be. 

Now the band will headline a full day at the festival with only local acts playing before them, including RtBE favorites like Samantha Fish, New Orleans Suspects, Mem Shannon and many more.  The full lineup is below with the Rolling Stones playing a special set to close the first (and probably last) ever Wednesday at Jazzfest.

WEDNESDAY OCT. 13 The Rolling Stones, Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars featuring Tab Benoit, George Porter Jr., Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Johnny Sansone, and Wayne Thibodeaux, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Anders Osborne, Samantha Fish, The Dave Brubeck Centennial featuring Chris and Dan Brubeck with special guests Joey DeFrancesco and Bobby Militello, Pell, Cowboy Mouth, Charley Crockett, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Lena Prima, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Free Agents Brass Band, Joe Krown & Jason Ricci featuring Walter Wolfman Washington, Nigel Hall, Philip Manuel, New Orleans Suspects, SOUL Brass Band, Seva Venet’s New Orleans Banjo Celebration, Alexey Marti, Spyboy J & Thee Storm Mardi Gras Indians, Louis Ford & His New Orleans Flairs, Claude Bryant & The All-stars, On The Levee Jazz Band, Lyle Henderson & Emmanu-EL, T’Monde, Drake Milligan, Treces del Sur Latin Band, Jackson Square Allstar Brass Band, Jacye & ‘em, The Trio Plus One, Davis Rogan, Akia J. Nevills, The Gospel Inspirations of Boutte, Lady Prince of Wales and Women of Class Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Cheyenne and Young Seminole Hunters Mardi Gras Indians…

To get in the mood here are some of the bands playing this upcoming special day at Jazzfest 2021. 

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers

Today the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers turns 50. 

When RtBE discussed the Stones in our Masters Series Sticky Fingers topped our list of favorite studio albums from the band. It is fantastic and deserves to played loud today as it still delivers dangerous rock and roll, adventurous playing and unique English twists on the blues. 

It is a quintessential rock and roll record, so to celebrate here are three songs off of it. 

Year In Review 2019 - Favorite Live Show

The live show is a slippery thing. There are lots of variables at play, most having little to do with the performance itself. Does the venue have enough bathrooms? Is it going to rain? What day of the week is it on? Did I have a shitty day at work before hand? Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this effects one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason, but when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be than in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.

Live Music Has No Equal!

Taken By The Fantastic Megan Donohue

While obviously we can't see every show that is out there, we try to get out often to catch live music. Sure there are a few left in the calendar year, but for now, here is a listing of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have caught in 2019.

There are links to show reviews in the titles, also because who doesn't love arbitrary rankings, one show at the bottom took the top prize as RtBE's 2019 Favorite Live Show. This year was excellent for live music as some killer concerts were left off this list.

Live Review: The Rolling Stones 8/1/19 Met Life Stadium, NJ

The Rolling Stones

Live @ Met Life Stadium

August 1st 2019

It was during the third song of The Rolling Stones performance when it clicked as to why it is still worth checking the band out at their advanced age in mega-stadiums with hundreds of thousands of fans buying every tongue logo-ed thing in site. The first two tunes, “Street Fighting Man” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” were both passable, if slightly sluggish, but then “Tumbling Dice” magically coalesced and kicked everything into gear with dazzling rock and roll clarity. It was a reminder that this is still a real band, pushing and pulling like so many others, searching for those right notes and sound; they just happen to be the biggest band in the world.

Opening were The Wombats from Liverpool who used their upbeat pop rock in the vein of Fun or a more mainstream Arctic Monkeys, to start the night. Their big drum hits and huge choruses certainly perked up a few ears to the early arriving crowd as tracks like “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)” and “Techno Fan” rang out; the latter was the song Mick Jagger recently danced to, proving he was back in fighting shape. The big marching combo of “Turn” and “Greek Tragedy” brought out costumed Wombats to close their set with overloaded production and flair.

Their polished, produced sound stood in contrast to the aging Stones hit laden set. Even with their oversized stage, massive HD video screens and musically aided by backup singers (Sasha Allen, Bernard Fowler), a horn section (Tim Reis, Karl Denson) and piano players (Chuck Leavell, Matt Clifford), the Stones still seem to wing it in the moment. At this point in their career they could lip-synch to backing tracks and most fans wouldn’t care, but there they are, up there still trying to work their way through the riffs and runs, getting sloppy and tight from tune to tune.

Ronnie Wood’s killer solo and the brass work in “Tumbling Dice” electrified things before the fan requested “She’s A Rainbow” was met with Mick’s wry comment, “Probably because it is in a lot of commercials these days”. Jagger himself was singing with power, commanding the stage extraordinarily for someone who just turned 76 and recently survived a health scare.

An early dramatic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, with another excellent Wood solo, was surprising before the core outfit of Wood, Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts walked down to the center of the playing field for acoustical renditions of “Sweet Virginia” and “Dead Flowers”. 

Richards ringing riffs dominated a loud and heavy “Sympathy for the Devil” after all of the musicians were back on stage, even if Richards himself may have forgotten to rip into the solo for that song. The slower mid set clanging of “Honkey Tonk Woman” and an ill placed and dragging “Paint It Black” never truly hit their strides but a Richards focused “Before They Make Me Run” with snaking guitar work caught a 70’s glam rock groove with ease and sped out into the night. Speaking of groove, Darryl Jones bass took center stage as the group morphed in a funk dynamo for an extended “Miss You”, one of the many highlights while Watts’s snare (along with Jagger’s harmonica) gave motor to “Midnight Rambler”. 

The group nailed the finish as an energetic “Jumping Jack Flash” displayed dynamic interplay before the set closing “Brown Sugar” found everyone locking in again with power and joy as Denson led the charge on saxophone. Richards contributed his strongest guitar work during the encore of “Gimme Shelter” and his most famous riffs during “Satisfaction”, ending the night via fireworks and screams from the sold out crowd. It is amazing that the Stones can still pull off a tour of this caliber in 2019 as No Filter is proving these old rockers are still rolling strong.

________________________________________________________

RtBE said a ton about The Rolling Stones back in April as they were part of our Masters series. Catch them live, it's worth it and peep some video below:

Sazerwrap Part 2: The Music

The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans.  We will breaking the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the Music.  Only 11 Months until next years festival!

It has been a few years, but RtBE is bringing back the Sazerwrap for the 50th Anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This is our 11th straight year of catching the fest and needless to say each year is magic. The trips keep evolving as does the festival and city which hosts it. Today we will chat about the tunes we heard and shows we saw.

Full Show Friday: The Rolling Stones in Atlantic City, NJ 12/19/89 Steel Wheels Tour

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Rolling Stones!

For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.

Every April we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on The Rolling Stones who will be playing Thursday May 2nd under a tent (we shall see what that means).

The Stones were supposed to be the special guest for the 50th Anniversary of Jazzfest and for the first time ever Jazzfest actually sold out the day they will be playing. Pretty unreal, as it is a special moment but also kind of the opposite of what Jazzfest does best. Either which way it will be exciting to see them down there. (Update: Due to Mick Jagger's health issues the Stones have canceled their 2019 North American tour including Jazzfest)

Ahh what could have been...it is so close...in less then one week they were supposed to be playing the Fair Grounds. RtBE were giddy with anticipation. How about a concert from 1989 Steel Wheels tour, Atlantic City Convention Hall stop instead? Pro-shot, pro sound, full setlist, ENJOY: 

Dylan Cover #372 The Rolling Stones "Like A Rolling Stone" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, The Rolling Stones performing a live cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" 

This month we have a special focus on Artists who will be playing the 2019 Jazzfest in New Orleans. Today we highlight the legendary, Rolling Stones who play on the Main Stage Thursday, May 2nd. Update: Due to Mick Jagger's health issues the Stone's have canceled their '19 North American tour dates. 

The Stones are doing double duty this month as they are also the focus of our Masters series.

Thoughts on Original:
The song that launched a true revolution, with an opening snare drum like a dead man's last pistol shot baby. "Like A Rolling Stone" is mega in all fashions, Dylan is accusatory, mad, feed up, zoned out, poetic, rambling and always moving with the sound as the track is large and in charge even today. One of the Bard's top 3 songs any which way you break them down, Like A Rolling Stone has been covered by a ton of people and it (usually) always kicks ass. 

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We have been chatting about The Rolling Stones all month here at RtBE. They are one of the quintessential rock and roll bands and we dig on them hard.

Thoughts on Cover:
A fun cover and not something normally associated with this group. Sure, they make break out a blues cover or one of their deeper cuts, but most of the time this group sticks to the hits and making the fans happy.

While Mick cheekily says the song was written for them, their performance is fun if not earth shattering. Such a great song, even a standard run through is exhilarating...and a standard run through from one of the best bands in the world helps.

The Masters: The Rolling Stones - Best Live Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.

Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, The Rolling Stones are one of the best live bands in the world, but their studio albums get more respect than any live records and with reason.

While the the group has released a bunch of live records, throughout their career they acted more as stop gaps and contract fillers than devastating/must hear shows. Moments may feel transcendent but this is a group who managed to get the most out of their premier studio work and a lot of their live albums fall into the "release so we can stave off a studio record" category.  

However, things have been changing over the last ten years as their archives have opened up and some great sets/shows/performances have been officially released to the world through the vault series and other venues. Longtime fans have had bootlegs of these for years, but now they get better quality and blessings from the band.

Below RtBE ranks their best five live albums, so let's get to it.  

As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.

Full Show Friday: The Rolling Stones @ MSG, NYC 2003 Licks Tour

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Rolling Stones!

For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.

Every April we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on The Rolling Stones who will be playing Thursday May 2nd under a tent (we shall see what that means). Get well soon Mick

The Stones were supposed to be the special guest for the 50th Anniversary of Jazzfest and for the first time ever Jazzfest actually sold out the day they will be playing. Pretty unreal, it is going to be a  special moment but also kind of the opposite of what Jazzfest does best. Either which way it will be exciting to see them down there. (Update: Due to Mick Jagger's health issues the Stones have canceled their 2019 North American tour including Jazzfest)

Here they are from 2003 playing a small venue called Madison Square Garden (no plural, no matter what the title says). This was broadcast on HBO so it is pro-shot, with pro-sound. Enjoy:

The Masters: The Rolling Stones - Top Five Studio Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.

A few months ago we focused on The Beatles and when you think of best rock and roll bands of all time, they and the Stones are usually somewhere near the top of the list. What is truly amazing is that the Rolling Stones are STILL getting after it. You can buy tickets to see them in 2019 and RtBE will be catching them twice, once in Jersey and once at NOLA Jazzfest in just over a month! (Update: With Mick Jagger's Health Issues, the Stones have canceled their tour with the hopes to reschedule). With the Stones set to tour we figured April would be a good time to focus on them for The Masters series. 

Unlike The Beatles, who I loved upon first listen, I was a late bloomer to The Stones. I knew the hits (they were impossible to miss) but never dove into any of their records with much passion. During the early 00's when I was downloading a lot of live recordings from bands like Phish, Gov't Mule and The Grateful Dead, I stumbled upon a bootleg called A Few Hearts Broken, A Few Strings Busted,  I downloaded, burned it and put it in the case with other live shows. 

When I listened to it a few weeks later I was blown away by the power of the group. This was the high point of the Stones to these ears (and continues to be years later). The band officially released parts of these shows as Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones on DVD. When I next saw my Uncle who is a massive Stones fan, and played him this bootleg he turned to me and said this is the best Stones he had ever heard. I was hooked and dove in, hard. In fact, when it came time to personally play and write music in my own band, Angels & Vagabonds, The Stones were our collective rallying point, covering their songs live and writing a bit in their style. 

The group has had many eras and a few lineup changes, but the core and their overall sound has remained pretty solidly intact. They are a great bar band who just happened to become one of the biggest and best bands in the world. Today lets go to what RtBE considers their top five studio albums.

As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.

Rolling Stones Cancel North America Tour, Jazzfest Slot Empty

Unfortunately due to Mick Jagger's health issues, The Rolling Stones have had to cancel their upcoming North American tour.

pic.twitter.com/ZsUlAPQkRA

— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) March 30, 2019

While the band are telling fans to hold tickets as they hope to rescheduled the tour in the near future, certain dates can not be rescheduled including New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

The Festival, for their first time ever, limited their daily ticket sales, jacked up prices to cover the Stones fees and scheduled every other act to be done before the Stones would start to play on May 2nd.

With this cancellation there are lots of questions to be answered. Who will fill the headlining slot on Thursday May 2nd? Will there be a refund? Will more acts be added to fill all the other stage times? There are lots of issues to work out and only one months time, here's hoping things work out as RtBE has tickets to this show. 

Also RtBE had a ton of Jazzfest/Stones material prepared for this month and while we wish Mick the best, the posts must go on but it will be bittersweet. RtBE will still be highlighting the band in our Masters series this month. Ahhh what could have been....

NOLA Jazzfest 2019, Artist Predictions

The lineup for the 2019 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be announced very soon (hopefully next week) but we got the early scoop...

Actually no we don't...but since it is fun to predict, lets look into the crystal ball and guess who will be and who should be playing.

We will exclude the brass bands and local acts (even though they are truly the main reason we go) including nationally touring NOLA acts like Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, Galactic and Trombone Shorty who will all be there. Lets just talk about the bigger national touring artists for now....We will focus more on locals closer to the show.

To get in the southern festive NOLA mood, here is a great video done by Jeronimo Acero that my friend the fantastic Lu Brow sent north to warm me up during the winter.

a glimpse of LOUISIANA from Jeronimo Acero on Vimeo.

Now on to the predictions....