Love You Live

In the mid-1970s, it was standard practice for *every* viable rock n’ roll band to release a live album, preferably a *double* live album, to best indicate the group’s importance and stature in their community. If any band deserved to release such an artifact it was the Rolling Stones, whose two-decade career at that point made them veterans of the scene and provided them with a deep catalog of first-rate songs to choose from. With ex-Faces Ron Wood installed as their new guitarist in place of the dexterous and talented Mick Taylor, the Stones were a rough, raw ensemble and their performances in the mid-‘70s were uneven at best. *Love You Live* reflects this transitional period with a song selection that veers from obligatory (“Honky Tonk Women,” “Brown Sugar”) to then-current (“Fingerprint File,” “Hot Stuff”) to a welcomed return to their roots with the blues numbers (“Mannish Boy,” “Little Red Rooster”) recorded at the small, Canadian El Mocambo club. There is no such thing as a definitive official Stones live album, but each has its moments.

Recorded on the supporting tour for 1976's Black and Blue, the double-album set Love You Live is an adequate live album, capturing the Stones' transition from a lean, lethal rock & roll band to accomplished showmen.