The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones
Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out (Super Deluxe Box Set)

Abkco Records

4 out of 5 stars

If you want to get your Ya-Ya’s out this Christmas, you’re gonna have to get your wallet out too; but it is well worth it if you’re a Rolling Stones fan. The Stones have unleashed a souped-up of version what many believe to be their greatest live album (I have to respectfully disagree and say my favorite is Love You Live) Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out. Recorded in November,1969, just over a week before the infamous Altamont concert, the shows were the first time the band had ever played Madison Square Garden as they criss-crossed the country in support of their sublime masterpiece Let it Bleed.

There are no added songs or other material on disc one but the album still holds its magic; especially the ethereal version of Chuck Berry’s “Carol” that just seems to become more relevant with age and defines the essence of the Stones sound at the time. The real goodies come with the second and third disc. Disc two completes the original show by including the songs the band performed that were left off the original release. The highlights being “I’m Free” and — I can’t believe I’m saying I usually go piss when I they play it nowadays — the best version of “Satisfaction” I have ever fuckin’ heard.

The final disc and the DVD mixes things up a bit. Disc three features selections from the band’s opening acts B.B. King and Ike and Tina Turner. The B.B. king portion is of course killer but the Ike and Tina Turner portion almost defies description in its perfection. The DVD is a short documentary featuring live video of the second disc tracks, a hilarious interlude of Mick Jagger wrangling “Jack” the donkey and Charlie Watts during the photo shoot for the album cover and “cameos” from Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and most of the Grateful Dead. Simply put, if there is a Stones fan in your life and they find this under the tree they are going to dig this way more than a pair of socks.