Rolling Stones – 1972.07.26 – Welcome to NY – MSG – New York, NY – AUD+SBD 1CD A- (complete)

01 Brown Sugar
02 Bitch
03 Rocks Off
04 Gimmie Shelter
05 Happy
06 Tumbling Dice
07 Love In Vain
08 Sweet Virginia
09 You Can’t Always Get What You Want
10 All Down The Line
11 Midnight Rambler
12 Band Introductions
13 Bye Bye Johnny
14 Rip This Joint
15 Jumping Jack Flash *

* Fades out

Comments

This is my attempt at improving one of the most famous Rolling Stones bootlegs of all time, TMOQ’s “Welcome to New York.” Originally released in 1973 on LP, it had great stereo soundboard sound quality of the last show of the Stones’ ’72 US tour on Mick Jagger’s 29th birthday, and a great cover drawn by William Stout. Since then, it has been re-released many times on LP and CD, in varying quality. I tried to use the best available sources for my version. For further info, see [www.rollingstonesnet.com] and [www.rollingstonesnet.com] (scroll way down to VGP-312).

Tracks 1-6 are from a second generation audience recording. Quality is pretty good for ’72; I’ve heard a few better and many worse. I discovered this tape in 1992, on a Rolling Stones mailing list. The person I got it from got from a friend who was the taper. He told me his friend called Madison Square Garden before the show and asked if it was ok to bring a tape recorder, and they said it was. Of course during the show someone noticed him taping and he had to stop, but somehow he managed to keep what he had recorded to that point. This is all there is. These tracks were transferred to PC in 2001 using a Nakamichi BX-300 tape deck with pitch control and a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card. They have since been transferred back and forth between PC and CDR several times, always using EAC.

Tracks 7-15 are from LP. Legend has it that the soundboard tape was stolen from the person recording the show for the Stones. TMOQ’s Stones tapes don’t circulate, so original vinyl is the best source. I used a red vinyl original with RS-546 REI matrix, played on a Music Hall MMF-7 turntable with an Ortofon OM-20 cartridge, through an Adcom GFP-565 preamp, then into an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card. The transfer was originally done in 2006 and LP surface noise was reduced using Cool Edit Pro 2.1. I also fixed the volume drop at the end of “Midnight Rambler” as much as possible, and rearranged the tracks back to their original running order; TMOQ took it upon themselves to resequence them. For 2007, I have slightly improved the editing and indexing.

Artwork is based on Vinyl Gang’s “Welcome to New York” CD, which lifts its art from the original TMOQ LP.

Please note that the sound on tracks 7-15 is far superior to the best known CD release which is TSP’s CD (and LP) from 1989.

The Rolling Stones’ 1972 North American Tour began on June 3 at the Canadian Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, B.C. and ended with a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 26. Also known as the “STP Tour” (Stones Touring Party; as Stones associates were so named), it consisted of 48 concerts in the U.S. and Canada. Backing musicians used on the tour included Ian Stewart and Nicky Hopkins on piano, Bobby Keys on saxophone, and Jim Price on horns. Stevie Wonder and his band were the opening act on all but one show. The Stones’ setlist varied slightly as the tour progressed. Songs that were played only once include: Ventilator Blues, Don’t Lie To Me, Torn and Frayed, and Sweet Black Angel. Loving Cup was performed twice.