Out Today: The Rolling Stones Release Archival ‘Steel Wheels – Live’ Multimedia Collection

Released today (September 25th) is the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Live – Atlantic City, New Jersey, culled from the band's December 19th, 1989 stop in Atlantic City's Convention Center. Steel Wheels Live is available on limited edition 180-gram four-LP colored vinyl, as a two-CD/DVD set, SD Blu-ray/two-CD set, and on digital formats. The DVD portion of the package features the band's February 26th, 1990 Tokyo Dome concert, for which the audio of the show has already been released.

The audio portions of Steel Wheels Live, features a typical setlist from the band's first tour in seven years — with special performances by Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin joining the Stones for a rare take on 1968's Beggars Banquet finale, “Salt Of The Earth, Eric Clapton on “Little Red Rooster,” and late-blues legend John Lee Hooker on a simmering “Boogie Chillen.” The show was broadcast live at the time as a pay-per-view special.

The package also features a bonus disc of lesser-played tunes from the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour — including such rarities as “Play With Fire,” “Almost Hear You Sigh,” and Willie Dixon's “I Just Want To Make Love To You.”

Keith Richards explained that the three years prior to Steel Wheels, in which he and Mick Jagger were slinging insults at each other through the press, only seemed to strengthen them as partners: “Mick and I, neither of us wanted it to go down like that, but in retrospect, what we've learned in those three years off working by ourselves and stuff, has been very positive for the Stones this year.”

Although the Steel Wheels tour was filled with classic Stones hits and deep cuts; the band didn't shy away from breaking in the new album on the road — something Mick Jagger admitted is never an easy process: “I mean, they don't like songs immediately. It takes a long time for people to get used to them. We thought we'd do songs from almost every album, really, and see how the show would structure. Plus, there's a about 10 songs, that, really, if you don't do them, I think that people that come would be disappointed. We call them (laughs) 'must do's.'”

Noted filmmaker Brett Morgen got to know the Rolling Stones closely while directing the band's 2012 Crossfire Hurricane documentary. He told us that for Mick Jagger, the Stones' 1989/1990 world trek marked the highlight of what he wanted the Stones to achieve as performers: “I think for Mick, the peak for him was the Steel Wheels tour. Because Mick has always seen himself as the 'consummate entertainer' If he has a role model, it's Frank Sinatra. He's all about the performance, like an actor doing a stage show. So, for Mick, the last 25 years have been the best in terms of production value, and in terms of sound, and lighting, and the stage. So, he felt the first time he was really ever able to realize his vision for the Rolling Stones was the Steel Wheels tour.”

The tracklisting to Steel Wheels Live – Atlantic City, New Jersey:

“Start Me Up”
“Bitch”
“Sad Sad Sad”
“Undercover Of The Night”
“Harlem Shuffle”
“Tumbling Dice”
“Miss You”
“Terrifying”
“Ruby Tuesday”
“Salt Of The Earth” – with Axl Rose & Izzy Stradlin
“Rock And A Hard Place”
“Mixed Emotions”
“Honky Tonk Women”
“Midnight Rambler”
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
“Little Red Rooster” – with Eric Clapton
“Boogie Chillen'” – with John Lee Hooker
“Can’t Be Seen”
“Happy”
“Paint It Black”
“2,000 Light Years From Home”
“Sympathy for the Devil”
“Gimme Shelter”
“It’s Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It)”
“Brown Sugar”
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”

Bonus Tracks:

“Play With Fire”
“Dead Flowers”
“Almost Hear You Sigh”
“I Just Want To Make Love To You”
“Street Fighting Man”

The tracklist to The Rolling Stones – Tokyo Dome (Live 1990) DVD is: “Start Me Up,” “Bitch,” “Sad Sad Sad,” Harlem Shuffle,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Miss You,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Almost Hear You Sigh,” “Rock And A Hard Place,” “Mixed Emotions,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Midnight Rambler,” “You Can't Always Get What You Want,” “Can't Be Seen,” “Happy,” “Paint It Black,” “2000 Light Years From Home,” “Sympathy For The Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” It's Only Rock N Roll,” “Brown Sugar,” “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,” and “Jumpin' Jack Flash”