Thought this would be an interesting discussion; the Stones have had their ups and downs as far as their live legacy goes, but is there a single tour that stands out as a whole as the band's low point.

I used to think it was 1981-82, due to the coked up, punkish sound on almost every song and Mick's snarling, atonal barking as opposed to singing. Over the years, though, I've warmed up to it, as it has some great shows and some nice highlights ("Just My Imagination," "Time is on My Side," "Let it Bleed").

Having now listened to every tour, the only ones I find very little to return to are 1976 and 2017, for different reasons. 1976 was just sloppy all around, most songs are too fast and sound uncommitted, Ronnie still very much feeling his way into the group and not yet gelling with Keith, who was at his own low point to my ears. 2017 is just boring: slow tempos, lethargic energy, Keith's playing at his most inconsistent and laziest. There are some shows towards the end of the tour worth returning to (Stockholm, Paris 3), but I'd say September as a whole was a wash aside from the Zurich show.

Honorable mentions for me are Steel Wheels (the band is playing great but the timbre of the music is too slick and Vegas like), the final leg of the Bang tour, and Ole! for its staid set lists and inconsistency. Be curious to hear what others vote for.

That (1981) was my first tour and I enjoyed a lot, but based on official releases both, audio and video it's not as good as many others

"Still Life" sucks, it's not representative of what happened on that tour and LSTNT too

To me there ain't no worst tour

North America 1994.  I was so glad they'd come back in 1989, that - because I could only afford to travel for one 1989 show - I saw them three times in 1994, when I was better off.  Mistake.

andrews27 wrote on Aug 17^th, 2020 at 9:58pm:

North America 1994.  I was so glad they'd come back in 1989, that - because I could only afford to travel for one 1989 show - I saw them three times in 1994, when I was better off.  Mistake.

Huh, interesting. I thought the Voodoo Lounge tour was superior to the Steel Wheels shows at pretty much every turn; the sound was more raw and less slick and polished, more of a classic Stones sound. Plus at the time hearing "All Down the Line," "Live with Me," "It's All Over Now," "Beast of Burden," "Shattered," and "Rocks Off" (even if Mick chose to sing it like he was on Nyquil) again must've been super cool. "Not Fade Away" was a great opener I wish they kept in.

NO FILTER 2020

1964 - especially the Belfast show where Gazza started that riot.

Edith Grove wrote on Aug 18^th, 2020 at 8:23pm:

1964 - especially the Belfast show where Gazza started that riot.

They didnt even get to play an original that evening, not that they had that many at the time...

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-rolling-stones/1964/ulster-hall-belfast-northern-ireland-3bddc008.html

Stoned In Staten Island wrote on Aug 18^th, 2020 at 6:38am:

andrews27 wrote on Aug 17th, 2020 at 9:58pm: North America 1994.  I was so glad they'd come back in 1989, that - because I could only afford to travel for one 1989 show - I saw them three times in 1994, when I was better off.  Mistake. Huh, interesting. I thought the Voodoo Lounge tour was superior to the Steel Wheels shows at pretty much every turn; the sound was more raw and less slick and polished, more of a classic Stones sound. Plus at the time hearing "All Down the Line," "Live with Me," "It's All Over Now," "Beast of Burden," "Shattered," and "Rocks Off" (even if Mick chose to sing it like he was on Nyquil) again must've been super cool. "Not Fade Away" was a great opener I wish they kept in.

1995 Euro shows much better from May onward, in the transitional run-up to Stripped.  More conviction and attention paid to guitars then, and in North America 1997.  Wish I'd seen more NA 1999, and 1989.

1978.
NOT musically, but because the Stones totally blew off NYC,  playing shows only in two small area theaters. Tickets were impossible to get.
Plus, Jagger wore that stupid red cap to go with maybe his worst stage outfit.

Don't next tear apart the trousers, please.

KMC wrote on Aug 19^th, 2020 at 8:04pm:

1978. NOT musically, but because the Stones totally blew off NYC,  playing shows only in two small area theaters. Tickets were impossible to get. Plus, Jagger wore that stupid red cap to go with maybe his worst stage outfit.

To each his own.

KMC wrote on Aug 19^th, 2020 at 8:04pm:

1978. NOT musically, but because the Stones totally blew off NYC,  playing shows only in two small area theaters. Tickets were impossible to get. Plus, Jagger wore that stupid red cap to go with maybe his worst stage outfit.

The Capital Theater show was my first concert...I got in for free...but didnt they play at The Palladium on 14th Street, Union Square??

Paranoid Android wrote on Aug 21^st, 2020 at 9:57am:

but didnt they play at The Palladium on 14th Street, Union Square??

Yes, on June 19; the famous picture of Mick with Peter Tosh was taken that day, Peter Tosh was the opening act

http://rocksoff.org/1978.htm

'76.

(the '75 North American leg was still pretty good)

Bigger Bang had some awful shows with both guitarists being AWOL at various times although the 13 that I saw varied from good to great.

Edith Grove wrote on Aug 18^th, 2020 at 8:23pm:

1964 - especially the Belfast show where Gazza started that riot.

I know a few people who were at that show (31st July) , one of them being a woman who had just returned from a family holiday to Blackpool where she had witnessed an even bigger and more infamous riot at the show there 7 days earlier (the one where some Scottish drunks on holiday from the shipyards were spitting at Brian and then Keith kicked one of them in the face sparking an incident that was so wild that Stu reckoned that all that was left of their equipment was a drumstick). She told me that Brian was thrown offstage and landed at her feet!

Imagine witnessing BOTH of those riots in the same week!

Let's not give folk here the horn just for the sake of it.

Gazza wrote on Aug 27^th, 2020 at 11:07am:

'76.

I think you're only saying that because all the really bad years have been taken.

;D

1981, despite being the first tour I saw...

Paranoid Android wrote on Aug 18^th, 2020 at 7:09pm:

NO FILTER 2020

:will-ya

andrews27 wrote on Aug 17^th, 2020 at 9:58pm:

North America 1994.  I was so glad they'd come back in 1989, that - because I could only afford to travel for one 1989 show - I saw them three times in 1994, when I was better off.  Mistake.

Some of the earlier Voodoo shows Mick is really holding back on the vocals, almost talking, and it does not sound good. Better to read the setlists and hear better versions in your head.

And let's not kid ourselves, some of the 78 shows are downright awful.

Other than that, no bad tours but maybe a few bad shows.

Perks felt the Bigger Bang tour was the worst. Saw 4 shows & none stood out.

BILL PERKS wrote on Oct 10^th, 2020 at 11:33am:

Perks felt the Bigger Bang tour was the worst. Saw 4 shows & none stood out.

BILL PERKS wrote on Oct 10^th, 2020 at 11:33am:

Perks felt the Bigger Bang tour was the worst. Saw 4 shows & none stood out.

I don't think this is their worst tour, but it also feels like it never gelled or had a real identity. There are clearly some true high points and outstanding shows, particularly in the Spring and Fall U.S. legs of 2006 (TD Bank 2, both MSG shows, Giants Stadium, Zilker Park and that magnificent Atlantic City show), but there's also long stretches of mediocrity and Europe '07 was a disaster until mid-July or so. Keith and Ronnie took turns being at their absolute nadir at various points. The new songs never found a home, sadly.

I saw the first Giants show in 2005 and while I loved it at the time, it stands out the least of the three I've been to. I never thought MetLife 2 from last year would somehow blow away a show I saw 14 years ago.

Stoned In Staten Island wrote on Oct 11^th, 2020 at 7:32am:

I never thought MetLife 2 from last year would somehow blow away a show I saw 14 years ago.

That was a great show...from the mediocre Harlem Shuffle to the LIB>DF on the B stage to the blazing Money Man...and my amazing Lucky Dips and everything else, I thought, was on point...(even YGMR was tolerable for a NY minute...LOL).

The shows and Jagger's singing especially has improved so much since the 80s. I think its alot to do with the removal of those huge runways where Jagger would clock in 5 miles a nite from sideline to sideline...and the 14 show tour model of late for the Stones of the 2010's...this seems to be one area where the ego's have been removed and the engine runs on patience, perseverance and a bit of arrogance. I like it.

Paranoid Android wrote on Oct 11^th, 2020 at 7:45am:

Stoned In Staten Island wrote on Oct 11th, 2020 at 7:32am: I never thought MetLife 2 from last year would somehow blow away a show I saw 14 years ago. That was a great show...from the mediocre Harlem Shuffle to the LIB>DF on the B stage to the blazing Money Man...and my amazing Lucky Dips and everything else, I thought, was on point...(even YGMR was tolerable for a NY minute...LOL). The shows and Jagger's singing especially has improved so much since the 80s. I think its alot to do with the removal of those huge runways where Jagger would clock in 5 miles a nite from sideline to sideline...and the 14 show tour model of late for the Stones of the 2010's...this seems to be one area where the ego's have been removed and the engine runs on patience, perseverance and a bit of arrogance. I like it.

That show was really special for me because I went in with such trepidation having heard a lot from 2017-18 via Youtube. I missed 50 & Counting, which seemed to my ears to be the last tour where they played with the same rigorous pacing and length of the 1994-2007 period. Zip Code never came by NYC unless you count Pittsburgh.

On paper, I'd change some things (I love "Monkey Man" but I was pulling hard for "Rocks Off" since it was the only one on that vote I never heard before, plus "Harlem Shuffle" is hardly my choice for a 30+ year old bustout) but they were on fire and nailed everything that night. Outside of the record I don't think I've heard Keith nail the "Jack Flash" riff like he did at the top of the show.

My review from my blog goes into detail as to why I loved that show so much:

https://nastithoughts.blog/2019/08/06/review-the-rolling-stones-metlife-stadium-east-rutherford-nj-8-5-2019/

BILL PERKS wrote on Oct 10^th, 2020 at 11:33am:

Perks felt the Bigger Bang tour was the worst. Saw 4 shows & none stood out.

I agree, though the Tampa show was my first Stones show and I had a blast. Zurich was fantastic. It was a great show in a great venue with awesome sound,  and I was right by the b stage. I saw them in Lausanne a year later and felt let down. They didn't play as well, the sound was quiet and muffled and the audience was lame.

My last show was the Zip Code Orlando stop and that was by far the best one I've been to. It was like a completely different band. They played great and the sound was loud, crisp and crystal clear. Everyone around was having a blast dancing and passing joints. So many joints.

I really didn't expect to be that blown away after how ABB ended but holy shit did they deliver on that hot as balls June night.

ABB had so many cringe moments that were hard to watch and listen to. Then there was that stroke theory jesus Christ...