During the No Security Tour of 1999, the Rolling Stones were promoting No Security, a live album from their 1997–1998 Bridges to Babylon Tour, when the Rolling Stones were promoting Bridges to Babylon. A few days before playing two sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium to nearly 140,000 each night, the Stones played a club show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire to 1,800 lucky folks. Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush Blu-ray + two-CD package captures that 18-song performance from June 8, 1999.
Buy The Rolling Stones: Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush Blu-rayThe play the most from Some Girls (four songs) and three of the first five songs in the set come from that album. “Shattered” kicking things off and later Mick grabs a guitar and contributes to the wonderfully raucous “Respectable.” The horn section rings out on “All Down the Line.” When they play “Some Girls,” Mick alters the lyrics including which girls for which he doesn’t have enough jam.
Being such a smaller show, they play a lot of deep cuts, such as “Melody” from Black and Blue, which Mick says they never played before but press material says it was “performed only once before, more than two decades previously, at the famous 1977 El Mocambo show in Toronto.” It’s a bluesy number with Chuck Leavell’s piano up front in the arrangement and trombonist Michael Davis makes the most of his solo. They continue in this vein by slowing the tempo for “I Got the Blues.”
A double shot from Voodoo Lounge features “Brand New Car” and the live debut of “Moon Is Up.” Attendees even get to hear their cover of “Route 66,” which is the first track on the UK version of their debut album.
Show opener Sheryl Crow joins the band unannounced on “Honky Tonk Women” for a wonderful duet. After band introductions, Mick leaves so Keith can sing lead on “You Got the Silver” and “Before They Make Me Run.” The show closes out with big hits, such as “Brown Sugar,” which was dropped from U.S. setlists in 2021 and an encore of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
The video is available in a 1080i/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer in varying aspect ratios. The concert is predominantly presented in a single shot that fills the screen. Other times, the frame is split into double and triple images. The video is grainy. Colors are solid. Blacks are satisfactory and don’t get lost with the darkness of the unlit background. Being a live show, there are times focus is lost as cameramen work to capture the moving musicians.
There are three audio options: LPCM Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Dolby Atmos. On the 5.1 track, the guitars ring out and the brass shines. Mick’s vocals are always clear, never overwhelmed in the mix. Bassist Darryl Jones subtle work can be heard in the subwoofer. The music and audience cheers can be heard in the surrounds.
There are no extras.
Twenty-five years ago, some scoffed at the Rolling Stones with claims they were too old but Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush proves those fools wrong. Fans should appreciate the variety in the setlist from the typical greatest-hits shows played in stadiums. The high-definition audio is a highlight and the video does its best with the source. And how great to see a darkened audience with no sign of distracting cellphones.
In addition to the Blu-ray + two-CD release, Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush is available on 4K UHD with a Dolby Atmos, a two-CD limited edition package of 15,000 worldwide; a two-LP black vinyl package, and a direct-to-consumer two-LP set in 180-gram white vinyl
