''Flashpoint'' is a live album by the English rock band

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, their first since 1982's ''

Still Life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

''. Compiled from performances on the

Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg ...

by Chris Kimsey with the assistance of Chris Potter, it was released in 1991. '' Steel Wheels Live'' (2020) includes a complete 1989 concert along with a selection of live rarities. The tour and the two studio tracks recorded for ''Flashpoint'' were the last for bassist and long-time member

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

as a Rolling Stone.

History

Recorded across North America, Europe and Japan, ''Flashpoint'' is also the first Rolling Stones release of the 1990s and, unlike previous live sets, includes two new studio tracks. " Highwire" had been released as a single earlier in 1991 and was a comment on the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. "Sex Drive" was described by

Chris Jagger Christopher Jagger (born 19 December 1947) is an English musician and actor. He is the younger brother of Mick Jagger, the frontman for the Rolling Stones. Early life and education Jagger was born into a middle-class family in Dartford, Kent. ...

- Mick's brother - as "basically a dance-track", and got a release in July of that year as the third and last single from the album. Although the live selections are mostly familiar hits mixed in with new tracks from ''Steel Wheels'', ''Flashpoint'' also includes lesser-known songs like " Factory Girl" from 1968's ''

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...

'' and "

Little Red Rooster "Little Red Rooster" (or "The Red Rooster" as it was first titled) is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. Hi ...

", originally a No. 1 UK hit single in 1964, featured here with special guest

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

on guitar. According to Chris Jagger, some of the backing vocals were re-recorded and Ron Wood added guitar to three tracks afterwards. ''Flashpoint'' was recorded using

binaural recording Binaural recording is a method of Sound recording and reproduction, recording Sound recording, sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a Three-dimensional space, 3D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actuall ...

. This gives the effect that the concert audience is behind the home listener when heard on headphones. A snippet was taken from the band's 1970 live album ''

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! ''Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert'' is the second live album by the Rolling Stones, released on 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the United States. It was recorded in New York City and Balt ...

'', where a fan shouts: "'

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences and lyrics ...

', 'Paint It Black', you devil". It is audible between "Ruby Tuesday" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

Bill Wyman's departure

As ''Flashpoint'' was The Rolling Stones' final release under their contract with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, the band signed a new lucrative long-term worldwide deal with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

in 1991, with the exception of

. After 30 years with the band, the 55-year-old Wyman decided that he had other interests he wanted to pursue and felt that, considering the size of the recently completed ''Steel Wheels'' project and tour, it was fitting to bow out at that time. Although he would not officially announce his departure until January 1993 – during the interim the rest of the band had repeatedly asked him to reconsider – he had talked about leaving the band for at least ten years. After Wyman's departure,

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

was taken off salary and made a full member of the Rolling Stones partnership, eighteen years after he joined the band.

Release

''Flashpoint'' was released in late March 1991 and was generally well-received, with "Highwire" becoming a rock radio hit, and managed to reach No. 6 in the UK and No. 16 in the US, where it went gold. In 1998, ''Flashpoint'' was

remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

and reissued by

, and again in 2010 by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

Track listing

All tracks written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

CD

#"(Intro) Continental Drift" – 0:26 #"

Start Me Up "Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album '' Tattoo You''. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the ''B ...

" – 3:54 #"Sad Sad Sad" – 3:33 #" Miss You" – 5:55 #" Rock and a Hard Place" – 4:52 #" Ruby Tuesday" – 3:33 #"

You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...

" – 7:26 #" Factory Girl" – 2:47 #"Can't Be Seen" – 4:17 #"

" (

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

) – 5:15 #"

" – 4:02 #"

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones. The song was written by Mick Jagger and credited to the Jagger–Richards partnership. It is the opening track on the band's 1968 Studio album, album ''Beggars Banquet ...

" – 5:35 #"

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

" – 4:06 #"

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was seen as the band's retu ...

" – 5:00 #"

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...

" – 6:09 #" Highwire" – 4:44 #"Sex Drive" – 5:07 "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Can't Be Seen", were not included on the vinyl version.

Cassette Tape

Side one #(Intro) "Continental Drift" – 0:29 #"Start Me Up" – 3:54 #"Sad Sad Sad" – 3:33 #"Miss You" – 5:55 #"Rock and a Hard Place" – 4:52 #"Ruby Tuesday" – 3:34 #"You Can't Always Get What You Want" – 7:26 #"Factory Girl" – 2:48 #"Sex Drive" – 4:28 Side two #"Can't Be Seen" – 4:17 #"Little Red Rooster" (Dixon) – 5:15 #"Paint It Black" – 4:02 #"Sympathy for the Devil" – 5:35 #"Brown Sugar" – 4:10 #"Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 5:00 #"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – 6:08 #"Highwire" – 4:46

Other songs/B-sides and charity single

The following songs were recorded during the same set of concerts and later released as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s: *"

2000 Light Years from Home "2000 Light Years from Home" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on their 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it also appeared as the B-side to the American sing ...

" – 3:24 (13 June 1990; Olympic Stadium; Barcelona Spain) – Only released on "Highwire" singles *"

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

" – 4:47 (26 November 1989; Memorial Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina) – Charity single released in 1993 *"

Harlem Shuffle "Harlem Shuffle" is an R&B song written and originally recorded by the duo Bob & Earl in 1963. The song describes a dance called the “Harlem Shuffle”, and mentions several other contemporary dances of the early 1960s, including the Monke ...

" ( Bob Relf, Ernest Nelson) – 4:35 (27 February 1990; Korakuen Dome; Tokyo, Japan) – Only released on one of the variations of the UK "Ruby Tuesday" single *"

I Just Want to Make Love to You "I Just Want to Make Love to You" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. In 1954, it was recorded by Muddy Waters, and released as a single with the title "Just Make Love to Me". The song reached number four on '' Billboard'' magazine's R&B B ...

" (Dixon) – 3:58 (6 July 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Highwire" singles *" Play with Fire" (

Nanker Phelge Nanker Phelge (also known as Nanker-Phelge) was a collective pseudonym used between 1963 and 1965 for several Rolling Stones group compositions. According to manager Andrew Loog Oldham the 'Nanker Phelge' credit was mostly used for tracks where th ...

) – 3:31 (26 November 1989; Memorial Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina) – Released on "Ruby Tuesday" single *"

Street Fighting Man "Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrumen ...

" – 3:43 (25 August 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" Maxi-CD singles *"

Tumbling Dice "Tumbling Dice" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released worldwide as the lead single from the band's 1972 double album '' Exile on Main St.'' on 14 April 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. A product of Mick ...

" – 4:12 (24 August 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" singles *"

Undercover of the Night "Undercover of the Night" is the lead track and first single from the English band the Rolling Stones' 1983 album ''Undercover''. Inspiration and recording The song was largely a Mick Jagger composition, with guitarist Keith Richards going as fa ...

" – 3:59 (19 December 1989; Atlantic City Convention Center; Atlantic City, New Jersey) – Released on the "Ruby Tuesday" single All tracks besides "Gimme Shelter" released in 1990.

Personnel

The Rolling Stones *

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

– lead vocals, guitars, harmonica *

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

– vocals, guitars *

– guitars *

– bass guitar *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

– drums Additional personnel *Matt Clifford – keyboards,

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

– keyboards, backing vocals *

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Nilsson, Delaney ...

– saxophone *

Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

by The Uptown Horns – Arno Hecht, Paul Litteral, Bob Funk, Crispin Cioe *The Kick Horns - horns on "Rock and a Hard Place" *

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocali ...

– backing vocals *

Lisa Fischer Lisa Melonie Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album '' So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single " How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back ...

– backing vocals *Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals *Lorelei McBroom- backing vocals *

– guitar on "Little Red Rooster" *Live recordings by

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born Chiaramonte, January 15, 1953) is an American mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan A ...

, David Hewitt *Mastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

at Gateway Mastering Studios *Mixed by Christopher Marc Potter *Bernard Fowler – backing vocals on "Highwire" *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

– backing vocals on "Sex Drive" *

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and career Niles began h ...

– backing vocals on "Sex Drive" *Studio tracks mixed by Chris Kimsey and Mark Stent *Engineered by Mark Stent *Assistant Engineer Nick Hartley on "Sex Drive" and "Highwire" *Art direction and design by Garry Mouat and David Crow

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1991 live albums Albums produced by Chris Kimsey Albums produced by the Glimmer Twins Rolling Stones Records live albums The Rolling Stones live albums Virgin Records live albums