The Rolling Stones Love You Live (2-CD)

The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Keith Richards (vocals, guitar); Ron Wood (vocals, guitar, bass); Bill Wyman (bass); Charlie Watts (drums).

Additional personnel: Ian Stewart (piano); Billy Preston (keyboards); Ollie Brown (percussion).

Engineers: Eddie Kramer, Keith Harwood, Ron Nevison.

Recorded live in Paris, France and Toronto, Canada in 1976-1977.

All tracks digitally remastered.

Personnel: Mick Jagger (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, keyboards); Ron Wood (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Keith Richards (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Bill Wyman (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, dancer); Billy Preston (vocals, keyboards); Mel Collins (saxophone); Ian Stewart (piano, keyboards); Charlie Watts (drums); Ollie E. Brown (percussion).

Audio Remasterers: Stephen Marcussen; Stewart Whitmore.

Audio Remixers: Dave Jordan; Eddie Kramer; Jimmy Douglass.

Recording information: Paris, France (1976-1977); Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1976-1977).

By the time the Rolling Stones got around to issuing the third live album of their career, 1977's LOVE YOU LIVE, the legendary band had reinvented itself from a dangerous and sleazy rock & roll group to a more polished arena rock outfit. That said, the group was going through one of the rockiest and most uncertain periods of its lengthy career; Keith Richards had just been busted for heroin possession in Canada with the threat of a long prison sentence hanging over his head, new member Ron Wood was still finding his niche in the band, and Mick Jagger appeared more concerned with jet-setting.

So it's a pretty impressive accomplishment that the Stones could present such a fun and spirited performance as the one featured on LOVE YOU LIVE (taped at a rare club appearance at Toronto's famed El Macombo). Though not exactly in league with one of rock's all-time great live sets, 1969's GET YER YA YA'S OUT, LOVE YOU LIVE contains many highlights, such as the funky "Hot Stuff," the Richards-sung "Happy," several blues covers that kick off disc two ("Mannish Boy," Chuck Berry's "Around and Around," etc.) and an awesome, album-closing triple punch of "Brown Sugar," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and "Sympathy for the Devil."