ROLLING STONES "A SUMMER ROMANCE" 2-LP LIVE ON THE 1978 'SOME GIRLS' TOUR NICE

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ROLLING STONES "SUMMER ROMANCE" 2-LP LIVE ON THE 1978 'SOME GIRLS' TOUR 
THE ROLLING STONES "A SUMMER ROMANCE WITH THE ROLLING STONES" RECORDED LIVE ON THE 1978 'SOME GIRLS' TOUR  RECORDED LIVE IN MEMPHIS, HOUSTON & DETROIT ON THE 1978 TOUR LABEL: SATURATED RECORDWORKS ~ 2S-706 2-LP STEREO FANTASTIC SOUND RELEASED: SUMMER 1979 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: "AUSTRALIA" MATRIX: (SIDE A): (Etched)  Z-108-A  2S-706 -A
CONDITION: VINYL: VG++  JACKET: VG (jacket creases & scuffs)
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
I've been going thru my large vinyl record collection over the past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for nearly 50 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
After all, we are just temporary 'caretakers' of these musical gems until the next owner and next collection takes them in.
This week on EBay I am offering up this rare, vintage, late 70's original pressing of the fantastic Rolling Stones 'collector' record 'A Summer Romance', recorded live at various shows on the 1978 'Some Girls' Tour.
"A SUMMER ROMANCE WITH THE ROLLING STONES"
This is my personal, original, early pressing copy that I purchased 'new' back in 1980 in the shops along St Marks Place in Greenwich Village, my usual vinyl hunting grounds in those days.
It has remained in my vinyl record collection ever since and I've taken great care of this record for nearly 50 years now. It's been poly-line sleeved, inside and out, since I purchased it, and stored properly in my collection.
It's still in great condition, but the jacket has some very mild age-related wear. The vinyl is still clean and excellent, just like I purchased it all those years ago, and the sound quality is terrific, much better than what is typically heard on these 'Collector' records.
(See details on this record's content, sound and condition below.) ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
This classic Rolling Stones record, 'A Summer Romance' is often cited by Rolling Stones collectors as one of the Stones' best and 'essential' live 'collector' records from their 1978 'Some Girls' tour, capturing the Stones at their hard rocking, rough and punky peak, and revealing all their power, rawness, and bluesy swagger. 
This recording perfectly captures amazing, inspired, passionate performances and The Stones are in top form thoughout this album, at their raunchiest, punky and rebellious peak, obviously enjoying themselves and having fun, proving that they were still one of the best live rock n roll bands in their day. 
A powerful, dynamic, intense performance that immerses you into the band and their sound. You can clearly hear every lick from Ronnie and Keith's guitars, the crack & snap of Charlie's drums, the thunder of Bill's bass, and every word and nuance from Mick Jagger's lips.
It's everything you'd ever want to hear from that tour, and sounds fantastic. Quintessential stuff, and absolutely essential.
You would be hard pressed to find a better recording of the Stones' 78 'Some Girls' tour than this one.
For years, the Stones had been called the World's Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band, but if that designation ever applied, it was here on 'A Summer Romance'
An excellent recording that belongs in every classic rock or Rolling Stones vinyl collection. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The songs on this album, as listed on the record jacket, include:
Let It Rock All Down The Line Honky Tonk Woman Miss You Respectable Just My Imagination Shattered Happy Love In Vain Tumbling Dice When The Whip Comes Down Brown Sugar Beast Of Burden Hound Dog Jumping Jack Flash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although this album states that it was "Recorded at Mid-South Coliseum -- Memphis, Tennessee -- June 28 1978", that's only partially true.
Like many 'collector' records, the dates and location are wrong.
This album, one of the great Stones live albums from the 1978 tour, is actually a live compilation, taken from several different performances on the 'Some Girls' Tour in Houston, Memphis, and Detroit.
This 2-LP 'Collector' record captures highlights from several different shows, and captures some of the best, classic, live moments and performances from the 'Some Girls' tour.
The 'correct' locations and dates are:
Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis ~ June 28th, 1978 Masonic Auditorium, Detroit ~ July 6th 1978 Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston  July 19th, 1978
Here's a breakdown of which songs are from which performance: ~~~ Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX  July 19th, 1978  All Down The Line Honky Tonk Woman Respectable Brown Sugar Beast Of Burden Jumping Jack Flash ~~~ Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN  June 28, 1978 Hound Dog Shattered ~~~ Masonic Temple Auditorium, Detroit, MI   July 6, 1978 Let It Rock Miss You Just My Imagination Happy Love In Vain Tumbling Dice When The Whip Comes Down ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
THE LEAD UP TO 1978's 'SOME GIRLS' ALBUM AND SUBSEQUENT TOUR
There's little denying that The Rolling Stones crossed an unfortunate threshold when they lost Mick Taylor in 1974. 
The period lasting from 1968 through 1972 represented the Rolling Stones at their absolute peak and finest form. Those 'Mick Taylor years' was when the band really earned the title “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band on Earth.” 
The Stones released an amazing string of 4 great albums, from 1968's 'Beggars Banquet' the following year's 'Let It Bleed', on through 1971's 'Sticky Fingers' and 1972's 'Exile on Main Street'. With those classic albums, the Rolling Stones had created one of the greatest four-album runs in the history of rock music.
After the brilliant 'Exile on Main Street' in 1972, the Stones became too rich and too comfortable. There was a lot of substance abuse, flaring of egos, inter-band friction and turmoil, which led to guitarist Mick Taylor quitting the group in 1974. After that, the band lapsed into a prolonged period of artistic inconsistency where heavy drugs, mis-perceived superstardom, and hedonism started taking the place of genuine inspiration.
'Goat’s Head Soup' was a decent record, but many felt that 'Angie' was an overrated song, an unusual hit, and was steering the band in the wrong direction.
'It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll', despite reaching #1 on the charts, was a mixed bag. It sold on the strength of the title track and an excellent cover of 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg', but it showed the band trying to deal with losing Mick Taylor and searching for a new sound, trying out various keyboardists and guitarists, and trying to produce themselves without longtime producer Jimmy Miller. It sounded more like an album of outtakes, and artistic stagnation.
'Goat’s Head Soup' and 'It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll' displayed a definite decline in quality from their earlier 'Exile on Main Street' high-point.
1976’s 'Black and Blue' was the result of multiple recording sessions looking for a new guitar player. Full of long, loose, tedious jams that veered towards Reggae and Folk rock, the directionless 'Black and Blue' was largely dismissed as a bland disappointment with the band at their most desperate and pathetic, seeming out of touch with current tastes. 
By early 1977, it was very clear that The Rolling Stones hadn’t put out a truly great album since 1972’s 'Exile on Main Street'.
Up until then, it seemed there was no band to challenge the Rolling Stones in their undisputed claim to the top the rock world, but music styles, tastes and trends were changing quickly in the mid 70's, and moving away from classic rock.
Glam rock and proto-punk were the new trends. A new generation of young rock fans considered the Rolling Stones old, obsolete, aging dinosaurs, no longer 'cool' and no longer relevant. 
The new emerging punk subculture thought that the Rolling Stones were the very antithesis of punk rock. That they were decadent and had "sold out" to commercialism and corporate rock. The Punks felt that the Stones' music had lost its raw edge and power. The once threatening Rolling Stones had gotten kind of sad. 
For multiple reasons, the Rolling Stones were no longer at the top of their game. The band seemed irrelevant, stale and predictable.
By 1977, the emergence of both punk and disco had swept the Stones out of the charts and off the front pages of the music press. Punk rock and 'dance' was in, and the Stones were out, on the verge of being lost to history. 
Their status as rock’s perpetual bad boys had been challenged by the punk rock insurrection. Their popularity was slipping and it really looked like it might be over for them. 
On top of that, Keith Richards’ upcoming trial in Canada for heroin-distribution threatened to put him away in jail for years, effectively ending the band for good.
But, what the Punk bands of the late 70's forgot was that the Rolling Stones were the original 'punk' rock band in the early 1960s, pioneers of both raw rebellious rock music and the juvenile delinquent posturing that defined the true essence of punk.
The punks forgot that the Stones were determined to not only survive, but come out of the shadows and kick the shit out of their punk detractors by recording a monumental masterwork of rock music, showing everyone how true Rock'n'Roll was done. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
MICK JAGGER IN NEW YORK CITY AND THE WRITING OF 'SOME GIRLS'
Still tax exiles from the UK, the Stones had been spending more time away from London, and much more time in New York City during the 70s.
The Big Apple of the mid-70's was nothing like the relatively safe, sanitized, Disney-fied version of New York that exists today. 
The city was in financial ruin, public services were poor, the urban infrastructure was falling apart or burning down, and crime was commonplace, just part of everyday life.
Mick Jagger, meanwhile, was socializing, partying, and dancing his troubles away at clubs like Studio 54, listening to the latest dance music and other contemporary rock sounds of the city as the world fell apart around him. 
The songs on 'Some Girls' have a very tough, urban, New York sound. The Stones took all the energy from the city's Punk rock movement, mixed it with the urban blight of their surroundings and created a masterpiece.
The songs are all delivered with the power, attitude, intensity and the sheer force of New York City.
Jagger's lyrics reflect his ego-driven hunger for wealth and success and his observations and disbelief about the inasane craziness of it all: how can a place with so much art, culture, wealth and power seemingly self-destruct before one’s eyes? ~~~~~~~~
Mick Jagger has said, “The inspiration for [Some Girls] was really based in New York and the ways of the town...and then, of course, there was the punk thing that had started in 1976. I think that gave it an extra spur and hardness".
Mick felt invigorated by being snubbed and provoked by the upcoming Punk bands and was determined to answer them.
His penchant for trend hopping and fresh sounds led him to step up and take the lead in songwriting and producing, steering the band’s musical direction, incorporating those new sounds and influences into the Stones' music and crafting their next album.
If 'Exile' was predominantly a Keith album, 'Some Girls' is a definitively Jagger one.
With few notable exceptions, Mick was in control of this album’s content and vision. Mick wrote most of the melodies and most of the lyrics. Although Keith was often present as co-producer and co-composer during recording, the album was pretty much Mick Jagger’s baby, as Keith was preoccupied, dealing with his Heroin problem and his upcoming trial in Canada for heroin-distribution threatening to effectively end the band.
For 'Some Girls', Jagger rediscovered his writing skills and musical chops. ~~
In October 1977, Mick Jagger, armed with many new songs, assembled the band and entered EMI-Pathé Marconi Recording Studios in Boulogne-Billancourt France, near Paris.
The marathon sessions for this album consumed the entire winter of 1977-78. The band emerged 5 months later with around 50 new songs, that would reestablish and redefine the band’s reputation. 
The best songs, the cream of the crop, were chosen for the new album, 'Some Girls'. Other songs from these sessions were set aside and would go on to form the backbone of their next several albums.
Final selections for 'Some Girls were mixed by Mick and Keith at Atlantic Studios in New York City in the Spring of 1978, and on May 10th, a full month before the album, the lead off single 'Miss You' was released to a very strong response.
In retrospect, it's easy to forget just how revitalizing this track was to the band. The throbbing dance beat of "Miss You" blasted out across radio dials that hot sticky summer of '78 and announced that the Stones were back, strong and in charge.
The song shot to #1 and made all the reports of the band's demise, 'un-coolness' and irrelevance seem overstated. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
THE 'SOME GIRLS' ALBUM
The 'Some Girls' abum was then released in America on June 9, 1978. 
In the summer of 1978, the album conquered and quieted their critics, reclaimed their popularity, sent them to the top of the charts, and re-established their status as the greatest Rock'n'Roll band in the World.
'Some Girls', far from a 'last gasp' from a band that had mostly been written off by fans and critics, fused the best influences of punk, dance and rock'n'roll to create a new fantastic sound and ferocious urgency that hadn't been heard from the Stones for the better part of a decade. 
'Some Girls' was a tough, focused, and exciting record. It sounded harder and nastier than anything they had done in years, and had more hooks and energy than any Stones record since 'Exile on Main Street'. 
'Some Girls' was an updated new sound and new direction for the band, but also very much a return to their basic raw gritty rock music roots. Rediscovering and staying true to their bluesy, R&B-influenced, rock ‘n’ roll roots and that 'bad boy' image that made them so popular in the first place.
Despite a new updated sound, the personalities and essence of the band that fans came to know and love in the late-60's is still present; They are still thrill-seeking, swaggering studs, rebellious counter-culture hoodlums, hard-partying socialites, unashamed womanizers and harem keepers, and travelers in the fast lane of life, but the album explores these bad-boy roles with a 'modern', late 70's, gritty, tough, urban New York City perspective.
It was their fiery response to the Punk movement and the band's critics.
Rough & raw, rocking and punky, fresh, alive and immediate, with an intensity and palpable energy. In my opinion, 'Some Girls' was their last great album. Their last masterpiece. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Invigorated by their strong new album, the Stones were more than ready to hit the road again. The Stones were revived and excited, back in the groove and feeling it, and ready to re-establish their claim as the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band. 
The 1978 US tour was put together very quickly, very quietly, and kept under wraps. The band was at a turbulent, transitional period, exacerbated by the fact that Keith Richards was facing a lengthy prison sentence in Toronto on heroin trafficking charges which threatened to effectively put an end to the band. 
With Keith's future still very uncertain, plans for a quick, short, limited US tour were hatched.
The band started rehearsing for the tour at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York in May.  Further rehearsals were then moved to Lakeland, Florida, near Orlando, in early June.
Tour dates and locations remained very secretive with many remaining unannounced until a day or two before the actual show. There were no major press conferences to announce the tour, and very little was annnounced in the music press.
At the start of the tour, only 12 dates were actually booked and confirmed. This would eventually be expanded to 24 shows, but still a very short tour for a band like the Stones.
In the Summer of ’78, many regarded the 'Some Girls' tour as both a “comeback” tour of sorts and a possible "farewell" tour.
Realizing that these were the band's first live shows in 3 years, and may very well be the band's last tour ever, the announcement of a limited run of 'secret' shows led to hysteria, pandemonium and excitement among fans anxious to see the band. 
The Rolling Stones were the hottest ticket of the year. Tickets were in high demand, selling out quickly, and generally unattainable. Fans didn't know when, or where, the Stones would pop up.
For some of the smaller theater shows, the band was booked under secrecy and shows went unannounced until the day of the event. The band also played under a variety of different humorous pseudonyms and false names such as "The Cockroaches" and "The Great Southeast Stoned Out Wrestling Champions", just for fun. ~~~
Compared to previous tours, despite some band rehearsals, the Rolling Stones were somewhat rushed into touring and were not always in top form, especially early in the tour.
For most of the early club performances, the Stones maintained a terrific 'tight but loose' approach with the band giving strong performances, but playing live in the moment, spontaneously, and slightly erratically. Sometimes brilliantly, other times not so much. 
An intriguing roster of opening acts, artists as diverse as Etta James and Peter Tosh, brought new flavors to the performances each night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having no time to waste, the first gig on the 1978 US tour was on June 10th 1978, the day after 'Some Girls' was released, at the Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida. The band played under the name “The Great Southeast Stoned-Out Wrestling Champions.” 
The second gig was on June 12th at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. The band played under the name “The Cockroaches.” 
The fortunate small crowds were delighted to see the most famous band in the world in such close proximity.
The third gig was on June 14th at the small Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey. The night of the show, the marquee outside the theater deceptively stated, “Closed for Repairs.” 
This was the best show of the entire 1978 'Some Girls' tour. The band was in top form, playing a blistering set with ferocious intensity.
These early club dates gave the band confidence, so they added even more shows, in larger stadiums.
The band's first stadium show, their first true public concert of the tour, was on June 17th at the 90,000 seat JFK Football Stadium in Philadelphia.
This was an important show, because it was the first large public show of the tour, would receive heavy press coverage, and, more importantly, would be heavily reviewed by rock critics and other writers who had not seen the band in several years.
The JFK show turned out to be a total disaster for the Rolling Stones. 
The stadium was sold-out, filled to capacity with 90,000 Stones freaks, stoners, drunks, and rowdy fans.  To start with, the crowd gave a very hostile, unenthusiastic reception to the opening acts, Peter Tosh and Foreigner. 
For the Stones performance, the first few songs went over well, played to loud raucous fans, anticipating a great show.
Then the band began playing their long stretch of “Some Girls” songs that the crowd were unfamiliar with and didn't really want to hear. They were there to hear the Stones classics.
The crowd let their confusion and disappointment be known and the Stones were suddenly bombing in front of 90,000 fans, press, celebrities and rock critics.
The band had to play 'Satisfaction' in the middle of the show, rather than saving it for the end, just to satisfy the crowd, and try to calm them down.
Jagger didn’t even get a rise from the Philly crowd with the ‘really rocking on Bandstand, Philadelphia, PA’ line in ‘Chuck Berry’s 'Sweet Little Sixteen’ which they pulled out to try to please the crowd.
The Rolling Stones played for 90 minutes and left the stage. When the band did not return for an encore, the crowd erupted in anger and started throwing trash at the stage. 
Someone threw a beer bottle, hitting Charlie Watt’s 1960s vintage Gretsch drum set, and the crowd applauded. The drum kit was now a target and many others followed, throwing more bottles and trash at the drums and each time the crowd would cheer louder. 
Over the next 30 minutes, the angry, intoxicated, riotous mob pummeled the stage with trash and anything else that wasn’t nailed down, finally attacking the stage and tearing the bright red 'mouth and tongue' logo and the stage down to the ground.
When you are the very best, the “Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World” fans expected more from you. 
After the Philly show, famed rock critic Dave Marsh wrote a scathing review of the concert for 'Rolling Stone' magazine.
The review was so vicious and so negative that Mick Jagger threatened to cut 'Rolling Stone' magazine off from all access to the band.
Jann Wenner himself, the editor of Rolling Stone, had to write a defensive rebuttal article to calm things down.
The bad reviews of the Philly show set the tone for the rest of the tour, which was already a tour that was uncertain and unstable to begin with.
It was looking like this tour might turn out to be the last tour the Rolling Stones ever play. ~~
One of the reasons that the Stones were getting so much bad press and bad reviews is that their shows paralleled and followed Bruce Springsteen's legendary 3-hour 'Darkness Tour' shows into towns. Tough competition, and the Stones shows often paled in comparisons to Bruce's marathon spectacles. ~~~~~~~~~~~
The band learned a huge lesson from that first Philly stadium show.
They tightened up their setlists, improved their playing, and took the rest of the shows on the tour with much more focus and respect. ~~
Their next large public gig was on July 1st at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The show was billed as “The World Series of Rock" and was an all-day event with several top groups billed, and the Rolling Stones getting top billing.
Although it rained, and the Stones made a few mistakes, it was a much better, tighter, rocking performance and the crowd was much more accepting and forgiving.
Next up was Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York, one of the best stadium show of the entire tour.  The Rolling Stones played very well and the audience loved them. This show was particularly upbeat  and rocking.
The band was starting to find it's groove, playing with ferocity and intensity, despite still not playing many of their 'hits' and still not doing any encores. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the beginning of the 1978 'Some Girls' Tour, the band was clearly a little rough, ragged and rusty, taking them a few small club shows to find their sound and groove, but by the time the band moved on to playing the larger venues in the South, the Stones had their sound and set list firmly under control and their show stripped down to the raw essentials - guitars, drums, bass and keyboards, sweat-soaked shirts, and a whole lot of punk attitude and swagger. 
The band was rocking in full force.
The tour behind 'Some Girls' had the Stones doing what they did best; delivering pure, dirty, high energy, electrifying rock ‘n’ roll that sounded both dangerous and thrilling.
The concerts were raw, primal, punky, rebellious and unpolished. Wild, loose, aggressive and ferocious affairs.
This was pretty wild, rebellious, and edgy music for the summer of '78, with one foot in the past and one clearly in the present. 
There's an intensity and palpable energy that propelled these shows, from a group that still felt it had something left to prove.
The band was was on fire, riding high on the success of the new album. They were sharper, looser, louder and rawer than ever.
The band delivered a tight, gritty, swagger-filled set, riding high on the energy of their new 'Some Girls' material, that embraced punk spirit and raw R&B grooves.
You can really hear that the band seemed to be perfectly comfortable playing with their new punk attitude. The band knew they had a killer set of new tunes and delivered each one with swagger and gusto.
They seem to enjoy sinking their teeth into the strong new 'Some Girls' material and put on fantastic killer performances and shows.
Their shows personified sex, drugs and rock'n'roll and showed the band as a powerhouse rock and roll act. The whole band was playing tight, but looser than usual, operating at a very high level, firing on all cylinders.
The Stones proved they had just as much drive, power and attitude than any other Punk or New Wave group from the era, which restored them to their rightful place in rock ’n’ roll royalty as the greatest live rock and roll band in the world.
The Rolling Stones proved once again: nobody does it like them.
In retrospect, 1978's 'Some Girls' tour, despite a rough start, was one of the best and most significant tours in the band's history. It's now seen by many as the Rolling Stones' last truly great tour.  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
This album, 'A Summer Romance', capturing the best highlights of their shows from Memphis, Houston and Detroit. perfectly captures and immerses you into the band and their sound.  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
On this 1978 U.S. 'Some Girls' tour, the concerts were much shorter than what fans were used to. The Stones typically only played for about 80-90 minutes, offering 17-18 songs in one long set. The band also, unusually, did not perform any encores at the end of the shows.
The shows on the tour featured only a handful of Stones classics. The set list was comprised mostly of songs from the just-released "Some Girls" album, a record so new that many concert-goers hadn’t had sufficient time to listen to, so they were unfamiliar with the songs. except possibly 'Miss You', which had been all over the radio for a month.
This was a major reason why some fans, especially early in the tour, were upset and disappointed.  The shows were short, they played very few of their most popular hits, there were no encores, and there was no 'stage show', nothing to make the shows an entertainment spectacle, like previous elaborate Rolling Stones concerts.
As a result, these 'short' concerts on the 1978 American tour left many feeling angry, disappointed and cheated and the papers were full of bad press and bad reviews from concertgoers. ~~~~
The 1978 shows were actually much better than fan's recollections and reviews at the time suggest.
The 80 minute, 17-18 song setlist contained a unique blend of music, with a little bit of all the various styles of music that the Stones have explored over the years.
There's some straight-ahead rock tunes ('Respectable'/'Whip Comes Down'/'Shattered'), bouncy soulful Motown covers ('Just My Imagination'), some slinky, bluesy R&B ('Beast of Burden'), a great dance song ('Miss You'), even some twangy country rock ('Far Away Eyes'). These are all performed in a fantastic way which ONLY the Rolling Stones could pull off.  ~~~~
As an indicator of the band returning to it's rock roots, on most nights the shows opened with a driving, burning cover of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock". The Stones’ tough new sound and attitude are evident right from the start.
The song is played with a faster tempo than normal and Mick's vocals are more vibrant, punchy and punky. That approach and attitude, combined with Keith and Woody's loud, heavy slashing guitar riffs, makes it clear that these shows were going to be very different from anything they've done in the past.
'Let It Rock' leads into an excellent, equally overdriven, rocking rendition of 'All Down the Line' from 'Exile on Main Street'. The song gets a bit of a 'rework', adding a new, rougher edge and bite, but still manages to keep the original power and soul of the song.
The rest of the setlist contained a few Stones 'classics', but was comprised almost entirely of new 'Some Girls' material, with a few unexpected, surprises.
After the opening songs, the band boisterously tears into a long stretch of new material, blasting the crowd with 7 or 8 songs in a row from the recent 'Some Girls' album, with reckless abandon and punk rock attitude.
The extended run of 'Some Girls' songs kicked off each night with a fierce version of the new single 'Miss You'.
Live in concert, the catchy and powerful 'Miss You' was expanded into an impromptu soul-styled jam, which took on an aura of punky funk.
When performed live, the song grooves much harder and sounds much grittier compared to the clean, polished, overplayed, dance hit it had become on the radio and in the clubs.
The intensity and power of the 'Miss You' jam established a high energy level that sustained the entire rest of the band's powerful set each night.
‘Shattered' is an incredible, raw, hard edged, two chord rock song, with a tense driving rhythm, about the Big Apple.
When performed live on this tour, Mick turned 'Shattered' into a feral, blazing and overpowering tune.
Jagger also contributed guitar to several songs. This gave songs like 'Lies' and 'Respectable' a three-guitar line-up, giving them a fun upbeat mix of rock, R&B and punk, and a demonic kick.
‘Lies’ and ‘Respectable’ are frantic, have bite & snarl, and both feature terrific guitar interplay.
Some of the greatest performances during the run of 'Some Girls' songs were 'When The Whip Comes Down' and 'Beast of Burden', a new 'classic', done in the vintage, ragged and beautiful, Stones style, and featuring Jagger's excellent vocals and well-crafted, weaving, guitar interplay between Keith and Woody.
Keith Richard's ‘Before They Make Me Run’ is a great song and outlaw anthem.
When Keith Richards sings, "Well after all is said and done/Gotta move while it's still fun...let me walk before they make me run" there's no doubt he's singing about his recent drug bust and the possible end of the road.
Night after night their set lists were 'All killer, no filler' and every show was full of one swaggering, rebellious and raunchy 'Some Girls' classic after another. 
None of the 'Some Girls' tracks were performed as note-for-note reproductions. Each was performed 'live', in the moment, and each one showed the band improvising, adding new touches and dimensions, and filling out the songs on stage.
These songs were all performed mere weeks after they had been released. They were still fresh and evolving, and the Stones were still living in them and really making them their own.
Everything is played with an intense urge and feeling, making the set sound like it was delicately balanced between total mastery and totally losing control.
With a mere 17 or 18 songs in the set, it was unusual to see an act like the Rolling Stones perform so many songs from their latest album, when they had such a deep catalog to choose from, but it shows that they truly believed in the strength of the material with every bone in their body. 
Despite the setlist being heavily focused on the new 'Some Girls' material, we still get a handful of all-time Stones classics.
The Stones 'reworked' many of these classics, keeping their original vibe, soul and feel, but slightly altering the tempo and giving them a rougher, more savage, fluid and aggressive style, heavily influenced by the punk movement. This results in a few of these songs sounding like a strange fusion between Chuck Berry and the Ramones. ~~~
Typical of a live Rolling Stones show, we also get a sprinkling of amazing, slower, blues/gospel numbers.  On some nights, to break up the unrelenting drive and power of the run of upbeat 'Some Girls' songs, Mick would take a breather, sit down at the piano, and play a gospel-tinged, tongue-in-cheek version of his country-fried song “Far Away Eyes”, accompanied by Ronnie playing amazing slide on his lap steel guitar.
Most nights, the Stones also typically inserted a sweet, moving, heartfelt version of Robert Johnson's 'Love in Vain'. This emotional, guitar heavy blues sounded like a flashback to the legendary 1969 tour.
On many of the shows, the Stones would play Chuck Berry's hit, 'Sweet Little 16' late in the set.
At the Memphis show on this record, 'Hound Dog' replaced their usual performance of 'Sweet Little 16'. The Rolling Stones’ live version of 'Hound Dog' is fantastic and showcases their vibrant energy as well as their respect for rock roots, blending nostalgia with a rebellious, raw performance. ~~~~
Similar to the band's live shows of past tours, as the show draws to a close, the Stones rip into a thrilling high-energy run of 'classics' such as 'Happy', 'Tumbling Dice', 'Brown Sugar', 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and 'Satisfaction'.
Unlike their 'rework' of other older songs earlier in the set, these last few songs of the night are performed in their original style, capturing their original sound and soul, which created a fantastic, nostalgic energy and atmosphere to close out their set.
The new 'Some Girls' stuff fits in pretty well with the old material and it's refreshing and reassuring to hear that the Rolling Stones can still deliver the goods.  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
For the first time in many years, the 1978 'Some Girls' tour was a very basic, simple, stripped-down, bare bones affair. The band wanted to get back to their roots, back to rock and roll basics, and back to the simplicity of their earlier club and theater shows.
Gone were the big, elaborate, large-scale stage sets and extravagant productions, as well as the flash, spectacle, frills, gimmicks and pizzazz of their previous tours. 
The 1978 U.S. tour was a very back-to-basics affair, unlike anything they’d done before. The stage was small and intimate, taking on a simple, high-energy, and direct rock-and-roll approach.
By reducing the stage to the bare minimum, their stage show was lean and mean and focused on just  the music itself and the core band of musicians onstage, performing 'naked' in front of a simple wall of massive amps. 
The band also chose not to have any guests or ace session-players for this tour. No horn players and no backing singers, although sax player Bobby Keys joined them for one or two performances.
The simplicity of the shows created a fascinating level of intimacy, not found on previous or tours.
The Stones strove to show the audience that, in the advent of punk music's popularity, that they were  still relevant, still had bite, and were still the greatest live rock 'n' roll band in the world.
With this back-to-basics approach, the Stones emphasized their raw energy, attitude, swagger, riffs and rhythm, proving that they could command audiences with just sheer power, stripped-down, intimate performances, powerful musicianship, raw talent, and stage presence, which spoke louder than any elaborate sets, spectacle or theatrics. 
Just basic tight, fast, loud, gritty and energetic rock and roll with a new punk-y sound and attitude.
The Rolling Stones 1978 American 'Some Girls' tour showed that the Rolling Stones were 'back', could still own the stage, and still tear it up with the best of them. The shows on the tour re-defined what a rock and roll concert should be.  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The band lineup for the 1978 'Some Girls' tour was somewhat unusual and stripped down. As I mentioned, no horn section, no saxophone, no backing singers, no 'percussionists', no 'hired' musicians, just the rock 'n' roll essentials; guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards.   The band consisted of the core five Rolling Stones; Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Ronnie Wood, joined by 2 old 'friends' of the band, supporting them on keyboards.
Official 'sixth-Stone' from the early days, Ian Stewart is featured on piano and Ronnie’s former bandmate from the Faces, Ian 'Mac' McLagan joins in on electronic keyboards. 
The two keyboard players, who performed at most, but not all shows, kept the melodies of the songs tight and full-bodied, and kept the pace of the music flowing.
The music was also held together by the steady beat of drummer Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman's groovy, thumping Bass. Charlie and Bill keep the rollicking rhythms driving forward, gunning the engine, and they keep the motor running.
This tour highlighted the extraordinary importance of Charlie Watts to the overall Stones sound.  Charlie's drumming is great, as it always is. Tight, crisp, driving, powerful, steady & grounded, and indescribably cool.
This tour marked a turning point for Charlie Watts. In keeping with the retro, back-to-basics feel of the shows, Charlie brought out his old original and iconic 1960s Gretsch drum kit, retired after the 1969 tour, to play on this tour, which added an authentic, vintage, clean & crisp drive, solidifying his menacing beat, and the rhythmic backbone of the band.
Also, for the first time, he incorporated a china cymbal as a crash, adding a sharper, more explosive, almost punky accent to the band’s sound. Charlie continued to play that vintage kit and crash cymbal  for decades after this tour, until his passing in August 2021.
Bill Wyman was more withdrawn than usual in terms of stage demeanor on this tour. Bill kept a low profile and is often overlooked, but really stands out these songs.
He's not credited enough for his fast, rapid-fire basslines that supported things solidly, held up the groove, and supplied the deep, heavy force behind the Stones. 
His powerful bass just thunders and throbs along in that perfect pocket that's not exactly with Charlie, and not exactly with Keith, yet supports both. Bill Wyman's playing is rock solid and gives these songs an amazing pulse of their own.
Both Charlie and Bill were in top form, easily sliding through the various tempos and textures of these songs, and were playing as good as ever on this tour. Once again proving why they were the greatest and most reliable rhythm section in rock and roll.
They had punch, power and drive, creating a tight, chugging groove, perfect for their bandmates to play over and fire on all cylinders. ~~~
Keith Richards is also in top form on this live recording. His overall sound and biting riff-work is amazing; fresh and crisp, vibrant and dynamic, with lots of punch. 
Keith, fresh off drug charges and 'relatively sober' after years of continuous partying and heroin use, was determined to show fans he was still standing, and played like he had something to prove.
Keith Richards, all attitude and cigarette smoke, oozed coolness and slashed through riffs like a man possessed. His playing was crisp and fierce, at least on most nights of this tour, and his guitar sounded great, generating some amazing tones and sounds.
On most of the 1978 shows, Keith relied heavily on his iconic black ’75 Telecaster Deluxe, driving it thru a Mesa/Boogie Mark I amp, turned up to '11'.  Occasionally, for the older 'classics' like “All Down the Line” and “Tumbling Dice” he would pull out his vintage ’50s blonde Telecaster.
Many long-term Stones fans noticed that Keith wasn't nearly as smooth and fluent as he had been in the past, back when he was more 'lubricated', but he still played great. ~~~
While not the virtuoso of his predecessor Mick Taylor, Ron Wood’s stinging leads, locked-in slashing riffs, and chunky rhythms perfectly meshed with Keith's slash and burn riffing.
Ronnie was clearly more comfortable in the band by this point, and the new 'Some Girls' material provided him with a spark and drive that was missing on the previous North American tour in ’75.
'Woody' was battling his own demons in 1978, excessive drinking and coke problems, but his full-time assimilation into the band for this tour, and his unconventional slide guitar playing, re-invigorated the Stones, adding some much needed support for Keith, and established a new style of guitar dynamics for the band.
Ronnie is in excellent form and his playing on this tour was some of his best.
Keith was firmly rooted in, and obsessed with, the Chuck Berry, R&B, Bo Diddley school of riffing, while Ronnie had a firm grasp on melody, rhythm and the slide techniques of the Blues masters.
Between them, they gave the Stones a unique, relentless, dual guitar attack, full of hooks & typical Stones energy.
Ronnie and Keith had a great sound playing together. They developed what Keith has called the "ancient art of weaving" where they both simultaneously play lead and rhythm guitar at the same time, without clear boundaries between the two roles, often punctuating each other's work. It made the 2 guitars sound like four or five.
Keith and Ronnie show why many Stones fans considered this lineup and this tour among the band's best of the middle years, as the duo spin and weave their guitar lines together and trade off solos with each other throughout the show, instinctively knowing when to leave space for the other. 
With 'Woody' fully in the band, the Stones were back to that fantastic twin lead guitar sound that they were missing since the Brian Jones era. ~~~
Mick Jagger was also in fine form for these shows.
The 1978 'Some Girls' tour was the first time Jagger strapped on an electric guitar, creating a powerful three-guitar line-up for several songs, like 'Respectable'. Mick also sat down and played some piano on songs like 'Far Away Eyes'.
On 'Some Girls', Jagger rediscovered his writing, singing and playing chops and on this tour, Mick was performing with a sense of personal involvement. He wrote and intimately knew these songs and exactly how to sing and present them on stage.
In the summer of '78, Mick Jagger was lean, rundown and slightly burned out from his hectic New York rock star lifestyle of socializing, and significant consumption of cocaine, but he still gave it his all on this tour.
Mick Jagger's vocal performances are excellent and outstanding; energetic, edgy, wired, and full of sneering snarl and bite. 
He sings every song with confidence, creating a variety of moods and textures; soulful, sexy, punky and rocking.
Jagger sounds exuberant, invigorated, and positively mesmerizing, delivering each song with his typical, arrogant, cynical, sarcastic attitude, and a little extra humor.
On stage, Mick was more active than he has ever been, still maintaining the dynamic, effortless high energy that characterized his live performances. 
Mick stalked the stage like a street preacher on fire, joyfully dancing, prancing and strutting around the relatively small stage, his full body constantly in care free motion. 
You can't talk about the 'Some Girls' tour without mentioning Mick's odd rock n’ roll fashion choices.
Unlike the fashionable designer costumes he wore on the previous 1975 TOTA tour, the 1978 US tour had Mick Jagger wearing what has been referred to as his 'New York subway F-train' look; bold, brightly colored, solid red, blue and yellow sports coat blazers, plastic parachute pants adorned with gaffers tape, goofy leather caps and expensive Italian track shoes.
It could not have been more unexpected, eclectic and different from prior tours and from what fans were expecting.
Many fans were startled to see Mick Jagger, one of the richest, most famous rock stars in the world, strutting around the stage wearing clownish garbage-bag trousers held together with strips of vinyl tape.
Somehow, Jagger pulled it off and made his outfit work; looking hip, modern and cool. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Unlike other tours of the States, there was no official live album from this tour released at the time, making 'Collector' records, like this one, which captures a perfect snapshot of the Stones at their raw, unfiltered best, an essential part of any Stones collection.
On this album, 'A Summer Romance', the band are very 'loose but tight', energetic and inspired throughout, and the performances are great. The whole band is on fire, the energy is positively crackling, the performances are outstanding, and the setlist is amazing.
The loose, haphazard delivery of these shows is what makes live 'collector' albums like this so great and special. They're imperfect, but contain fabulous, ragged, but rocking performances, packed with energy and raw emotion. Pure Stones with no filler. 
For Rolling Stones fans this was a great time to see the band. They were back, rocking, rolling and riffing, with power and attitude, playing fantastic inspired, focused, stripped-down, exciting, and fresh sounding shows, and the real fans of the band knew it.
These live recordings prove that there was more venom and energy to the band's shows than the audience and critics gave them credit for at the time. Despite playing 'new' music, few bands could effortlessly rock like the Rolling Stones could, and on this album they show exactly why they were called the World's Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band.
The sound quality on this record is quite good for the time period and sounds quite nice for a 'Collector' record. This is one of the best recordings from the Rolling Stones 1978 Tour.
On this live album, you can clearly hear every lick from Keith and Ronnie's guitars, the crack & snap of Charlie's drums, the thunder of Bill's bass, and every snarl, word and nuance from Mick Jagger's lips.
This terrific album has been re-pressed and re-issued several times over the years, but none of them captured the great sound and great packaging and look of these early 1979 originals.
They don’t get any better than this…essential and a 'must have' record for any Stones fan. 
If you have any doubt that the Rolling Stones were still "The Greatest Rock'N'Roll Band in the World" in 1978, just give a listen to this album.
Add this rare, classic, Rolling Stones 'collector' record to your collection. It's a rare, excellent condition, excellent sounding, and a Rolling Stones record that every Stones fan should have in their vinyl collection and also deserves to be in any 70s classic rock vinyl collection. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
VINYL: The vinyl is still fantastic and looks excellent with a nice glossy sheen. Clean and bright. No obvious hairlines, scratches or damage. it does have mild signs of being played, but is still quite nice. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
This album is pressed on nice, heavy, high quality vinyl and has a fantastic sound to match. A very nice pressing, which was rare for 'collector' records in the late 70's.
I'll call it a conservative VG+, to keep everyone happy, but you can see from my photos how terrific nice it looks, other than being a little 'dusty'. 
I haven't messed with this record or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in almost 50 years, so it has a few dust specks, and would likely benefit from a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is. I'll leave that up to the winning bidder.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
LABELS: This is pressed using deluxe custom Black & White 'Saturated Recordworks' labels. The labels are clean and bright, no dings, scuffs, writing or damage, and the spindle holes are clean and sharp, suggesting infrequent playing and my careful handling over the years.
No mention of the artist, but the sides do have song titles, rare for 'collector' records. 
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this 45 year old jacket is still in decent condition, but has a few issues.
Made from relatively thin cardboard, and containing 2 thick, heavy albums in a single LP jacket, this album has suffered some small 'creases' and very mild corner 'bumping' and very mild early ringwear from being shifted around in my collection and surviving several moves over the decades. That being said, it still looks decent and very acceptable. 
No other marks, scuffs, or damage. The spine is straight, no seam splits, which are very common on this album due to it's thin carboard jacket.
The cover art looks fantastic and the text is sharp and clear on this 1979 pressing. Later 80's re-pressings are darker, more washed out appearing, and the printing isn't as crisp. 
The front cover is a fantastic, close-up shot of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The rear cover has a great collage of pictures from the 1978 tour and a close-up of Keith in a top hat and eye-patch from the Rock & Roll Circus.
As you can see from my pictures, this still looks terrific. I tried to show details in my photos. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Very nice, all original, great sounding, and a real gem. I'm sure you'll be very happy to add it to your collection. It would make a great addition to any Classic Rock or Rolling Stones vinyl record collection. 
These original 1979 pressings are getting very difficult to find and you just don't see them turn up for sale that often, especially in great condition. 
An amazing rare survivor.  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
** NOTE: I'm selling this rare Rolling Stones 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare, and as described, and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. A great, rare, original, excellent sounding copy. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 50 years of vinyl record collecting. 
Keep an eye on my Ebay page, 'jjrbyrne' for more of these great rare 'collectible' albums, live albums, LP's and 45 singles. 
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable and system to get a true picture of condition. 
Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,700 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for nearly 30 years, so please bid with confidence!
I'm a One-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love music, love collecting vinyl and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time listening, researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any record that I personally would not want in my collection.
As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 on this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far. I know I rambled on a bit, but can't help it. I have a passion for records, especially 'Collector' records and the Rolling Stones.
I hope this listing was entertaining and informative.   -- JOHN