Flashpoint (Live)

Recorded during the Stones’ 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour, Flashpoint features a well-balanced selection of songs from the band’s massive catalog. Naturally, the then–current studio album Steel Wheels is well-represented with “Sad Sad Sad,” “Rock and a Hard Place,” and the Keith Richards-sung “Can’t Be Seen,” but the band also whips off “Factory Girl” from Beggars Banquet and “Little Red Rooster” with Eric Clapton guesting on guitar. The disco pump of “Miss You” is tight and assured. Considering the tour’s massive scale, the ballad “Ruby Tuesday” achieves a marked intimacy. The classics are played with verve and enthusiasm, with “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Start Me Up” leaping from the speakers. It’s also notable that this was the final tour featuring bassist Bill Wyman, who made good on his threat to leave the band following this release. The album also contains two new studio songs: the single “Highwire” about the 1991 Gulf war and the James Brown–inspired “Sex Drive.”