From the Vault: L.A. Forum (Live in 1975) [LP]

The official bootleg L.A. Forum (Live in 1975) is taken from the same tour that was brushed up and polished off as the 1977 double-LP Love You Live. That record was fairly heavily overdubbed but L.A. Forum (Live in 1975) is cheerfully raw, finding the Stones pounding away at a 24-song set (two of these are showcases for Billy Preston, who was guesting with the group on this tour). The official release may have cleaned up the date -- original bootlegs claimed it was the Friday show of a stint at the Forum, when it was actually performed that Sunday -- but the performances are still greasy and slippery. Sometimes there's a muffed cue or two but the band locks into a hard groove early on and never leaves it, making this a preferable snapshot of 1975 to Love You Live. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine