Nearly 30 years after Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos recorded their iconic Live At The Hollywood Palladium album, the record is being re-released with a bunch of goodies in tow that Stones fans are going to go wild for.
As many fans of The Rolling Stones would know, 1987 saw guitarist Keith Richards branch out on his own for a bit after a falling out with Mick Jagger. What was his plan? He conjured up The X-Pensive Winos.
Serving as a follow up to the outfit’s first record, Talk Is Cheap, the album Live At The Hollywood Palladium was recorded during a brief album tour throughout the U.S. in support of their debut.
During the penultimate show of the tour, Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos put on a brilliant show at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California where the legendary Live At The Hollywood Palladium comes to fruition.
Released almost three years later as a live album, it impressively managed to get a four star rating from Rolling Stone – half a star more than the album he was supporting on that tour received.
Clearly, the album marked a significant moment in Keith Richards’ musical career, showing that his solo work with the new band was putting a mark in the music scene just as his work with The Rolling Stones had done.
Now, almost thirty years after it was first released, Live At The Hollywood Palladium is being re-released as a deluxe box set with a truckload of goodies, making you wish you were at the original concert, and at least giving you a good sense of what it would’ve been like to have been there. Let’s have a look at the highlights!
1. Unreleased Tracks:
While the original release of Live At The Hollywood Palladium features 13 tracks from start to finish, the box set will also feature a 10″ record with three previously unreleased tracks.
‘You Don’t Move Me’, ‘Little T&A’ (a song by The Rolling Stones) and ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ (originally penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles) all feature on the bonus 10″, making it the first time they’re officially available, with the tracks only previously heard on bootlegs.
2. Video of the iconic concert in December of 1988:
If you’re going to be immersing yourself into the Live At The Hollywood Palladium album, then watching the DVD of footage from the actual concert it was recorded at will place you right smack in the middle of the night.
Providing an example of Keith Richards first-ever live solo tour, you’ll also catch a glimpse of how he works with music’s greats such as guitarist Waddy Wachtel, drummer Steve Jordan, bassist Charley Drayton, keyboardist Ivan Neville, singer Sarah Dash, and even saxophonist Bobby Keys.
3. Archival materials like a hand written set list and dressing room sign:
To give you a bit of a look into the life of Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos, this box set comes with a few little mementos that will make you feel as if you were one of the musicians.
N0t only is there a hand-written set list included, so you know exactly what to play next, but it even comes with a hand-drawn band dressing room sign that you can tack up in your home, and pretend you’re off to get ready for a rockin’ performance.
4. Ticket stub, backstage passes, and Keith’s custom Hollywood Palladium plectrum:
Wish you were there for that magical day? With a ticket stub and backstage pass included, you’ll feel like you were right in the middle of the action, all ready to jump right in the middle of the mosh pit.
With the added addition of Keith’s custom Hollywood Palladium plectrum, you can even imagine that you were one of the lucky ones in the front row who was able to catch a guitar pick.
5. Hard back book featuring an essay written by the legendary David Fricke:
One massive part of this box set isn’t just the remastered album featured on two 180g LPs, but also the addition of a 40 page, hardback book, featuring an essay titled “The Loosest Tight Band You Ever Heard” by David Fricke – the senior editor of Rolling Stone.
Featuring a new interview with Keith Richards, in addition to both rare and unseen photos from the archives, the book has something for every kind of music-lover.
6. Replica tour t-shirt wrapping the box set:
Wanting to make the box set the complete package, you won’t find this one wrapped in just a plain, plastic sleeve – this masterful collection comes wrapped in a replica tour t-shirt.
Designed as a black t-shirt with the Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos’ logo in place – a skull and cross-bones affixed in front of grape vines – you certainly won’t find a more perfect method of packaging this box set.
7. A glimpse into the world prior to The Rolling Stones taking music in a new direction:
https://youtu.be/62dAmOf6grk
Sure, you could appreciate the box set as just a massive collection of items that will place you on that very day when Live At The Hollywood Palladium was recorded, but the entire package also gives you a small snapshot in time when the future of The Rolling Stones was uncertain, before Keith Richards got back with Mick Jagger.
This show and everything in the box set helped Keith Richards get what he needed to move The Rolling Stones into a new era, and helped them to become one of the biggest bands of all time.
Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos – Live At The Hollywood Palladium tracklist:
LP:
1. Take It So Hard
2. How I Wish
3. I Could Have Stood You Up
4. Too Rude
5. Make No Mistake
6. Time Is On My Side
7. Big Enough
8. Whip It Up
9. Locked Away
10. Struggle
11. Happy
12. Connection
13. Rockawhile
10″:
1. I Wanna Be Your Man (Box Set Only)
2. Little T&A (Box Set Only)
3. You Don’t Move Me (Box Set Only)
Box Set Includes:
– The remastered album on 2 180g LPs
– 10” vinyl of 3 unreleased bonus tracks (I Wanna Be Your Man, Little T&A, You Don’t Move Me) exclusive to this box set only
– Remastered CD of original album
– DVD of original concert film
– 40 page, hardback book with David Fricke essay featuring a new interview with Keith, plus extensive rare and unseen photos from Keith’s archives
Reproductions of archival materials from the tour including:
– Tour press release
– Keith’s handwritten setlist
– Hand-drawn band dressing room sign
– Tour itinerary
– Press photos
– Ticket stub
– VIP & backstage passes
– Keith’s custom Hollywood Palladium plectrum
– Promotional wine label & bag given away at the show
. . . and more!
