The Rolling Stones "Flashpoint"

Flashpoint is a live album by British rock band The Rolling Stones. It was recorded in 1989 and 1990 on the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour and released in 1991. It was the first live album by the group since 1982's Still Life. It was recorded using binaural recording. This gives the effect that the concert audience is behind the home listener. The audience cheer track was taken from the Rolling Stones' 1970 live album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, complete with an audience member shouting out a request: "'Paint It, Black', 'Paint It, Black', you devil". The two studio tracks on the album were the last for bassist and long-time member Bill Wyman as a Rolling Stone.

Recorded across North America, Europe and Japan, Flashpoint is also the first Rolling Stones release of the 1990s and, unlike previous live sets, includes two new studio tracks: "Highwire" and "Sex Drive"; the former was released as a single earlier in 1991 and was a comment on the Gulf War.

Although the live selections are mostly familiar hits mixed in with new tracks from Steel Wheels, Flashpoint also includes lesser-known songs like "Factory Girl" from 1968's Beggars Banquet and "Little Red Rooster", originally a No. 1 UK hit single in 1964, featured here with special guest Eric Clapton on guitar.

As Flashpoint was The Rolling Stones' final release under their contract with Sony Music, the band signed a new lucrative long-term worldwide deal with Virgin Records in 1991, with the exception of Bill Wyman. After thirty years with the band, the fifty-five-year-old Wyman decided that he had other interests he wanted to pursue and felt that, considering the size of the recently completed Steel Wheels project and tour, it was fitting to bow out at that time. Although he would not officially announce his departure until January 1993 – during the interim the rest of the band had repeatedly asked him to reconsider – he had talked about leaving the band for at least ten years. After his departure, Ronnie Wood was finally taken off salary and made a full member of the Rolling Stones partnership, eighteen years after he joined the band.

Flashpoint was released in April 1991 and was generally well-received, with "Highwire" becoming a rock radio hit, and managed to reach No. 6 in the UK and No. 16 in the US, where it went gold.

In 1998, Flashpoint was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records, and again in 2010 by Universal Music.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

CD

1. "(Intro) Continental Drift" – 0:26
2. "Start Me Up" – 3:54 (26 November 1989; Death Valley Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina)
3. "Sad Sad Sad" – 3:33 (19 December 1989; Atlantic City Convention Center; Atlantic City, New Jersey)
4. "Miss You" – 5:55 (25 November 1989; Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Florida)
5. "Rock and a Hard Place" – 4:52 (25 November 1989; Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Florida)
6. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:33 (27 February 1990; Korakuen Dome; Tokyo, Japan)
7. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" – 7:26 (25 November 1989; Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Florida)
8. "Factory Girl" – 2:47 (6 July 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England)
9. "Can't Be Seen" – 4:17 (26 November 1989; Death Valley Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina)
10. "Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon) – 5:15 (19 December 1989; Atlantic City Convention Center; Atlantic City, New Jersey)
11. "Paint It Black" – 4:02 (13 June 1990; Olympic Stadium; Barcelona, Catalonia)
12. "Sympathy for the Devil" – 5:35 (26 February 1990; Korakuen Dome; Tokyo, Japan)
13. "Brown Sugar" – 4:06 (28 July 1990; Stadio Delle Alpi; Turin, Italy)
14. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 5:00 (27 February 1990; Korakuen Dome; Tokyo, Japan)
15. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – 6:09 (26 November 1989; Death Valley Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina)
16. "Highwire" – 4:44
17. "Sex Drive" – 5:07

Vinyl LP

Side one

1. (Intro) "Continental Drift" – 0:29
2. "Start Me Up" – 3:54
3. "Sad Sad Sad" – 3:33
4. "Miss You" – 5:55
5. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:34
6. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" – 7:26
7. "Factory Girl" – 2:48
8. "Little Red Rooster" (Dixon) – 5:15

Side two

1. "Paint It, Black" – 4:02
2. "Sympathy for the Devil" – 5:35
3. "Brown Sugar" – 4:10
4. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 5:00
5. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – 6:08
6. "Highwire" – 4:46
7. "Sex Drive" – 4:28

"Rock and a Hard Place" and "Can't Be Seen", were not included on the vinyl version.

Cassette Tape

Side one

1. (Intro) "Continental Drift" – 0:29
2. "Start Me Up" – 3:54
3. "Sad Sad Sad" – 3:33
4. "Miss You" – 5:55
5. "Rock and a Hard Place" – 4:52
6. "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:34
7. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" – 7:26
8. "Factory Girl" – 2:48
9. "Sex Drive" – 4:28

Side two

1. "Can't Be Seen" – 4:17
2. "Little Red Rooster" (Dixon) – 5:15
3. "Paint It, Black" – 4:02
4. "Sympathy for the Devil" – 5:35
5. "Brown Sugar" – 4:10
6. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 5:00
7. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" – 6:08
8. "Highwire" – 4:46

The following songs were recorded during the same set of concerts and later released as B-Sides:

"2000 Light Years from Home" – 3:24 (13 June 1990; Olympic Stadium; Barcelona Spain) – Only released on "Highwire" singles
"Gimme Shelter" – 4:47 (26 November 1989; Death Valley Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina) – Charity single released in 1993
"Harlem Shuffle" (Bob Relf, Ernest Nelson) – 4:35 (27 February 1990; Korakuen Dome; Tokyo, Japan) – Only released on one of the variations of the UK "Ruby Tuesday" single
"I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Dixon) – 3:58 (6 July 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Highwire" singles
"Play with Fire" (Nanker Phelge) – 3:31 (26 November 1989; Death Valley Stadium; Clemson, South Carolina) – Released on "Ruby Tuesday" single
"Street Fighting Man" – 3:43 (25 August 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" Maxi-CD singles
"Tumbling Dice" – 4:12 (24 August 1990; Wembley Stadium; London, England) – Only released on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" singles
"Undercover of the Night" – 3:59 (19 December 1989; Atlantic City Convention Center; Atlantic City, New Jersey) – Released on the "Ruby Tuesday" single

All tracks besides "Gimme Shelter" released in 1990.