Not every song works as a concert-opener. The Rolling Stones, with some six decades of live performance experience under their belts, know this well.
The opening song sets the tone for the evening ahead and offers a first impression to the audience. Pick something too slow or too deep of a cut and you’ve already lost the crowd’s attention, but it’s also important not to give away all your best tricks just yet.
In the Rolling Stones’ case, there’s over 30 albums of music to select from, meaning the possibilities are sort of endless, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to name what we feel to be the best five they’ve ever chosen.
One thing you’ll notice immediately: there is no “Start Me Up” on this list. This writer personally feels it a bit too on the nose and too heavily leaned on by the Stones for the last 40 or so years. Yes, it’s instantly recognizable to fans and signifies in a literal way that the show has begun, but it’s far from the only viable option the band has.
Here are five other high-energy concert-openers from the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.
5. “Not Fade Away”
Obviously, “Not Fade Away” isn’t a Rolling Stones original, and usually, opening with a cover at one of your own concerts is a risky choice. However, the Stones really have made this song, originally by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, their own over the years. The cool thing is that the Stones used to open with this song way back in their early days between the years 1963 and 1966. Then it was retired for a while before coming back as an opener in 1994 when the Stones launched their Voodoo Lounge Tour. Talk about a full circle kind of moment.
4. “Street Fighting Man”
“Street Fighting Man” has found a place at the top of Rolling Stones set lists since nearly the year it came out, which was 1968. A big part of why this song in particular sounds so classic to Stones fans is because it uses Keith Richards‘ most famous style of playing: open G tuning, often with five strings instead of six. The result is a strong, rich chord sequence that can be heard in a number of the Stones’ best known songs, including “Street Fighting Man.” As an opening number, this tuning in this song in particular is a message to the audience: you’re not at just any old rock ‘n’ roll concert, you’re at a Rolling Stones concert.
READ MORE: The Most and Least-Played Song Live Off 15 Rolling Stones Albums
3. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” holds the distinction of being the Stones’ most-played song live of their entire career at over 1,200 performances. Many of those were opening numbers and it’s not at all hard to see why with that opening riff, which once again uses open G tuning.
“When you get a riff like ‘Flash,’ you get a great feeling of elation, a wicked glee,” Richards wrote in his 2010 memoir Life. “I can hear the whole band take off behind me every time I play ‘Flash’ – there’s this extra sort of turbo overdrive. You jump on the riff and it plays you. We have ignition? OK, let’s go.”
2. “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”
It really didn’t take very long for “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” to start being included in set lists after its release in October of 1974, a hit in both the U.K. and U.S. To be fair, it hasn’t been an opening number as often as others on this list, but frankly we think the Stones may want to rethink that a bit. It’s high energy, encourages crowd participation and really sums up why we all go to Rolling Stones concerts to be begin with. It’s rock ‘n’ roll, and we like it.
1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
There is just no denying what’s about to go down once Richards hits the first riff of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” There are old interviews out there in which Mick Jagger has spoken about not wanting to be singing “Satisfaction” at age 40 or 50, and yet, here we all are, still singing along. If it not’s broke, don’t fix it.
Honorable Mention: “Sympathy for the Devil”
We had to throw in a mention here of “Sympathy for the Devil,” which has made a couple rare appearances as an opening song. Truthfully, it’s too long to work well as an opener, but we have to admit that the “woo woo” vocals are a blast to sing along with, and the first lines — “please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste” — are awfully compelling.
Rolling Stones Live Albums Ranked
Many of the band’s concert records can seem like quick cash grabs or stop-gaps between studio LPs, but there are gems to uncover.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
