The Rolling Stones have announced the release of Live At The El Mocambo, an album recorded at two legendary secret concerts in 1977. Recorded live at Toronto’s 300-capacity El Mocambo nightclub, the shows have never been heard in their entirety.
In March of 1977, The Rolling Stones booked two nights at the “El Mo”, but instead of selling tickets, they held a radio contest in which the prize was tickets to see Canadian rock heroes April Wine with support from an unknown band called the Cockroaches. When the audience arrived for the first night on March 4th, they were surprised to see April Wine in the opening slot, but they were in for an even bigger surprise when the headliner turned out to be the Rolling Stones.
Four songs from the shows wound up on the 1977 release Love You Live, but the rest have remained unheard until now. Releasing as a double CD, 4 LP black vinyl, 4 LP neon vinyl, and digitally, Live At The El Mocambo features the entire set from the March 5th show, plus three bonus tracks from the March 4th gig. The setlist included covers like Muddy Waters‘ “Mannish Boy” and Bo Diddley‘s “Crackin’ Up”, as well as staples like “Let’s Spend The Night Together” and “Tumbling Dice”.
Two songs from the upcoming release are available to stream now, and the album will be officially released on May 13th. You can preorder the album here.
The Rolling Stone – “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)” / “Rip This Joint” [Live At The El Mocambo]