A Rolling Stones live album doesn't exactly have much novelty value - they've released a steady stream of them since the 60s. Live Licks is, however, a little different. Recorded during their recent world tour, it's divided into two CDs - the first containing the familiar classics ('Brown Sugar', 'Honky Tonk Woman', 'Satisfaction' etc), the second featuring some covers, b-sides and album tracks from the more obscure end of their back catalogue. It's a neat idea in theory but it doesn't work all that well in practice - the hits sound a little ragged, while a lot of the lesser-known stuff was hardly worth resurrecting in the first place. So, if you're not already a Stones fan, this erratic album isn't going to change your mind. But if you managed to catch one of their recent shows, then this is a nice souvenir to have.
