When you've been together as long as the Rolling Stones, it's inevitable that there are going to be a ton of live concert films and albums released along the way. In the Stones case, there's even more out there than most.
These range from genuine classics like Get Your Ya Yas Out and great concert films like the Maysles Brothers' Gimme Shelter and Martin Scorsese's Shine A Light, to the out and out awful — anybody remember Love You Live?
Lying somewhere in between these two extremes, are a string of mostly forgettable concert films like the 1981 Stones tour document Lets Spend The Night Together.
But with all due respect to Martin Scorsese and the Maysles Brothers, the long out-of-print 1974 film Ladies And Gentlemen The Rolling Stones may be the best pure live Rolling Stones concert document of them all. Now, thanks to the fine folks at Eagle Rock, this long-lost document of the Stones barnstorming 1972 American tour has not only been found, but fully restored and digitally remastered to its original glory.
Ladies And Gentleman The Rolling Stones captures the Stones at the height of their popularity and at the peak of their powers as a live band during their Exile On Main Street tour of America in 1972. Recorded over the course of four shows in Texas during that tour, the film was briefly seen in a limited theatrical release two years later, but has long since disappeared off the radar. Why is anyone's guess, especially after seeing it now, some three decades later.
Watching this film today on DVD, its easy to see how the Stones earned their reputation as the greatest rock and roll band in the world. For the entire 90 minute running time of this DVD, the high energy level established by the powerful opening one-two punch of "Brown Sugar" and "Bitch" never lets up for a second. The Stones are crisp and tight, and despite being the undisputed biggest band on Earth at the time, they still play like they have everything to prove throughout this entire amazing show.
Article comments
1 - carl j. mancuso
Glen: Nice review. I just got my copy of this DVD today. It is the best concert video of The Rolling Stones. I saw it when it originally appeared in movie theaters in 1974. I always wondered why it was not released before now, but Jagger explains that the band didn't own the film for many years. Sure, some folks will say that the restoration could be better, but you can only do so much with footage and sound that was recorded in the early 1970's. In this video the Stones were playing with a chip on their shoulder after the nightmare of Altamont in 1969. They have always had a reputation of being rough around the edges on the stage and in the studio. To some people, that's part of the Stones' charm. You can see all of that in their most recent concert videos ("Shine a Light", "Live Licks", "Live at the IMAX", etc.) This video has everyone playing on top of their game. Mick Taylor shows his technical proficiency on guitar. The great ones make it look so effortless. I was going to write about this video for blogcritics, but I think you took the words right out of my mouth, and I can't improve upon what you produced for the rest of us. Carl
2 - carl j. mancuso
I thought one of the best parts of "Shine a Light" was the bonus footage of the band putting together an instrumental acoustic version of "Wild Horses".