FRIDAY NIGHT: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN THE ROLLINGSTONES
It’s hard to believe but the Rolling Stones have been a band for nearly 50-years and a brand for nearly as long. This year marks their 6th decade as a musical force and despite no new albums or concert tours from them, 2010 has been quite a year for them. For the first time ever, one of their albums receive a super-deluxe reissue treatment; Exile on Main Street. Alongside this wonderful 2-CD reissue was the superb Stones in Exile documentary uncovering the story and turmoil that went on behind the scenes to make that album a reality. Capping this look back is the terrific concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones. There are no shortage of Rolling Stones concert DVD’s, but what makes Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones indispensable is that it encapsulates the band in a very divergent moment in time. The next time the band toured America, Mick Taylor had left the fold. Taylor would only make it through two tours with the band and the first tour, while documented in Gimme Shelter, doesn’t showcase his tremendous talents. Ladies and Gentlemen is a flush with striking reminders of why Stones fans pine for this era of the band. No more than 8-musicians are on the stage at any given point (Nicky Hopkins sits in on piano) during the film and throughout most of the 83-minute performance, only the five core members can be seen and heard; Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor. This is the only (almost) complete performance from this edition of the Rolling Stones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiaIx7IuIYQ
