what i'm watching: rock and roll circus
Have you seen The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus? This private concert film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was made for a British TV special in 1968. Besides the Stones, featuring Brian Jones at what turned out to be the very end of his life, it included The Who, John Lennon (playing in a band with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards), Yoko Ono, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal and others.
After filming Circus, the Stones weren't happy with its quality, and it never aired. Naturally it became legendary, with bootleg copies popping up now and again, and clips seen in other rock movies like the Stones's "Twenty Five By Five" and The Who's "The Kids Are Alright".
Rock And Roll Circus was finally released in 1996, and now it's on DVD with some juicy extras. We saw it last night and were utterly riveted.
The music is great, the bands are exciting and the staging is wacky and original, but it's Mick who steals the show. To see Mick Jagger in 1968 is to marvel at a master. I've always been fascinated by, and in awe of, Jagger's abilities as a showman. I've seen hundreds of concerts, dozens and dozens of bands, and to me, he is The Best. I don't mean no one else thrills me, or that I don't recognize all kinds of talents when I see them. I mean that in the category of Lead Singer, Front Man, Showman, Jagger sets the standard against which all others can be measured.
In Rock And Roll Circus, you see a side of Jagger that you don't get in concert, whether live or on film. He's playing directly into the camera, and his presence is positively electric. He is powerful, emotional, always in complete control, and unbelievably hot. No, not hot, I'll use a more old-fashioned word: he is sexy. He just oozes sexuality. This movie is made of great performances, but Jagger performing "Sympathy For The Devil" is out of this world.
The DVD has a long interview with Pete Townshend about the filming of "Circus," from its origins to memories of the day itself. Townshend is wonderfully articulate, and the interview alone is worth the price of the rental. Although this morning I'm thinking we have to own this. (More on the movie here.)
After filming Circus, the Stones weren't happy with its quality, and it never aired. Naturally it became legendary, with bootleg copies popping up now and again, and clips seen in other rock movies like the Stones's "Twenty Five By Five" and The Who's "The Kids Are Alright".
Rock And Roll Circus was finally released in 1996, and now it's on DVD with some juicy extras. We saw it last night and were utterly riveted.
The music is great, the bands are exciting and the staging is wacky and original, but it's Mick who steals the show. To see Mick Jagger in 1968 is to marvel at a master. I've always been fascinated by, and in awe of, Jagger's abilities as a showman. I've seen hundreds of concerts, dozens and dozens of bands, and to me, he is The Best. I don't mean no one else thrills me, or that I don't recognize all kinds of talents when I see them. I mean that in the category of Lead Singer, Front Man, Showman, Jagger sets the standard against which all others can be measured.
In Rock And Roll Circus, you see a side of Jagger that you don't get in concert, whether live or on film. He's playing directly into the camera, and his presence is positively electric. He is powerful, emotional, always in complete control, and unbelievably hot. No, not hot, I'll use a more old-fashioned word: he is sexy. He just oozes sexuality. This movie is made of great performances, but Jagger performing "Sympathy For The Devil" is out of this world.
The DVD has a long interview with Pete Townshend about the filming of "Circus," from its origins to memories of the day itself. Townshend is wonderfully articulate, and the interview alone is worth the price of the rental. Although this morning I'm thinking we have to own this. (More on the movie here.)
Plus the Stones play "You Can't Always Get What You Want" a full year (!) before its release on "Let It Bleed".
ReplyDeleteYCAGWYW has never been one of my favorite Stones' songs, but it's very good here, because it's played as stripped down as it can be and because of Jagger's mugging for the camera and adlibbing (a bit) on the choruses.
The Stones' set opens with "Jumping Jack Flash". How they can play this song so restrained and deliberately (though certainly not slowly) and still project so much power is amazing.
(And when you see Charlie drumming, you will know where Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld got the idea for The Puffy Shirt!)
I watched that a few weeks ago and was astounded, even as a lifelong Stones fan. 'Sympathy' was indeed a remarkable performance, with Jagger sliding around on his belly, but it was one of the between-act scenes which stole it - Jagger and Lennon joking around between a couple of acts. Forgot how good Lennon's sense of humour was!
ReplyDeleteThe Who were amazing as also, but it was, I think, Taj Mahal who perhaps had the best performance. That and the Lennon-Clapton group was solid also (with the exception of Ono's yelping in the second song - watch Clapton's face in that one - you can see he's clearly annoyed!).
Great DVD all around, well worth the price of admission.
Hey G, I was hoping you had seen it! The Who were awesome, but for me the best (after the Stones) was the Lennon-Clapton-Keith band.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Yoko's wailing over their blues number! I thought it worked beautifully.
The Lennon-Jagger between-act scenes were great. How cool to see John Lennon as just a guy, a musician - before the masses turned him into a saint.