Big Picture Big Sound

The Movie

I must confess that I have never been a huge fan of the Rolling Stones and have avoided their tours like the plague. "Brenda" (as Keith Richards likes to call Mick Jagger... it isn't a compliment apparently) has always left me cold. They have had some brilliant moments in their very long and storied career; especially "Sympathy for the Devil," "Satisfaction," and "Gimme Shelter" but they never did it for me in same way that the Who, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd did. The insane prices for their concert tickets also made me seek out lesser known acts. The Stones may be sexy, but they always struck me as the greediest band around. Having made a genuine attempt to watch their concert videos over the years, I just never understood what all of the hoopla was all about.

This skeptic had his mind altered (and I wasn't even on anything mind altering unlike the crowds in Texas in 1972) after watching Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones, an excellent collection of footage shot over 4 nights in the Lone Star state during their "Exile on Main Street" tour, now available on Blu-ray Disc. The quality of the performance is the real reason why music fans should buy this excellent offering from Eagle Rock Entertainment; which is not to say that its remastered video and audio are not an improvement over the original print - they definitely are.

There are very few crowd shots which means that you get to see Mick Jagger up close; very close and personal. He loves making love to the mic and it always loves him back. There is a grittiness to the performance that just makes it all work. The Stones had something to prove (at least nobody died at this show) with this tour and you can feel them working it; especially Mick Taylor (who might have been their best guitarist...they had so many). One of my guests (28 Stones shows...which puts my 17 Rush concerts to shame) the night we watched the concert video remarked that they were never the same after Mick Taylor; not the same energy or dirtiness. It has been years since I watched any of their more recent concert videos, but the point is well taken. There are few concert videos in existence that have the raw energy of these performances and it is almost fair to say that on those four special nights in Texas, the Rolling Stones were the only rock 'n roll band in the world.

The Picture

The four really hot nights in 1972 were not shot in HD. I'm not even sure they qualify as SD (at least what we consider crappy SD to look like in 2010). Kurosawa would have done a masterful job had anyone ever asked him to film a Stones concert; at least you know the lighting would have been perfect. The Blu-ray release is better than the original print, but it still looks dirty, uneven, and very poorly lit. Good lighting makes all the difference (something that directors spend a fortune on these days when filming concert videos) and it just wasn't a priority when they filmed these four shows. Blacks are not very deep and you really don't see a lot of detail on the Blu-ray release which I found disappointing. The reality is that the original source material was no better looking than a 8mm snuff film, but taken in context, it worked. If you are looking for a pristine 1080p HD presentation of a 38 year-old film that was captured by a handful of lousy cameramen, you are expecting way too much.

The Sound

Of the three soundtracks; Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and LPCM stereo, I genuinely preferred the LPCM 2.0 option. Don't be so shocked to read that. The surround mixes came across as very uneven; both volume levels and the absence of bass information. Mick Jagger isn't the clearest sounding singer on a good day, but he was more than fine with the stereo mix. It's almost ironic how much better the stereo mix sounds, especially with the advances in audio. The sound is more balanced and natural sounding. Perhaps, this is how this concert was meant to be viewed. Just a thought.

The Extras

The extras on this release are somewhat interesting; especially for real die-hard fans of the Stones. There is substantial tour rehearsal footage (shot in Switzerland) which shows who really wears the pants in this group. There are also two interviews with Mick Jagger; one from a 1972 Old Grey Whistle Test show, and one from an interview that he shot in early-2010. He may look old (that's because he is), but Mick Jagger still loves the camera and he clearly still loves being able to spend three hours on stage entertaining.

Final Thoughts

In the era of multi-million dollar concert videos, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones sticks out like a kosher hot dog stand in downtown Waziristan. However, the more I watched it, the more it hooked me. It is one of those rare films that just works; in spite of the crappy film and unexceptional audio quality. The source material from "Exile on Main Street" is everything that modern rock music isn't; dirty, bold, and memorable. The Rolling Stones may never have been as popular as the Beatles, but they proved on those nights back in '72 that they were a force to be reckoned with. It's like a drug. I think I need another fix.

Product Details:

• Actors: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts
• Format: Color
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Eagle Rock Ent
• DVD Release Date: October 12, 2010
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Price: $19.98
• Extras
  • Tour rehearsal footage from Montreux, Switerland
  • Old Grey Whistle test Interview
  • Mick Jagger Interview from 2010