[.ca] Rolling Stones: Rock And Roll Circus

From Amazon.com:
Unavailable at all for nearly three decades, then issued in a VHS edition in 1996, the Rolling Stones' legendary Rock and Roll Circus finally gets the full treatment with this DVD release documenting the 1968 event. The Stones were reportedly unhappy with their performance (hence the long delay), and it isn't their finest moment; performing "Jumping Jack Flash" and a variety of songs from their then-new Beggars Banquet album, Keith Richards is game, but Jagger's preening (especially on "Sympathy for the Devil") is over the top, and guitarist Brian Jones looks dissolute and well on his way to his death the following year. A certain weirdness permeates some of the other musical acts as well: Jethro Tull lip-syncs unconvincingly, Taj Mahal and band were obliged to perform before the circus set was completed and the audience had arrived, and John Lennon's outing with impromptu supergroup the Dirty Mac (with Richards, Eric Clapton, and drummer Mitch Mitchell) is hampered by Yoko Ono's caterwauling, although their version of the Beatles' "Yer Blues" is cool. Still, the Who are brilliant, Marianne Faithfull is beautiful, the various circus acts are fun, and the crowd clearly loves it. The DVD comes with some fascinating bonus features, including three extra songs by Mahal, some lovely classical piano by Julius Katchen, and a "quad split-screen" version of "Yer Blues." Best of all are a new interview with the Who's Pete Townshend and the various commentary tracks added for the DVD--especially those by Tull's Ian Anderson, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and Stones Jagger, Richards, and Bill Wyman (who dryly attributes Jagger's reluctance to issue the show to his dissatisfaction with his own performance, not the band's). Flaws notwithstanding, this is a treat. --Sam Graham

Stunning:
Now this really was a mind-bender: didn't expect too much after some of the lukewarm reviews here, but boy am I glad I bought it! December 1968: The Stones have obviously been watching a lot of McGoohan's incomparable "The Prisoner" which aired that year to come up with the semi-wild idea of staging a concert in a tent interspersed with deliberately kitsch circus acts, with the audience dressed in Village-style capes. And rarely have so many spaced-out folks met under one canopy. But it's the material: Taj Mahal, just fabulous, Jesse Ed Davis the legendary guitarist (later to work closely with John and Yoko -- did they meet here?)(yes, according to Goldman's book which I just checked) incredible in a far, far away manner; I watched their set three times in a row they were just so good (n.b, most of it is not in the main film, it's in the Extras) and look here's John and Yoko playing with Eric Clapton and Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell, how many decades did it take to unravel the copyright implications of that to allow it to go on sale? Yoko's unearthly screaming has to be seen to be believed, and judging from the face of the violinist, not everyone did beleive it. Brian Jones is in the last few months of his life, and in the entire set played by the Stones I didn't see one other Stone look at him even once, never mind smile. Talk about marginalized. And remember, this was originally his band... enough to bring tears to your eyes in the last cut where they all sit in the audience swaying side to side, and only Brian, beatific grin unwavering, sways determinedly the wrong way. And wow, those boots! Don't pay too much attention to the lacklustre reviews here, even by the phenomenal standards of 1967 - 1970 the Stones put in a fine performance. I'm a little surprised so many people find the Who so much better. True they have amazing energy but I can't help feeling that's to make up for relatively poor song-writing. Different horses for different courses, I guess. Lennon does Yer Blues very well, reminding us that this is what he thought he should be doing, instead of being with the Beatles which he basically regarded as dead. But it's the mood and atmosphere which amazes, for once the hype is not wrong. In December 1968 all these pale, English (mostly) boys (and girls) had almost overnight metamorphized from relatively clean, short-haired ballad-crooners into the drug-addled messengers of Satan. And yet, at the same time there is a kind of magnificent simplicity and even innocence about the whole show. It quite simply could never be done today. For anyone into the Stones and the 60s, you really should see this before you die.

Not Much Of A Circus For The Stones:
What suprises the most is the lackluster performance of the Stones in "Rock and Roll Circus." Far more interesting is Jethro Tull's performance with Ian Anderson prefiguring the grunge look by 25 years in his long overcoat, wild hair and beard. Tull's unique jazz/blue/celtic/rock fusion has held up quite well over the years. Taj Mahal's earthy performance with his electric blues band is riveting, but future heroin causality Jesse "Ed" Davis looks pallid despite his sizzling slide and lead guitar. The Who rule the "Rock and Roll Circus" with an inspired rendition of "A Quick One" complete with a turbo charged performance by Keith Moon where he mugs it up and breaks (by my count) five or six sets of drumsticks. The Stones hit the stage to close the show and it's jarring to see a lackluster perfomance from the world's greatest rock and roll band. They all look fatigued and Brian Jones looks like he's just waiting for someone to write his obituary. This was a very bad time in Rolling Stones land. It turned out to be Brian's last performance in public with the Stones. For over twenty years the Stones kept "Rock and Roll Circus" from being seen, apparently Mick Jagger was incensed that the Who's inspired anarchy eclipsed the Stones performance....the Who and nearly everyone else managed to outshine the phoned in performance by the Stones, except for Keith, who's rowdy guitar antics can't breathe life into the band. The following year I saw the revitalized Stones touring with Mick Taylor replacing the deceased Brian Jones on guitar. The Stones made it through the dark days of "Rock and Roll Circus" and managed to outlast the Who as the most enduring sixties band, but this performance was a pretty somber affair for the boys. My final reaction to the film was how many of the talented musicians in "Rock and Roll Circus" would be claimed tragically over the next few years. It is still hard for me to watch John Lennon's dazzling energy and often absurd brillance in the film and not shed a tear for his senseless death.

Worth seeing just for The Who:
This tape is worth buying just for The Who's performance of "A Quick One While He's Away", which has got to be one of the greatest live performances of a single rock song ever. Unfortunately, it's followed by Yoko Ono's impersonation of a rusty fence as well as a poor performance by the Stones. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" sounds like it's being played in slow motion, and on "Sympathy for the Devil", an obviously full-of-himself Mick Jagger seems to be more interested in mugging for the cameras then he does in actually performing the song. I've always thought the Stones were one of the most overrated live acts in rock; and after watching them follow the Who here, it's easy to see why Jagger did not want to release the tapes. Anyway, besides The Who, there also some good performances by Jethro Tull(although I've read that their performance of "A Song for Jeffrey" is not entirely live?) and The Dirty Mac(John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell deliver a fine performance of "Yer Blues" before being joined by Yoko Ono and violin player Ivry Gitlis; it's amusing to watch Gitlis smirk as Yoko screeches over the top of their jamming). Marianne Faithful and Taj Mahal also perform, but frankly I found them both to be forgettable. Aside from the performances, I think this tape is interesting as a snapshot of the time(December, 1968). You get to see a number of rock legends in their prime, and even though not all of them deliver great performances, it's still fascinating to watch.

Worth seeing just for The Who:
This tape is worth buying just for The Who's performance of "A Quick One While He's Away", which has got to be one of the greatest live performances of a single rock song ever. Unfortunately, it's followed by Yoko Ono's impersonation of a rusty fence as well as a poor performance by the Stones. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" sounds like it's being played in slow motion, and on "Sympathy for the Devil", an obviously full-of-himself Mick Jagger seems to be more interested in mugging for the cameras then he does in actually performing the song. I've always thought that the Stones were one of the most overrated live acts in rock; and after watching them follow the Who here, it's easy to see why Jagger did not want to release the tapes. Anyway, besides The Who, there are also some good performances by Jethro Tull(although I've read that their performance of "A Song for Jeffrey" is not entirely live?) and The Dirty Mac(John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell deliver a fine performance of "Yer Blues" before being joined by Yoko Ono and violin player Ivry Gitlis; it's amusing to watch Gitlis smirk as Yoko screeches over the top of their jamming). Marianne Faithful and Taj Mahal also perform, but frankly I found them both to be forgettable. Aside from the performances, I think this tape is interesting as a snapshot of the time(December, 1968). You get to see a number of rock legends in their prime, and even though not all of them deliver great performances, it's still fascinating to watch.

Magique:
Un DVD indispensable pour tous les fans des Stones. Brian y est très émouvant, jouant de la slide sur No Expectations, Keith est magnifique à la basse sur Yer Blues avec The Dirty Mac, les Who sont fidèles à eux-mêmes, énergiques et excellents, Pete et Keith M. étant déchaînés, Marianne Faithfull est superbe, Mick semble posséder du démon sur Sympathy for the devil, avec le solo de Keith pour lequel on pourrait se damner.