Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

I happened to be lucky enough in '74 to be in Houston,TX when this was first in theaters! I got to see this with all the special sound equipment that toured with the movie. Speakers stacked as high as the screen on either side and a mixing board set up in the middle of the theater. They even had concert posters and t-shirts in the lobby! This was as close to the real thing as possible. I couldn't hear for an hour after I left the theater, unbelievable sound system that was installed for this concert film. I seen the Stones in '81 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and live in front of the stage didn't seem to be any louder than that theater was that summer afternoon in Houston! If you have a home movie theater, get it and crank it up and if not, get one and this movie!!

i am from Houston Texas and in 1972 my husband then boyfriend spent the night at the pavilion on the university of Houston campus to get tickets to the stones...there were rumors they were going to break up and this might be their final tour...anyway we got 6 front row tickets and went to the concert with friends...the movie was filmed partically at the Houston venue because don branch rented a tux with tails and a top hat for this concert and during the set he thru his hat on stage and Mick put it on and after a while thru it back to don...at the end of the concert a massive amount of rose petals fell from the ceiling on the first few rows...i still have some of those petals and my ticket stub...but ya know what i saw this movie in san Diego in 1974...saw it about 7 times just to see Keith Richards...back then he was a very handsome fella...i have not been able to find the film from rentals or anywhere and no one i have come in contact with even knew it exist...thank you

From what's now more or less accepted as their peak period, certainly as a live act, this composite of two 1972 North American concerts made for a great in-flight movie on a recent trip home, courtesy of my Ipod. Okay, said composite makes for one or two costume-continuity problems, but the set is obviously as-played and has a natural flow not to say verve as it kicks off with "Brown Sugar" and later hits the home straight courtesy of the 1-2 knockout punch of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Street Fighting Man" at the close. It helps of course that the band was showcasing, with hindsight, their last great album "Exile On Main Street", seven songs of which get aired and otherwise they focus on the golden 1968 - 1972 period exclusively (even "Satisfaction" doesn't make it onto the play-list). The song selection probably owes as much to a due deference to the stronger post Decca/Abcko Jimmy Miller produced material, as well as a sop to recent inductee Mick Taylor, who takes most of the leads here. Musically, not everything comes off - "You Can't Always Get What You Want" gets reduced to a big chorus, the verses lacking the debauched irony of the studio cut while "Gimme Shelter" as wrongly ignores the female counterpoint vocal as the mistaken inclusion of brass, but there are many riches elsewhere. The 100 mph takes on "Happy", "All Down The Line" and "Rip This Joint" amply demonstrate the band's enthusiasm for these newly-minted "Exile" classics, while this year's enthusiastic dues-paying Chuck Berry re-tread is "Bye Bye Johnny" (it was "Let It Rock" the year before). "Midnight Rambler" too finds an inflamed Jagger on his knees, whipping the stage with his belt in the blood-curdling mid-section. As a movie, there's not much to comment on. There are many camera-settings which helps maintain viewer interest with scant audience reaction shots and the amphitheatre-sized setting (as opposed to latter-day arena-sized stagings) means Mick doesn't have to run about so much and we get a satisfying number of shots of the whole band in the one frame. Oh and Keith looks great before he aged a hundred years (and slowed down accordingly) around the turn of the 80's. This is a great document of the self-proclaimed world's greatest rock and roll band in their prime, pretty much all killer and no filler. As a concert-movie it's more run-of-the-mill, compared to modern day standards, but here without the wholly unnecessary guest star shots, not to mention star director turn of the most recent Stones concert film (which won't be the last!) the focus here is on the music and Stones fans will surely love it, just like I did!

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Rolling Stones (1973) **** (out of 4) OK, I understand the Stone not wanting C*cksucker Blues to have an official release but why in the hell hasn't this thing been released yet? Two concerts from Fort Worth, TX were edited together for this film, which was recorded on The Stones Exile on Main Street tour. Just check out this setlist: Brown Sugar, Gimme Shelter, Dead Flowers, Happy, Tumblin Dice, Love in Vein, Sweet Virginia, You Can't Always Get What You Want, All Down the Line, Midnight Rambler, Bye Bye Johnny, Rip This Joint, Jumpin Jack Flash and Street Fightin Man. The actual film itself isn't as good as Gimme Shelter but the performance of the band here is downright terrific. There's no behind the scenes stuff or interviews edited in. This is just a pure rock and roll show with the boys delivering terrific performances and perhaps the greatest live version of Gimme Shelter that I've heard. I also really enjoyed all the songs from 'Sticky Fingers', which we all know is the band's greatest album. When I saw The Stones last year their song Dead Flowers was played and pretty much became my title song with the ex who went with me.

The movie is of 2 performances in Fort Worth on 6/24/1972 (afternoon & evening), and 2 in Houston (University of Houston) on 6/25/1972. Of the 15 songs, 9 are from the Houston shows (5 from the afternoon show) & 6 from Fort Worth. The Houston afternoon show was my first concert, thanks to my brother (ticket price $5.50). You can tell the Fort Worth shows by the lights behind the stage that are aimed at a high reflecting fixture above and in front of the stage which would bounce the lights onto the stage. Hofheinz Pavilion's ceiling in Houston was too low for this setup, so you have the basic light setup for the time. Seeing the Stones 15 times, this was the only time I saw Mick Taylor play with them. His guitar work on Love in Vain and Gimme Shelter is great, and the way the guitarists lock in together on Tumbling Dice and Rip This Joint is something to see. Other highlights - the energy of the show opener Brown Sugar, Keith on Bye Bye Johnnie, Mick's confidence on Street Fighting Man, Charlie Watts & Bill Wyman throughout, the horn section (both Texans), and Nicky Hopkins (you can hear him once in a while in the film - live, he was pretty drowned out). I also think Ian Stewart is at the piano for Brown Sugar. Anyone interested in the Stones should see this film. A great band at a critical time.

Yes ladies and gentlemen this is the best live concert footage ever of the rolling stones. You see what the stones are all about. The band at it's peak, the songs are played the way they should be played, Mick and Keith sing Dead Flowers, Happy and You Can't Alway's Get What You Want, together on the same microphone which you never see and they work together brilliantly. Also, with Mick Taylor on board what can I say......He really completes the band. The albums he made with the band are easily the best ever and this concert shows just how good he is and how he made the band complete. Take nothing away from Brian and ronnie, but I think Mick Taylor was the best. I have a copy and this concert is a must for stones fans and I hope soon they will remaster and release it as we all eagerly await.

I was one of the people initially involved in the film's theatrical distribution. It's important to know that Dragonaire Ltd, the film's distributor should be recognized for their innovative plan and execution. The film premiered at New York's prestigious Zeigfield Theater and it was accompanied by a large Quadrophonic Concert Sound System mixed live for each viewing and often reaching 100 decibels in the theater. This provided an extraordinary experience for the theater goers who often times had to restrain themselves from jumping up and down in their seats and yelling for encores when the film ended. The Quad system accompanied the film to Boston, Miami, Pittsburg and a few other cities but soon became economically prohibitive and was replaced by a Stereo mix. Sensurround and other sound enhancers in theaters owe a lot to this movie. Bob Tulipan (1974) Former Director of Touring Operations/Distribution Dragonaire Ltd.