2010 marks the 28th anniversary of The Rolling Stones much regarded "Exile On Main St." album. Sure it seems weird to celebrate the "28th" anniversary but I guess at this stage of the game if you wait 2 more years who knows where the individual members of the band might be. Better to have the party while they're still walking above ground and able to enjoy it.
To commemorate the event, the Stones are pulling out all the stops. Early this year they released a deluxe edition CD of "Exile On Main St." and now comes the highly sought after, often bootlegged concert film: "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones" which features the band on the "Exile" tour.
If you are expecting one of the best concert films of all-time … don't get your hopes up. This was shot in the early 70's when filmmakers didn't quite know how to film a concert properly. There are no cutaway shots of the crowd, no steadi-cam following a stumbling Keith around the stage, no overhead shots of Charlie pounding his drum kit and no close-up shots of Taylor working the fretboard. This almost seems like a one-camera shoot done by a first year film student. That may sound harsh but really this is a point and shoot ordeal from start to finish.
If you are excited to see Bill Wyman, Mick Taylor and Charlie Watts up close and personal you can also forget it, because this is the Mick Jagger show all the way. Director Rollin Binzer turns his camera on Jagger and yells, "action" and that's just about all you get unless Mick happens to dance out of frame. Then you get, well… nothing until Mick or one of the other band members stumbles into frame. You see a little Keith here and there and a little bit of Taylor. The film was shot during 4 shows in Ft. Worth and Houston, Texas and you'll know this because the bands' clothes will miraculously change between songs; maybe even during the same song!
Now that we've discussed the technical problems you're probably thinking… "Enough already! How was the band?" The band is as raw and raucous as you might expect them to be at this point in their career. Just a 5 piece rock band plus a couple of horns and a keyboard player on a stripped down stage with no bells and whistles to hide their imperfections and not even a hint of the polished act they would become with the big stadium tours of the 80's through today.
The playing is great and Mick's rock'n'roll rooster antics are more subdued than you might expect. The set list does not disappoint. 15 songs including most of their hits and 5 stand-out "Exile" tracks: "Happy," "Tumbling Dice," "Sweet Virginia," "All Down The Line," and "Rip This Joint."
As a document of The Rolling Stones performing songs from the album most fans and critics feel is one of their best, this is worth a look. But, given its technical limitations, I doubt that anyone - even diehard fans - will want to watch this DVD more than once.
Drumroll please… 6 out of 10 drumsticks!!
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