Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones reviews
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
With footage taken from a number of live shows, this documentary captures the swagger and verve of the Rolling Stones on the ’72 tour of the USA that unveiled one of their finest albums, Exile on Main St. In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at 7th on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. That may be pushing it slightly, but it is undoubtedly a majestic album.
From the filmmaker’s point of view this is the Mick Jagger show. “A few hearts broken, a few strings busted,” he offers tersely. “It’s not a lot.” He’s wrong. As the footage cross cuts between shows, Jagger hops in and out of a variety of jumpsuits, thrusting his pelvis like he alone must bear the burden of continuing the human race. The sweat infuses with the early glam-rock excessive makeup. The film is a PG – but every inch of it screams SEX. It is impossible to escape the ubiquity of Jagger’s package.
The band rattle through the old favourites: ‘Tumbling Dice’, ‘Happy’, ‘Loving Cup’. Jagger assaults the audience: “Why aren’t you in church anyway?” he pouts into the congregation of rock and roll devotees before launching into a wild rendition of ‘Sweet Virginia’. He steals the show as he always does. But the unexpected performance comes from Mick Taylor. His guitar solo on ‘Dead Flowers’ is the highlight of the film. Keith Richards may have a greater presence in the popular memory, but here Taylor is the guitarist par excellence.
This is a timely restoration of what is surely one of the great film documents of the rock and roll era. For anyone with an interest in music, the Stones or the ‘70s, this is a must-see.
Chris Stefanowicz
From the filmmaker’s point of view this is the Mick Jagger show. “A few hearts broken, a few strings busted,” he offers tersely. “It’s not a lot.” He’s wrong. As the footage cross cuts between shows, Jagger hops in and out of a variety of jumpsuits, thrusting his pelvis like he alone must bear the burden of continuing the human race. The sweat infuses with the early glam-rock excessive makeup. The film is a PG – but every inch of it screams SEX. It is impossible to escape the ubiquity of Jagger’s package.
The band rattle through the old favourites: ‘Tumbling Dice’, ‘Happy’, ‘Loving Cup’. Jagger assaults the audience: “Why aren’t you in church anyway?” he pouts into the congregation of rock and roll devotees before launching into a wild rendition of ‘Sweet Virginia’. He steals the show as he always does. But the unexpected performance comes from Mick Taylor. His guitar solo on ‘Dead Flowers’ is the highlight of the film. Keith Richards may have a greater presence in the popular memory, but here Taylor is the guitarist par excellence.
This is a timely restoration of what is surely one of the great film documents of the rock and roll era. For anyone with an interest in music, the Stones or the ‘70s, this is a must-see.
Chris Stefanowicz
Film details
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Director: Rollin Binzer
United States, 1973.
75 mins.
Back to the film page
