The Rolling Stones' 1972 tour of the United States was, in the words of esteemed rock critic Dave Marsh, "part of rock and roll legend." That 1972 tour was captured, in part, by the concert film Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones. Directed by filmmaker Rollin Binzer and produced by Binzer and Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess, the film featured performances of 15 songs filmed during four shows in Fort Worth and Houston, Texas as the Stones toured in support of their classic Exile On Main Street album.
While the film received limited theatrical release in 1974, garnering critical acclaim and sold-out venues wherever it was shown, it has never been released on video or DVD until now (except for an early-1980s Australian VHS video release), although bootleg copies of the film have circulated in fan circles for decades.
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
The concert film opens in total darkness, with brief bursts of light and color, the band finally taking the stage to great applause. Crashing right into "Brown Sugar," the band's #1 hit from their previous album Sticky Fingers, the song's sly groove is perfectly matched to Jagger's serpentine stage movements, the Stones frontman sliding and strutting underneath the spotlight. Bobby Keys' saxophone blasts through the mix, Keith Richards' low-slung rhythm guitar providing a canvas for Mick Taylor's more colorful leads while the sturdiest rhythm section in rock 'n' roll provides a bedrock foundation.
The crowd favorite, "Gimme Shelter," from the Stones' 1968 album Let It Bleed, provides its usual degree of malevolence, the song's power derived from its apocalyptic lyrics. The guitars of the Richards/Taylor tag team fairly scream as Jagger shouts out the urgent lyrics. Taylor's piercing solo offers a welcome respite from the song's incessant rhythm and smothering ambiance.
Exiles On Main Street
The country twang of "Dead Flowers," also from Sticky Fingers, comes as somewhat of a relief after the oppressive "Gimme Shelter," in spite of the song's dour subject matter. Influenced, perhaps, by the band's friendship with alt-country godfather Gram Parsons, "Dead Flowers" is a great country-rock tune with a deceptive melody and contagious chorus, an overlooked gem in the rather largish and impressive Jagger/Richards song catalog.
The up-tempo "Happy," a Top 30 hit from Exile On Main Street, is a punch-drunk rocker with an instantly familiar riff and energetic lead vocals from Richards, with harmonies by Jagger. The band rolls right into "Tumblin' Dice," which hit #7 on the charts and drove Exile to number one, making for a nice high-energy two-fer to get the audience jumping around. Opening with a country-funk riff, the song choogles along like some mutant cross of Memphis soul and the Band's Canadian-by-way-of-Arkansas roots-rock. Both Richards and Taylor really shine here, their guitars adding a rough edge to the song's inherent R&B smoothness.
Robert Johnson's Love In Vain
With the intro "we're about to do a little blues here," the band slides into the greasy country-blues of Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain." Jagger delivers his best Johnson impersonation, drawling the song's lyrics with a British soul/funk approximation of a Delta bluesman. The guitarist's instruments weep appropriately, former Bluesbreakers fretburner Mick Taylor cranking out some down-n-dirty slidework as Charlie Watts drumbeats tumble and cascade behind him.
By 1972, the blues were something that the Stones looked back at fondly rather than gazing at intently for inspiration. "Midnight Rambler," also from Let It Bleed, brings its own peculiar interpretation of the blues, Jagger haunted by Johnson's fabled hellhounds as the band forges a devilishly chaotic soundtrack. Jagger's harp play is lively, although he'll never be mistaken for Sonny Boy Williamson, and his slurred vocals are nearly buried by the dense rhythms. Squalls of harp, jagged bursts of guitar, syncopated silences, and the overall claustrophobic instrumentation add a satisfying dark vibe to the shambling, rambling performance.
Rip This Joint
The Stones' "Rip This Joint" is performed with recklessness, the band coming off the rails with a rapidfire rocker that bristles with Chuck Berry-inspired riffs, flurries of New Orleans R&B-tinged saxophone, Jagger's breathless vocals, and crashing drumbeats. Hot on its heels comes the hurricane tango of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Jagger's tightwire vocals availed a safety net by Richards' barbed-wire fretwork and the straight-line gusts of Bill Wyman's throbbing bass and Watt's whirlwind drums.
Aside from the 15 songs originally caught on film, the DVD includes behind-the-scenes footage from tour rehearsals in Montreux, a 1972 interview with singer Mick Jagger from the British TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test, and a 2010 interview with Jagger done exclusively for the DVD. While the tour rehearsals and interviews provide a degree of context, it’s the band's performances that are the highlight here.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
From a technical perspective, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones falls short by current concert film standards. Even cleaned up for the DVD, the sound is somewhat muddled, and spoken segments are nearly intelligible. The lighting, overall, is horrible, and the camera work is primitive compared to today's multi-camera concert videos. Originally shot in low budget 16mm and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, the film's imagery suffers as a result.
These complaints aside, the energy shown by the band and their late-1960s/early-1970s mix of rock, country, and blues music make for an invigorating musical experience. Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is one of the milestones of rock 'n' roll music, and while the band had shed a significant portion of its blues influences by the time of this 1972 tour, you can still hear the Stones' stinging blues-rock grooves in these 15 great performances! (Eagle Rock Entertainment, released October 12, 2010)
Guide Disclosure: A review copy of this CD, DVD, or book was provided by the record label, publisher, or publicist. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
