DVD REVIEW: THE ROLLING STONES COLLECTION [Box set]

Shane | 25 February 2016 | Reply

DVD REVIEW: THE ROLLING STONES COLLECTION [Box set]
Shock Entertainment
December, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Gathering up four archival live performances from the legendary Rolling Stones, this box set takes the viewer on a journey through some key moments in their history.

There’s 1971’s The Marquee Club – with Mick Taylor occupying the lead guitar spot, and the Sticky Fingers album about to be released, the band are on fire as they rip through some lesser known material for a never-aired TV special.

1975’s L.A. Forum show sees the band forging at the forefront of the new stadium sized rock n’ roll show, but also ripped apart by drug use. The band are musically on fire – glorious in their raggedest incarnation, with guitarist Ron Wood still stepping carefully as the new boy – but in their own little worlds on stage, and it’s keyboard player Billy Preston who exudes the most charisma from the stage.

A mere six years later and 1981’s Hampton Coliseum show has The Stones on top of the world following the success of their Tattoo You album (which many consider their last great record, even know.) The band are completely in synch, the ragged edges all smoothed out, and they deliver a polished and professional rock n’ roll show with just the right measured amount of punky danger to counterpoint Jagger’s ridiculous spandex space-jogger ensemble.

2013’s Sweet Summer Sun sees The Rolling Stones returning to Hyde Park in London, scene of the free concert they gave in 1969 after the death of founder Brian Jones. By now The Stones are a machine: the drugs and booze ragged shambles of the past is a forgotten memory to most, and the slick Stones perform a hit-packed set, even inviting ex-guitarist Mick Taylor up for a couple of songs.

There is far more to The Rolling Stones than even these four disparate films can show, but it is a wonderful starting point for a retrospective of the Greatest Rock n’ Roll Band In The World.