I got complaints because I skipped this one. However, who can say no to a guy named Robert Johnson?

Here it is:

THE ROLLING STONES: ROCK'N'ROLL CIRCUS



Label: ABKCO Records
Release date: October 14, 1996

Includes the following Rolling Stones live tracks:

Jumpin' Jack Flash
Parachute Woman
No Expectations
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Sympathy for the Devil
Salt of the Earth (live singing to a pre-reecorded backing track)

What are your thoughts on this live album?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-12-10 10:47 by DandelionPowderman.

Considering they were up for 4 days? I think they had a good performance. JJF is the highlight for me, a kind of wicked version. The Who had a smoking set and as many have pointed out in the past it may have eclipsed The Stones. One thing for sure all 4 of them were clicking perfectly I would say. Another favorite track of mine is Taj Mahal's "ain't that a lot of love" nice and funky. Also great to see/hear was The Dirty Mac, "Yer Blues" is amazing, nice playing by Keith and Eric in particular. Overall a great show and idea imo. Maybe someday there will be a more complete version of this, hope so.

I think most of the songs the Stones performed were great, but Parachute Woman, JJF and No Expectations were particularly good, imo.

This was the last time Mick actually sang the melody on JJF (at least for a while) like it is on the studio version. That melody is what creates the freakiness and danger to that song for me.

Keith plays great stuff on Parachute Woman.

YCAGWYW is so so..

The version of Parachute adds an even greater urgency to thgat fantastic riff which was nicked by The Doors for Roadhouse Blues and by Status Quo for umpteen of their songs.

An amazing release from Abkco back in 1996. The Stones set wasn't so good (compared to the other bands on the same album) but the video added a lot. The Who are fantastic of course.

Really enjoy this one but I think the rustiness (and tiredness) of the band as a live act is evident. Perhaps if they had been playing more regularly through 1968 this could have been a truly smokin' set. That is one hell of a setlist.
I haven't listened to it for a while but going on memory Brian is a bit of a passenger when he's there. Compared to his playing on 12X5 for example, well it's night and day. Maybe if they'd been playing live during the year, Brian would have been in a better place personally and professionally or then again maybe he'd have just conked out earlier.
As a last hurrah for my favourite Stones era it is both exciting and very sad. Mick and Keith are on a winning streak songs-wise but they need their 5th member and according to PT he was green and in tears. Maybe it's hindsight, but you can tell in the film that Brian doesn't have much gas in the tank physically and musically. Mind you if anyone deserved having their contribution mixed down to inaudible it would be the new 5th Beatle who is er...well...clearly not up to the standard of some of the other performers included in the show (was Dirty Mac comprised entirely of smackheads?).

The Who were outstanding (on a slightly crappy song) and I must say I prefer the alternate Yer Blues where Lennon messes up the lyrics - there is a mix of that on the Beatle boot Ultra Rare Tracks Vol 4 (?) which absolutely wastes this version. One of the few occasions where a super group is actually super and Keith is seriously rockin' out on that bass. It's a pretty low standard Len-Mac number but the Dirty Mac kill it compared to The White Album version.
Marianne's Something Better is beautiful. Tull and Taj are good too.
Overall an interesting historical document that highlights the dilemma facing the band. It's easy to see why they considered re-doing their performance later on. I suspect this "session" represents the moment when Mick and Keith realised for certain that Brian wasn't going to happen anymore and if anything he was holding them back at a time when they were ready to hit their peak as songwriters.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
I got complaints because I skipped this one. However, who can say no to a guy named Robert Johnson?

Here it is:

THE ROLLING STONES: ROCK'N'ROLL CIRCUS



Label: ABKCO Records
Release date: October 14, 1996

Includes the following Rolling Stones live tracks:

Jumpin' Jack Flash
Parachute Woman
No Expectations
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Sympathy for the Devil
Salt of the Earth (live singing to a pre-reecorded backing track)

What are your thoughts on this live album?

Thanks, you're so kind. Five of the six tracks are really great. JJF in a incredibly powerful version, Parachute Woman more bluesy than on Beggars Banquet, the slide on No Expectations is likely one of the last wonderful contributions of Brian, and the last two really live tracks prove that the Stones worked as one guitar band then, too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-12-10 16:02 by RobertJohnson.

This is a lame statement I'm about to make, since I don't own this material/ no recent listen,
just a rusty memory of Stones coming on last, Jagger too jacked up. YCAGWYW
By too jacked up, I mean, it's distracting. Maybe it's the female in me,
but I want to wrap him up in a blanket, tuck him in with honey hot tea.

I love the version of jumping jack flash! But other than that this is a crucial document but not their best work. They were still learning how to be the band they became in 1969.

The music doesnt have the brute force of a year later but is different which i like.
Bluesy rather than rock.
YCAGWYW and Parachute woman are my highlights.

Parachute woman extreamly great, JJF also.

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
Eleanor Rigby
The music doesnt have the brute force of a year later but is different which i like.
Bluesy rather than rock.
YCAGWYW and Parachute woman are my highlights.

PW could/would have fitted in quite well on the US 69 tour.

Love it! Perhaps my favorite live album from the Stones!

I don't know ... the Rock 'n' Roll Circus is difficult to review because it's so special and so odd; it was one of very few performances of 1968, Brian's last performance, the first with 1968-69 era songs, some of which are rare (Parachute Woman, No Expectations), and a weird circus-styled event recorded for TV with super star guests and an audience who had to sit through several takes... there's nothing else like it really.

In pure musical terms it's not as good as the '69 live shows and other Taylor-era live performances, but seen from a wider perspective it's pretty cool. It's sort of transitional, showing the Stones moving from psychedelic pop to heavy blues rock.

Personally, I don't like the circus idea at all. I think they should have skipped that crap and arranged a "normal" stage show with some atmospheric lightning (NO psychedelic effects and zooming cameras though!). That could have benefitted the performances of all people involved as well.

Love this album, and the movie! To me this version of JJF might be the best ever. I also like the lineup with the Who, Jethro tull and Taj Mahal. Dirty Mac with Yer blues is also a great one. But the one song I always skip is Whole lotta Yoko with Yoko Ono.... Over all this is an album I have listened to a lot and I think I have seen the movie even more

I heard Yer Blues on the radio for the first time the other night (yeah, I know). It was played for the anniversary of Lennon's death.

Anyway, I figured it was a version by the Beatles and my first impression was how good McCartney was on bass. Really killing it.

After the song the DJ said it was from Rock'N'Roll Circus.

I went back and watched it on Youtube and I'll be damned if it wasn't Keith.

Except for No Expectations, Brian's audio is not on this one. Too bad. It was his final performance with the band.

Quote
deardoctortake1
Except for No Expectations, Brian's audio is not on this one. Too bad. It was his final performance with the band.

He is more audible on the bootleg.

Hard to watch Brian knowing what was to come soon and also the condition he must have been in both - physically and mentally. I have not viewed the movie in a long time but seem to remember Brian shaking his head in disapproval during Salt of the Earth - not sure what that ment.

Quote
Chester
I heard Yer Blues on the radio for the first time the other night (yeah, I know). It was played for the anniversary of Lennon's death.

Anyway, I figured it was a version by the Beatles and my first impression was how good McCartney was on bass. Really killing it.

After the song the DJ said it was from Rock'N'Roll Circus.

I went back and watched it on Youtube and I'll be damned if it wasn't Keith.

great story.

I know we discussed YCAGWYW a number of years ago regarding Brian's guitar. On the 25x5 VHS video you can cleary hear his guitar strumming at the beginning of the song. Not sure if it's him or Keith overdubbed. Apart from that his guitar is inaudible except for No Expectations. I haven't heard any of the bootlegs.

love everything about this release, all the acts, all the songs (well the yoko shrieking bit is at least funny), and the between song banter.

a time capsule, perfectly preserved.

Great, if only for:

Parachute Woman
No Expectations
Yer Blues

I used to think Parachute Woman was the weakest track on Beggars until I heard/saw the RNR Circus version. It has an irresistible, hypnotic, almost scary pull to it, as if I were a rat and Mick & Keith pied pipers. If they had played the hell out of it on subsequent tours (like they should've) Parachute Woman would've made it into a few Scorsese flicks and would be far less obscure than it is today.

The YCAGWYW I recall is horribly out of tune. I've found that song boring for many years anyways. And I've never been to a drugstore (or any store for that matter) where I could order a 'cherry red soda' and not be looked at funny. Hate to say it but Taylor's adrift-in-space noodling on this during the 70s is a welcome relief even if it's not exactly what I need (want?).

Had I been the promoter I would've had James Fox introduce the Dirty Mac and let Jagger front it during a smoking version of 'Memo From Turner.' 'Performance' would've done much better at the box office with a few creative plugs.

This is not a Stones-album which is easy to hear. There is no chemistry between the musicians. A bad album.

2 1 2 0

Parachute Woman

Lennon rehearses

Dirty Mac









A dreamy thanks...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-12-11 10:14 by DandelionPowderman.

I'm not sure if its any coincidence, but after RRC , the group pretty much ditched the small screen. Except for promos.
So no TV specials etc.
Still, time to do an Elvis is back (1968) type special.

On Parachute it's obviously Stones, The Complete band, I viewed even Brian for a short second and it's nice looking at the video but listening to it from a CD gives me no bigger thrill compared to the version from Beggars which is one of them 7 wonders....

2 1 2 0

Quote
Come On
On Parachute it's obviously Stones, The Complete band, I viewed even Brian for a short second and it's nice looking at the video but listening to it from a CD gives me no bigger thrill compared to the version from Beggars which is one of them 7 wonders....

I enjoy reading your posts Mr. Come On because although you're clearly a true Stones fan you almost invariably think the opposite of what I do.

The RnR version of Parachute was a revelation (at least for me), and in that sense I find it superior to the album version (although I generally don't see the point in listening to the Stones live) I definitely agree though that you shouldn't listen to it on a CD. A circus is not something to be merely listened to.