The Rolling Stones - Live at The Max (DVD, 1999)

The nice part about concert dvds, is they gives us a chance to re-live the moment for concert tours that we attended, catch the ones we missed, and to have our favorite artist at our fingertips to perform for us any time we desire. For me, having seen The Stones on their "Steal Wheels" tour, (henceforth known here as "Live At The Max") they exceeded any expectations that I had. This concert dvd, while a fair representation of that tour, still falls a bit short on a couple of levels. On this tour, they pretty much stayed with the same set list throughout, starting off with the their best show opener, "Continential Divide" intro exploding into "Start Me Up". On the dvd, the next 25 to 30 minutes are edited out, which is a shame, since it was a "non-stop, no time to catch your breath, and for heaven's sakes, don't take your eyes off the stage" rip through a half dozen of their more recent trademark standards. Also missing is their performance of their biggest song at the time, "Mixed Emotions" which was wildly received by the fans. The other disappointment is the audio mix. If you are looking solely for the 5.1 THX dvd, (buyer pelase note, there are two versions of this. A 2.0 version which is easily accessable, and the more difficult to find 5.1) and are even the slightest bit of an audiophile, you are going to be disapponted. The 5.1 is more for ambience rather than a good surround sound mix. The instruments are poorly mixed here and the additional vocals are a bit difficult to hear at times. If ever a concert dvd needed to be re-mastered, this one cries out for it. However, having said all of that, there are several reasons to own this. a) It was their 1st tour after an extended absence, b) It was their last tour with Bill Wyman, c) It was, one whale of a show, and d) and most importantly, it is, "The Stones"! Later concert dvds are of considerably better quality, however, if you are a collector of all things Stones, this is well worth having!