Rock & Roll Circus - Rolling Stones (The) (CD 1996)

During the late 1960's The Rolling Stones managed to reach their artistic peak. This era is when their music had a real natural and dirty feel to it. The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus had been sitting on a shelf in some studio until just a few years ago. It was originally planned as an experimental "rockumentary" and filmed before a live audience on December 11, 1968. The audience was comprised of select members of the Rolling Stones fan club, and the idea was to have a music festival of sorts complete with other guest musical groups and circus performers. The short story is that after wrapping the shoot and recording, the Stones vetoed releasing the film or the album because they felt the material wasn't up to their standards. Fast forward to 1995 when they decided to finally recover this one from the vault and release it to critical acclaim everywhere.

I consider myself a huge fan of the Rolling Stones, so it should be of no surprise that when this album was released I ran out and bought it. What I found was a delightful mix of Stones music and many other things eclectic. I was completely excited when I looked at some of the other performers on the album: Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful,Yoko Ono, and another group that I had never heard of called The Dirty Mac. It was not until reading the liner notes did I realize who actually comprised the Dirty Mac. It is nothing short of incredible, and basically just a made up group formed especially for this show. Lead singer and rhythm guitar is none other than John Lennon. Lead guitar is Eric Clapton, bass is played by Stone's guitarist Keith Richards, and the drums are played skillfully by Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. I was really pumped when I read this, and threw the CD into the player with eagerness.

The album opens up with Mick Jagger announcing the following. "You've heard of Oxford Circus, you've heard of Picadilly Circus, and this is the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus; and we've got sights and sounds and marvels to delight your eyes and ears; and you'll be able to hear the very first one in a few moments." The next track brings us a circus band playing some introductory music. At this point the listener isn't quite sure what to expect. Suddenly we are taken into the first guest performance. The group is none other then Jethro Tull! The song they play for their set is the blistering Song For Jeffrey, an awesome bluesy rocker that will have you tapping along from the intro.

The Who perform the next song of the evening doing their familiar A Quick One While He's Away. Up until I bought this CD I was convinced that the best live version of the song was on The Who: Live At Leeds. If not better, the performance on this disc is a close second. The emotion is at a fervent level (as always with The Who during their live performances), and this track turns out to be one the absolute highlights of Rock And Roll Circus.

After another circus type interlude, Taj Mahal takes the stage and gives us a great blues song called Ain't That A Lot Of Love. The music is absolutely wonderful, but I noticed one annoying feature of Taj Mahal's while he performs -- he seems to quickly clap his hands in time with the beat. This wouldn't usually be that bad except that in this performance he does it right into the microphone. I have personally seen him live twice, and he is a very exciting performer, as well as a very talented and soulful musician.

Next, Stones skinsman Charlie Watts introduces Marianne Faithful (one time love interest of Mick Jagger) who sings a straight forward Something Better. There is nothing remarkable about this performance, and it is actually a bit bland.

After Faithful's performance there is a strange interlude between Jagger and Lennon, as they banter about who will be performing in the group The Dirty Mac. There is a comical moment where Jagger refers to Keith Richards as "dirty", and a disturbing one when he keeps repeating "you're blues John, you're blues John" I suppose that's a compliment and hip saying that never really took off. Sorry Mick.

At this point we get a ROUSING rendition of Yer Blues. The original version of this song can be heard as performed by The Beatles on The White Album. In my opinion no cover version of a Beatles tune has ever matched the quality of the original product, but if I had to choose one that came close, it would be this one. It doesn't hurt that like the original, John Lennon sings. Check out the job Clapton does on the lead part, and a few other slight differences between the Beatles version and this one.

Next, The Dirty Mac perform behind "lead singer" (or should I say shrieker?)Yoko Ono. This is the only track on the disc that I could really have lived without. There is a good fiddle/violin part by Ivry Gitlis, and the members of The Dirty Mac provide an excellent musical backdrop, but Ono is SO annoying all other good aspects of the song are forgotten.

Next, John Lennon introduces The Stones and we finally get to hear the main event -- what we all paid admission for. The Stones perform six songs for their concert. They open their set up with a terrific version of Jumping Jack Flash. This live version rivals that of the one found on Get Yer Ya Ya's Out. Jagger's voice is a bit out of tune in a few parts, but hey, that's his charming trademark!

We get an incredible version of Parachute Woman next. This rendition is every bit as good as the studio version found on Beggar's Banquet. Next is No Expectations, another good version of a great song. Check out the slide guitar in this live version.

You Can't Always Get What You Want comes next. This version is a bit more stripped down than the one from Let It Bleed of course, and has a much rawer sound. This raw sound has always worked to good effect for the Rolling Stones. Check out the wail that Jagger lets out before the second verse. Sympathy For The Devil comes next complete with tribal drums and primal Jagger yelps. Listen for Richard's frantic guitar part. This version seems to be sped up a bit, which again was normal for The Stones in their live performances at that time. There is a middle section where Jagger goes absolutely wild on the microphone, and it's fun to listen to.

For the closing track we are treated to Salt Of The Earth, a Dylan-ish song about the working man. It seems a good choice to close out this set, and it's a great version of the song.

Like any live performance that isn't mixed and re-mixed exhaustively in the studio, this album has its share of out of tune instruments and voices. During their performance The Stones rarely adhere strictly to the studio versions of these classic songs. Even though their performance is not perfect by any means, I fail to understand why they waited for so long to release this album. The charm of The Rolling Stones lies in the fact that they never were perfect. They always have that rough and nasty sound, and that is what makes them the exceptional and important band that they are.

The guest musicians and performances are just added treats to an otherwise stellar album. If you are a fan of any of the musicians that appear on this album, then I would recommend this LP to you. If you're a Beatles fan you must purchase this for The Dirty Mac version of Yer Blues. The only reason that I have graded this album less than perfect is because of the unlistenable track by Yoko Ono. If you like The Stones and want to hear what they sounded like during their most creative time period, then this is the album for you.

OVERALL GRADE: A-