Movies - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

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	Movies - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a film released in 1996 of a December 11, 1968 event put together by The Rolling Stones. The event comprised two concerts on a circus stage, and included acts such as Eric Clapton, The Who, John Lennon, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and Jethro Tull. John Lennon and Yoko Ono also performed as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards. It was originally meant to be aired on television, but the Rolling Stones withheld its airing and release.

The project was originally conceived by Mick Jagger as a way of branching out from conventional records and concert performances. Jagger approached Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who had directed two promos for Stones songs, to make a full-length TV show for them. According to Lindsay-Hogg, the idea of combining music and circus came to him when he was trying to come up with ideas, drew a circle on a piece of paper and free-associated.

The Stones and their guests performed in a replica of a seedy big top that was actually on a British sound stage, in front of an invited audience. The performances began at around 2 PM on December 11, 1968, but setting up between acts took longer than planned and the cameras kept breaking down, which meant that the final performances took place at almost 5 AM the next morning.

By that time the audience and most of the Stones were visibly exhausted, and only Jagger's sheer stamina managed to keep them going until the end.

It was the last public performance of Brian Jones with The Rolling Stones. While showing signs of fatigue and/or intoxication during the performance (he slurs his words in his introduction), his guitar work on the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", as well as his slide guitar work on "No Expectations" was catchy and compelling. However, at times in the official video release (and the accompanying CD), his guitar is inaudible. For instance, at the start of "You Can't Always Get What You Want", he is seen strumming his guitar, but is nearly inaudible; his guitar is heard only very faintly during the intro.

Mick Jagger was not satisfied with the results of the performance. In particular, the powerful performance by The Who was felt by some to have stolen the show and contributed, at least in part, to the withholding of the release (This performance of "A Quick One While He's Away" can be seen on The Kids are Alright).

It was finally released on CD and video in 1996. Included on the recordings are the introductions for each act, including some entertaining banter between Mick and John Lennon, expressing mutual friendship and admiration.

A remastered DVD appeared in 2004 with the sound remixed into Dolby Surround, and extra features including previously "lost" performances, an interview with Pete Townshend, and three audio commentaries.

This concert is the only footage of Black Sabbath guitarst Tony Iommi performing as a member of Jethro Tull; he was a member for only several weeks.

Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, The

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