Acclaimed Rolling Stones’ gig, previously available on DVD only, now released on CD…
Reviewed by Brian McGowan and released by Eagle Rock 16 June 2017
With three seminal studio albums in a four year purple patch, Let It Bleed (69), Sticky Fingers (71) and Exile On Main Street (72), The ‘Stones soared into the rock’n’roll stratosphere. After only 10 years in existence, they were being introduced on stage as “the world’s greatest rock band”, and on the evidence of Ladies & Gentlemen, it’s a declamation that’s impossible to argue with.
On the summer tour of 1972, over two nights on stage in Dallas, and two nights on stage in Houston, the Ladies & Gentlemen “movie” was made, and was released as a cinematic event all over the USA. It was a huge critical and commercial success. It was later released in DVD format. And now, in 2017, it is released on CD.
Understandably, the Stones’ pillage those 3 albums ruthlessly, creating an accumulation of timeless rock songs, a live litany of career best material. Short lived lead guitarist Mick Taylor and amazingly long lived guitarman Keith Richards are an awesome combination, with Taylor’s perfect grasp of the vocabulary of the blues on ‘Gimme Shelter’, ‘All Down The Line’ and ‘Midnight Rambler’ threading through Richards’ amped up chord work.
Arguably too, Mick Jagger is at his peak as a vocalist, displaying a dizzying array of emotions, anger and despair, sadness and hope, on a battery of songs of problematic maturity (Tumbling Dice, Bitch) and questionable decisions (Dead Flowers, Sweet Virginia).
Not every great gig translates well from video to audio, and the sound here isn’t pristine, but for anyone who’s got up close and personal with the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd at a Stones’ gig, this is probably as authentic as you can get.
Track List: 
- Brown Sugar
- Bitch
- Gimme Shelter
- Dead Flowers
- Happy
- Tumbling Dice
- Love In Vain
- Sweet Virginia
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want
- All Down The Line
- Midnight Rambler
- Bye Bye Johnny
- Rip This Joint
- Jumpin’Jack Flash
- Street Fighting Man
Thanks Gary – and yes, appreeciate the tip…will watch out for that one. Any chance it might be made “legal”?
Great review of the Stones at their best! Try to find their Philadelphia bootleg from the same tour – better, faster, more wired and with added Stevie Wonder!
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