Eagle Vision
All Access Review: A-
Each succeeding album sunk them ever deeper into a quagmire
of mediocrity – at least according to their lofty standards. The crass excess
of 1973’s Goats Head Soup obfuscated
the nasty sparkle of its brightest diamonds. It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, released a year later, lacked cohesion and
consistency, even if it did, more often than not, make the blood run red hot.
And while training Ronnie Wood in the ways of the Stones, Mick and Keith messed
around with extended, funky grooves and stylistic experimentation on 1976’s Black and Blue and got lost (I know
that’s The Eagles’ line and I’m mixing my classic-rock metaphors, but I don’t
care).
With their desire to indulge in regrettably long jams and the
suspect mixing of incompatible genres out of their system, the Stones, perhaps
stung a bit by the criticism leveled at them, sought inspiration from a
contemporary music scene dominated by polar opposites. On the one hand, there
was the seething fury and cynical anger of punk doling out its own brand of
street justice on bloated, fatuous rock stars who had lost touch with what once
made them great. And then there was disco, glitzy and lacking anything
resembling substance, while also guilty of delivering the kind of hypnotic
beats and head-spinning action that compelled its coked-up consumers to lose
their inhibitions and get freaky on the dance floor and in the bedroom.
The Stones, up to this point, hadn’t had much to do with any
of it. That was about to change with 1978’s Some
Girls, an album that lashed out at those ready to write them off as
has-beens. Of its time and yet something that couldn’t ever possibly be
considered dated, Some Girls was as
nasty and mean as the Stones wanted it to be, with sharp, tightly wound tracks
like “When The Whip Comes Down,” “Shattered” and “Respectable” all spoiling for
a knife fight and not caring a whit for anybody who gets cut. Even the
relatively laid-back country charms of “Far Away Eyes” break out into a menacing
sneer that has bad intentions behind it, and the nod to disco, “Miss You,”
sounds dangerously seductive . The Stones were not going to be pushed around –
not by the Sex Pistols and certainly not by Bee Gees.
And so, with Some
Girls still brandishing its razor-sharp songwriting and explosive recorded performances
at a suddenly reinvigorated fan base, the Stones toured, adopting a lean,
stripped-down approach that showed they meant business. On July 18, 1978, they
rolled into Fort Worth, Texas, eager to show everybody who came to the Will
Rogers Auditorium that night that they’d regained their swagger – something
that was apparent to anybody who’d seen them on previous stops, the 1978 tour
being one of the Stones’ finest hours. Tickets went fast, even though the band shrouded
itself in the mysterious pseudonym “The London Green Shoed Cowboys” that nobody
fell for. Onstage, the Stones caught fire, and that rip-roaring performance was
filmed for posterity by the Texas outfit Showco. Colorfully packaged and
riotously filmed, “The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas ’78,” released
in late 2011 by Eagle Vision in three formats – DVD, Blu-Ray, and special
edition DVD + CD and Blu-Ray + CD packages – is stunning visual and sonic proof
that the Stones could throw down with anybody.
Backed by faithful Ian Stewart on piano and Ian “Mac”
McLagan on organ and piano, plus Doug Kershaw on violin, the Stones tear into
17 tracks with fire in their eyes and raw, edgy energy to burn. Following a
savory version of “Let It Rock,” a celebratory spin around “All Down the Line”
and a predatory “Honky Tonk Women,” Mick and the boys burn and pillage their
way through the notorious “Star Star,” otherwise known as “Starf**ker.” Ready
again to rumble, after a brief respite, they flex their sinewy rhythmic muscles
on “When the Whip Comes Down,” with Mick joining the fray on guitar – he has
one in his hands through much of the show – sporting a t-shirt that says
“DESTROY,” a yellow coat, a red hat and black leather pants. Feeling their
oats, the Stones generate plenty of throbbing, sexual heat in a stretched-out “Miss
You,” before turning a bit more innocent and sincere in their fantastic
reworking of The Temptations’ “(Just My) Imagination,” one of the true
highlights of Some Girls.
Always the showman, Jagger is in rare form, full of bravado
while shucking and jiving his way through “Miss You” before grabbing the crowd
by the throat with tough, commanding vocals in “Shattered” – the vicious
guitars of Keith and Woodie exuding attitude and filled high-wire tension – and
spearheading a vigorous run through a snotty “Respectable” that sweats bullets.
While clearly sticking it to anybody who would dare question their live prowess
or their passion, there’s also a playfulness and unabashed exuberance that
shines off the Stones’ gleaming performance and is readily apparent in the
almost gleeful, child-like interaction – however naughty these man-children are
– between all parties. And make no mistake, this is a party.
Transitioning out of the deliciously boozy, countrified
drawl of “Far Away Eyes” and “Love in Vain,” the Stones let it all hang out on
“Tumbling Dice” and “Happy” before kicking Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little 16”
square in the ass. By the time “Brown Sugar” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” draw to a
close, you are satiated, worn completely out like after the greatest sex of
your life but not quite ready to see it end. And if the live portion of “The
Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas,” so gloriously restored by Bob
Clearmountain from the original multi-track tapes and shot from a variety of
visually exciting angles, were all that one had to go on, it alone would be
worth the $200 you were going to spend on hookers and drugs to make it through
the night, but it doesn’t cost anywhere near that. Throw in a booklet full of
memorabilia and detailed, well-written liner notes by James Karnbach and you
have an essential piece of musical history.
What weakens the overall package are some of the extras: a
throwaway interview with Jagger comprised of nothing but softball questions and
bland, pat answers; a dull, poorly written Saturday Night Live skit with Dan
Akroyd’s painfully unfunny turn as Tom Snyder doing the “Tomorrow” show with
Jagger and the Stones’ subsequent flat SNL performance; and a segment of ABC
News “20/20” interviews with the Stones from that era that hold some interest,
but ultimately, don’t add much in the way of information or historical
perspective. Don’t let that deter you from picking up “Some Girls Live in Texas
’78,” a landmark live DVD that makes for a great drinking buddy for Some Girls the album.
- Peter Lindblad
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