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Rock & Roll Circus coming to DVD

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 7:06 pm
by lukpac
Here's hoping the sound will be decent. Am I the only one that thinks the CD is kind of a mess? The Taj Mahal track sounds pretty great IMO, but AQO is nearly mono and just kind of shitty sounding. Clearly the tapes can sound better, as the alternate take on the box set sounds great.

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. August 02, 2004, 4:00 PM ET

Stones' 'Circus' Heading To DVD

ABKCO Records is preparing the Rolling Stones' film "Rock and Roll Circus" for DVD release, Billboard.biz reports. The December 1968 concert was filmed for a television special, although it was never broadcast.

In 1996, ABKCO released a CD and videocassette of the event, which also featured performances by the Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull and the Dirty Mac, a supergroup comprising John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell.

Directed by Michael Lindsay Hogg, the film features the Stones performing tunes that had just appeared on their "Beggars Banquet" album: "Parachute Woman," "No Expectations," "Sympathy for the Devil" and a giddy version of "Salt of the Earth." They also performed their current hit at the time, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and premiered "You Can't Always Get What You Want," which would debut the following year on the album "Let It Bleed."

Blink Digital, an independent DVD-authoring facility in New York, is preparing the DVD, which ABKCO hopes to release in the fourth quarter. It will feature a surround-sound mix and bonus content, including never-released performances from the concert and contemporary commentary from participants.

Although nothing came of "Rock and Roll Circus" until recent years, Mahal told Billboard in 1996 that it was a turning point in his career.

"I had been playing in a club in California, and Mick Jagger was in the audience," he recalled. "So I went up to him after the show and said, 'Mick, we got a snowball's chance in hell of making things happen over here. If there's any kind of way we can help you in the U.K., playing on records with you, anything, we'd be glad to.' Three months later, the tickets came in the mail for my band, the road guys, and two of our management people, carte blanche, to go to London and perform in the 'Rock and Roll Circus.'"

As previously reported, the Stones' previously import-only collection "Jump Back" will arrive Aug. 24 in North America via Virgin/EMI Catalog Marketing.

-- Christopher Walsh, N.Y

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 9:57 pm
by Xenu
I find the "independent DVD-authoring facility" bit to be slightly intimidating.

Re: Rock & Roll Circus coming to DVD

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 10:33 pm
by Patrick M
lukpac wrote:As previously reported, the Stones' previously import-only collection "Jump Back" will arrive Aug. 24 in North America via Virgin/EMI Catalog Marketing.


Why now?

My copy skips on the last couple of tracks. I wonder if Virgin would give me a replacement...

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 7:50 am
by lukpac
Yeah, it's only been available as an import for what, 10 years? 11?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 9:54 am
by Rspaight
Something like that. It came out at about the same time the 70s/80s catalog moved from Sony to Virgin.

Ryan

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 10:32 am
by Xenu
Doesn't 40 Licks generally duplicate the few "exclusive" edits contained on Jump Back?

And no, Luke, you're not the only one who finds the Circus CD to be suboptimal.

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 11:15 am
by lukpac
Like I said, the odd thing is that a few tracks sound good/great. The rest sounds totally different.

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 11:15 am
by lukpac
So an alt. Yer Blues and 3 more Taj Mahal songs, but no more Stones (several songs) or Who (alt AQOWHA)?

I'm curious to what the 5.1 will be like. I've heard it was recorded on 8-track, but the mixes I've heard only seem to have 3 music tracks (one vocal and two music). Check out AQO on 30 Years for an example.


Edited By Jonathan Cohen. September 07, 2004, 3:45 PM ET

Stones Return To 'Rock And Roll Circus'

As tipped here last month, ABKCO will on Oct. 12 offer the first DVD release of the Rolling Stones' "Rock and Roll Circus." The December 1968 concert was filmed for a television special but was never broadcast. It was finally released on CD and VHS in 1996.

The DVD edition is sourced to the original 16mm negatives, while the audio has been remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound. Commentary tracks are offered from Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman, plus Yoko Ono, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Marianne Faithfull and director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, among others.

Among the previously unreleased clips are a backstage meeting between Jagger, Ono and John Lennon; an alternate take of Lennon performing the Beatles' "Yer Blues" with Mitch Mitchell, Richards and Eric Clapton; three additional Taj Mahal songs; an interview with the Who's Pete Townshend; and Fatboy Slim's 2003 remix of the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil."

"Rock and Roll Circus" features the Stones performing tunes that had just appeared on their "Beggars Banquet" album: "Parachute Woman," "No Expectations," "Sympathy for the Devil" and a giddy version of "Salt of the Earth." They also performed their current hit at the time, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and premiered "You Can't Always Get What You Want," which would debut the following year on the album "Let It Bleed."

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2004 3:24 am
by Kjoerup
I'll buy it, if only to hear Marianne Faithfull singing "Something Better". I couldn't care less about the 5.1. I don't have that kind of set-up, nor do I ever intend to.

I did recently pick up the Abkco DVD of Godard's "Sympathy for the Devil" (only ten bucks at Costco; hope R&R Circus will be there that cheap). I bought it more for Godard than the Stones (replacing a shitty old VHS copy I had.) Abkco did do a fantastic job with the film, though. If that's anything to go on, they should do a bang-up job with this one.

Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:50 pm
by Beatlesfan03
I think VH1 Classic was previewing this over the weekend. I saw clips for the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and the Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" and they both looked pretty good. Couldn't tell how the sound was since the stereo isn't that great on DirecTV for that channel.