Consumer Alert: Rolling Stones "Four Flicks"

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:11 pm

This is on sale this week at Best Buy for $19. For that price, it's a heckuva deal. I just watched the "Theater" disc and it's probably worth $19 itself. They dig deep into the catalog (Neighbours! No Expectations!) and seem to have a great time doing so. There's the usual over-cooked flog through stuff like "Brown Sugar" at the end, but more than enough fresh stuff elsewhere to make up for it. I expect less surprises in the more hits-rich Stadium and Arena discs, but it looks like there's a nugget or three on those, too.

Video is OK but 4x3, and the sound is about like every other 5.1 concert DVD out there. Not jaw-dropping, but not terrible enough to distract. Mastered by Marcussen.

Just a tip in case, like me, you've been eyeing this but waiting for Best Buy to get tired of those dusty boxes clogging up the shelves and blow 'em out.

Ryan

Xenu · Postby **Xenu** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:49 pm

I've been considering and reconsidering this set for ages. A friend of mine bought it, so I had some time to pore over the thing. Some thoughts:

*) Mick doesn't really "sing" anymore. This is neither new nor insightful. But it bothers me all the same.
*) I like the embryonic versions of "Don't Stop" and the other 40 Licks songs more than I do the finished products.
*) I wish that "we're going to dig deeper into our catalogue" occasionally meant "we're going to play some 60s songs we've been neglecting for ages." Yes, I know Mick hates Aftermath, Between the Buttons, and Satanic Majesties. I'm just surprised that he likes Emotional Rescue more!
*) Some of the band's "concert arrangements" have persisted for years, which I've always found to be somewhat strange. The friend from whom I borrowed Four Flicks absolutely hates some of the changes that went into these arrangements; he's one of those people who needs concert songs to be performed exactly like the hit versions. Apparently, Tumbling Dice (a song for which, I must confess, I hold no great affinity) apparently is missing a verse or something in its live incarnation. This drives my friend crazy. He has to fast-forward through any live "Tumbling Dice" he encounters, or he goes into a red-faced rage.
*) Exactly how many backup musicians do they have at any given time nowadays?

(/Thoughts)

Postby **lukpac** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:01 am

Xenu wrote:*) I wish that "we're going to dig deeper into our catalogue" occasionally meant "we're going to play some 60s songs we've been neglecting for ages." Yes, I know Mick hates Aftermath, Between the Buttons, and Satanic Majesties. I'm just surprised that he likes Emotional Rescue more!

He does?

Not from those albums, but I don't think they play I Just Want To Make Love To You, Live With Me, No Expectations, Stray Cat Blues, Everybody Needs Someone To Love, and That's How Strong My Love Is every day...

Xenu · Postby **Xenu** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:23 am

I know. I like what we do get. I just wish that there were some way to clear the setlist of warhorses, which I realize will never practically get.

ANd yes, AFAIK, Mick hates those albums.

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:24 am

*) Exactly how many backup musicians do they have at any given time nowadays?

On this set:

- Four-man horn section, including Bobby Keys on sax
- Chuck Leavell on keys
- Bernard Fowler, Lisa Fischer and Blondie Chaplin on backing vocals
- Darryl Jones on bass

Apparently, Tumbling Dice (a song for which, I must confess, I hold no great affinity) apparently is missing a verse or something in its live incarnation. This drives my friend crazy. He has to fast-forward through any live "Tumbling Dice" he encounters, or he goes into a red-faced rage.

Has he tried adjusting his dosage?

Ryan

MK · Postby MK » Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:34 pm

If you've enjoyed any of the Stones tours in the last 20 years to any reasonable degree, this set is most likely an excellent buy. IMO, I agree, this band is way past their live peak, the singing and guitar-playing doesn't really do it for me anymore, especially when its rare to see both Ronnie AND Keith turning it 'on' at the same time, and some of their bigger shows really put me off with the gross, bloated, spectacle surrounding a group of rockers really showing their age. Having said that, that last tour was better because they had small shows that ditched the spectacle, and instead of focusing on a hits set that's been played to death, they bring out a truckload of great, neglected cuts. I kind of wish Wyman was still playing with them, but Daryl Johnson's a good bassist. Maybe they're taking a cue from Dylan, playing three or four constant numbers and mixing up the rest night after night.