Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

1972 shows the Stones in their PRIME. The actual "stage show" is not as good as 4 Flicks but the playing is incredible.

The entire band is awesome. Mick Taylor steals the show (as he did throughout 1972-73). Highlights for Mick are Gimmie Shleter, Love in Vain and YCAGWYW. His solos are beyond belief. At this point Mick Taylor was probably the most fluid, brilliant guitarist in ALL of R&R.

Keith has moments as well. Bye Bye Johnnie is fantastic. Fans that are familiar with the recent Keef will be surprised how well he plays (without the sloppiness of recent years). He also does not cut corners in 1972. Listen to all the detailed chords he hits (for example on Tumblin Dice) vs 4 FLicks.

The only negatives: all the songs are played faster than normal and the set list is short.

Forget Hyde Park, forget Altamont: if you only buy one RS live performance, it must be Ladies and Gentlemen. Here is a band at the peak of their prodigous powers, consistently rocking on every number across a veritable feast of classic tunes. This 1972 film captures the band in fine fettle in Texas on their Exile on Main Street tour. It is a straight show, no backstage footage, no interviews, no filler, no lame alternate versions, just straight forward rock n roll.

Why this film has never been given an official release is beyond me. It is long overdue for release. Instead the public are treated to turkeys such as the Hyde Park show.

If you're a classic rock fan and haven't watched Ladies n Gentlemen, get a copy, you won't regret it.

The movie is of 2 performances in Fort Worth on 6/24/1972 (afternoon & evening), and 2 in Houston (University of Houston) on 6/25/1972. Of the 15 songs, 9 are from the Houston shows (5 from the afternoon show) & 6 from Fort Worth. The Houston afternoon show was my first concert, thanks to my brother (ticket price $5.50). You can tell the Fort Worth shows by the lights behind the stage that are aimed at a high reflecting fixture above and in front of the stage which would bounce the lights onto the stage. Hofheinz Pavilion's ceiling in Houston was too low for this setup, so you have the basic light setup for the time. Seeing the Stones 15 times, this was the only time I saw Mick Taylor play with them. His guitar work on Love in Vain and Gimme Shelter is great, and the way the guitarists lock in together on Tumbling Dice and Rip This Joint is something to see. Other highlights - the energy of the show opener Brown Sugar, Keith on Bye Bye Johnnie, Mick's confidence on Street Fighting Man, Charlie Watts & Bill Wyman throughout, the horn section (both Texans), and Nicky Hopkins (you can hear him once in a while in the film - live, he was pretty drowned out). I also think Ian Stewart is at the piano for Brown Sugar. Anyone interested in the Stones should see this film. A great band at a critical time.

Excellent! This is the concert film with the Stones. It is a mystery why this film is not officially released. I've always been disappointed with the Stones live films. I've never understood what made people rave about why the Stones were so great live. Look to "The Stones in the park" 1969 or the horrendous "Let's spend the night together" 1981 and you'll see my point. However for this tour, the Exile on main street tour, they seem to up the ante. Everything seems to click. The Stones, a tight unit! Live playing, records, coolness, image, this is where they reach their zenith. They have just finished the four best records of their career and are really flying. It's hard to understand why they are so good here and so unbelievably under par before or years to come. Maybe it's the drug use? which in Keith Richards' case, really started to escalate from here on. Maybe it's because Mick Taylor really found his groove with the band? I don't know, but it's a crying shame that this feature hasn't been released with restored sound and pictures ala the excellent "Gimme shelter" DVD. If you really want to know what The Stones could be capable of at the peak of their career, get this film one way or the other!

It's great to have some good footage of the early 1970's Stones (during their "Exile On Main Street" tour), but it's probably best suited to hard core fans and other nostelgic types. Keith Richards is especially cool during this era, and many would agree that the band is pretty much at their peak here. Great rock and roll music, originally released in quadrophonic sound. Recorded live in Texas, with all on-stage footage and no backstage or interview shots whatsoever. The biggest problem is that you CAN'T BUY THE THING!!! Why has this never been released officially on VHS? Where's a new remastered DVD? Most likely Allen Klein is to blame somehow for this great footage not being (legitimately) available, but let's hope that someday we can actually go buy an official release of this classic. Stones fans HAVE to see this thing, but casual fans may want to stick with "Gimme Shelter," which you can at least go buy/rent.