Time Is on Our Side: The Rolling Stones

Strange- I had maybe too high expectations for this concert movie (not a documentary, suffice to say it is not Gimme Shelter's mix of concert and behind the scenes). Mostly it was on the basis of it being 70's iconoclast director Hal Ashby behind the lens of the Stones on two dates of their 1981 shows. Curiously enough, even as just a piece of film of the concert itself, the editing and shots of the concert are sometimes just ill-conceived. Sometimes Ashby's style of 'kicking back' and not cutting away from a shot is effective, as one almost gets that feeling of being in the same spot looking at the stage and (somewhat) lively performers. Unfortunately, there seem to be some songs that get editing treatment that displays, a little too much so, that Ashby is not really too adept at mixing archival footage in with the rest of the concert footage.

The cutting back to the backstage during the song isn't too distracting, but the cutting to the 60's footage during 'Time is on My Side' of the Stones and (particularly) Mick Jagger is a bit shabby in the ways that should make for some convincing footage. And considering Ashby's strengths started as an editor it's kind of sad to say more often than not what isn't too appealing about the film is based on his work on it. This being said, his work as just capturing the footage ON stage is not too bad, which is helped by the Stones doing well with their songs. Some of these even I hadn't heard before, as they seem to reach back into either their latest of the period (late 70's into Tattoo You numbers) or some of the songs from the 60's albums. And performance wise it's hit or miss- more hit than miss, with the good numbers being very good (i.e. the title song, Under My Thumb, Shattered), and the misses being sort of forgettable in the midst of a large, overwhelming arena crowd as in Phoenix. The film itself is not as readily available as the better Stones documentary Gimme Shelter, but for fans its worth a view at least once, maybe more depending on reaction. As an Ashby fan I should say it has some liabilities.

This film documents the first of many comebacks by the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. Are they in their prime here? Definitely NOT! But rock they do...From the curtain rising "Under My Thumb", filmed outdoors during daylight at Tempe's Sun Devil Stadium, vignetting into their indoor arena performances at New Jersey's Meadowlands Arena, you see a band that appears ageless at a time when rockers in their late 30's/early 40's were considered ancient.

Hal Ashby captures the raw essence of one of the last regular Stones Tours (back when they toured in 3-year cycles) backing one of their last strong albums, Tattoo You. "Start Me Up" is a brand new song the band is just breaking into their set. It's also the last tour with long time touring keyboardist Ian Stewart, whose obituary is noted in the film.

At times, LSTNT captures the raw energy and fun of a Rolling Stones concert from a fan's perspective. Falling balloons, confetti, the whole enchilada. After seeing this film, you'll want to either see it from the beginning again....or buy tickets to see them in person!

Forget what critics say about this one, it's a rock 'n' roll concert NOT

cinema verité and that's all I want from The Stones. Filmed at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona (outdoors segment) and

the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey (indoor segment) by

director Hal Ashby ("Harold And Maude", "Coming Home") in the fall of

1981 on the Stones' very successful Tattoo You Tour. This is the last tour to feature the basic meat and potatoes Stones lineup

(guitar, bass, drums, piano, sax) as every subsequent tour since has featured an musical entourage of 3 or 4 backup singers, big horn sections and

multiple keyboardists. The material is great although I wish they'd have

played "Gimme Shelter", "Monkey Man", "Street Fighting Man", "Bitch"

but hey, those songs were not performed on that tour so what are you

gonna do? I would have liked more backstage activity but then again that's what the

"C*cks*cker Blues" 1972 film by Robert Frank does to excess. "Let's Spend The Night Together" perfectly captures the Stones as they

were in 1981 in their late 30s and early 40s and is a must for any Rolling

Stones fan.

4 - 1/2 STARS out of 5

Having been a huge Stones fan and seeing them in 1978 and twice on the '81 "Jovan" tour (in two cities mind you, Rockford and Chicago) I saw this in a theater upon it's release. No film can faithfully capture any concert experience, however, this managed to document a Stones tour that was like no other. Although the sound on the DVD is not as bright as it should be in this digital age, the vibrant fluorescent colors throughout the film foreshadowed the god awful palette of the 80's.

The best thing about the film is the lingering shots that hold on a particular Stone during a song. Due to a bit of clumsiness, it is surprising to many that the legendary Hal Ashby directed this film. Unfortunately he was not healthy during this production and it shows in a harried final cut.

This film is really for true Stones fans only.

By 1981 the Stones were beginning to struggle under the weight of their own legacy, and it shows in "Let's Spend the Night Together". The first three numbers--'Under My Thumb', the title song, and 'Shattered'--are terrific, but the set soon descends into mediocrity. Part of the problem was that the band tried to cram way too many songs into a ninety-minute performance, which resulted in sped-up versions with no melody or musical texture. The other problem was that they had played this material too many times; what you see and hear in the film is a great band simply going through the motions. The rest of the set ranges from decent ('Let It Bleed') to embarrassingly bad ('Miss You') to somewhere in between ('Start Me Up'). You might want to see this if you're a Stones fanatic, but it's not a must. Interestingly, the live album recorded during this tour ("Still Life") is far better than the concert film itself--better versions of the songs were chosen, and the sound is immaculate. "Still Life" is, in fact, my favorite Rolling Stones live album.