Rolling Stones

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.

Let's Spend the Night Together (1983)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The Rolling Stones 1981 "Tattoo You" tour was captured by the infamous Hal Ashby but the end results are certainly mixed at best. Filmed from shows in Tempe, AZ and East Rutherford, NJ the setlist is as followed:

Under My Thumb / Let's Spend the Night Together / Shattered / Neighbours / Black Limousine / Just My Imagination / Twenty Flight Rock / Let Me Go / Time Is On My Side / Beast of Burden / Waiting on a Friend / Going To A Go Go / You Can't Always Get What You Want / Little T&A / Tumbling Dice / She's So Cold / All Down the Line / Hang Fire / Miss You / Let It Bleed / Start Me Up / Honkey Tonk Women / Brown Sugar / Jumpin' Jack Flash / Satisfaction

Having seen countless official concerts by the Stones as well as seeing them in person I must admit that I wasn't totally blown away by the performances here. The biggest problem however is the direction by Ashby, which really seems all over the place. To me it seems like he showed up with a film crew, without any thought, and just pointed the camera at various things. There really doesn't seem to be too much thought about what was getting filmed or the visual look that would appear on screen. As far as The Stones performance it too is a mixed bag. "Twenty Flight Rock" comes off fairly poor does a few other tracks including "All Down the Line" and "Going to A Go Go". Even some of their classics like "You Can't Always Get What You Want" comes off bland as does "Let It Bleed" and "Time Is On My Side". There are a few good moments with the best one being "Start Me Up", which was still a new release at the time yet the crowd ate up the performance. Other new songs from the album include a nice version of "Little T&A" as well as a great, slowed down version of "Waiting On a Friend". The closing tune "Satisfaction" doesn't really pack the punch it should have. In the end I think fans of The Stones will enjoy what's here but at the same time they'll be saying that the film should have been a lot more.

"Let's Spend the Night Together" is the concert film made during The Rolling Stones' 1981 US tour. There were two shows used for the movie. Most of the first half of the film was recorded at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona, on December 13, 1981. Most of the film's second half was recorded at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, on November 5-6, 1981. Generally, the arena show is stronger, which works out well, as it makes the film seem like it got better. There were many more shows filmed - in fact, this film nearly identical to the Stones' previous concert film "Rocks Off" (1982).

For those keeping track, "When the Whip Comes Down" sadly makes the omission list, and backstage is footage added.

Your Set List - "Under My Thumb" / "Let's Spend the Night Together" / "Shattered" /"Neighbours" / "Black Limousine" / "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" / "Twenty Flight Rock" / "Let Me Go" / "Time Is On My Side" / "Beast of Burden" / "Waiting on a Friend" / "Going to a Go Go" / "You Can't Always Get What You Want" / "Little T & A" / "Tumbling Dice" / "She's So Cold" / "All Down the Line" / "Hang Fire" / "Miss You" / "Let It Bleed" / "Start Me Up" / "Honky Tonk Women" / "Brown Sugar" / "Jumpin' Jack Flash" / "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" / "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Jimi Hendrix).

This is not consistently terrific stuff… but, you would be right if you said, "STFU, it's still the Rolling STONES!"

Things start off with Mick front and center, doing his dance and hip swiveling in the "sporty" costume he wore then - with scarves, hats, and accessories added around and around. None of this works for the era's regular opening song, "Under My Thumb" which sounds pitched about the same as "Let's Spend the Night Together" and others. The "stadium" songs run around the bases quickly, and the show gets better. By "You Can't Always Get What You Want" they really are rolling. A relatively sober Keith cuts loose. Another highlight occurs around "Miss You" and "Let It Bleed", then it's more set list stretching.

***** Let's Spend the Night Together (2/11/83) Hal Ashby ~ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts

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.

I've seen the Stones four times. Awesome show each time, but they pretty much play the same stuff the same way (Sympathy for the Devil, Satisfaction, etc.). This bare bones concert film captures the bands at its peak, playing a wide range of material and making each song sound as fresh as ever. The opener "Under My Thumb" is a rocker and the film's version of "Miss You" is pure raw funk with great sax line. Tons of songs from "Some Girls" and a mish mash of hits from the 60s and 70s. Also interesting is to see a stadium concert filmed at a time when big screen video screens were a rarity. A must-see for any Stones fan, and definitely worth the time of a casual enthusiast of the band.