My favorite line in Almost Famous is when the manager (Jimmy Fallon) tells the Sweetwater band, “If you think that Mick Jagger is going to be doing this at age 50, well then, you are sorely, sorely mistaken.” Umpteen geezer revivals later, the group many regard as the greatest rock band ever has hung around well past their sell-by date. When I sat down to watch The Rolling Stones: Under Review 1962-1966, I wasn’t expecting much — I mean, what’s left to say about the Stones? Everything you need to know about them you learned by reading, uh, Rolling Stone, right?
But I was sorely, sorely mistaken. With a wide assortment of archival footage of the group’s early performances, Under Review analyzes the band’s formative period. By narrowing the focus to the years between 1962 and 1966 — before Bianca and Altamont — when the group was emerging as the alterna-Beatles, the DVD covers the Stones’ transformation from Brian Jones-led blues band, playing tunes by Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf in assorted London nightclubs, to the Jagger/Richards hit machine of the late 1960s.
The extent to which the Stones’ success was influenced by African-American rhythm & blues is drawn out and discussed in fascinating detail. The film’s prize interview subject is Dick Taylor, a schoolmate of Mick Jagger who left the group early on. His tenor is part rock & roll professor, part sympathetic friend and part dazed guy who has had to endure knowing he bailed on the opportunity of a lifetime. Taylor and several British rock journalists contribute commentary about the Stones’ early success as a cover band before their quantum leap as songwriters came with “Satisfaction.”
Yes, there’s another level of musicological treatment that could be applied to this subject matter, but for viewers/listeners who need more than VH1 and less than a Master’s thesis in pop music etymology, the Under Review series (which will feature Queen, AC/DC and the Smiths) touches the right chord.
For more information about Under Review, go to www.mvdb2b.com.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.
Truly was a pleasant surprise! Something as mature and seasoned as the Stones doesn’t have to show up in new bottles.They are vintage and continue to ripen.Their vibe is strong and getting stonger in a music climate cluttered with imitation.