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FreeBird
As I was watching it two days ago, I realized that they had truly saved the best for last - Street Fighting Man (already my favorite song) seemed better than ever! Now, I wonder if it was truly the best (because it seemed better than the versions from '73, even), or that I was misled by being able to see them play. When I get the DVD, I'll have to do another comparison, because it to my ears it apparently really sounded better, more energetic and perhaps even faster than any other version I've heard.

Freebird, I think I have almost all available bootleg versions of SFM from the 72 and 73 tours (thanks to so many generous people), and I think there are quite some versions that are better and 'wilder' than the version on L&G. But I've never seen or heard one of them the way I did in 2010, September 16 in Rotterdam, except of course in 1973, October 13 in Rotterdam.

Glad you liked it WHITEM8; I guess I'm just very sensitive these days, being in my 50's and having lived through the band's entire history, I feel protective of them. Like Jim Morrison said " no one gets out of here alive" and try as we might, there's no turning back the clock. I do try not to get morose when I see old footage of the Stones, but it just sweeps over me. I think for many of us, the 70's were better days so we're mourning our own loses too. I am especially attached to the '72 tour because it was the first time that I saw the Stones in concert. I'll try to get myself in my thankful mode and not dwell on the negative. We've been so damn lucky to have had this band for this long and we still have the hopes of seeing them LIVE again. I'll start my day on this note!

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mickschix
being in my 50's and having lived through the band's entire history

I've seen your pic posted on this board. You're not 50s.

Saw it at Union Square, NYC. I'd say the theater was about 75% full, though I was down front and people could have kept on coming in once the Mick interview began. I guess I lucked out on the ticket prices - $12.50 each bought last month on Fandango.

Anyway, I loved the Mick interview. The parts where he was discussing the '60s avant garde method of filming (leaving the camera on a single spot and waiting to see who walks into the shot) and the continuity issues of the clothing over the 4 shows ("One song I'm white, then I'm blue... then PURPLE!") were absolutely hilarious.

As for the movie itself, the volume was ok (though it could have been a touch louder) but the guitars (especially Keith's) seemed to lack that certain razor's edge quality. I must just be used to crappy-sounding bootlegs. The "All Down The Line"/"Rambler"/"Johnny" section absolutely killed me. I didn't remember "Rambler" being that great on the old VHS and DVD bootlegs.

I knew there were some vocal overdubs ("Happy" being the most obvious one) but how many guitars were playing on "Sweet Virginia"? I heard at least three. It was really apparent during the intro, when Keith is playing the main chords, Mick T. is kind of sitting there barely doing anything, and out of nowhere that mandolin-like trilling starts up. Unless Blondie was on loan from the Beach Boys at the time, it had to have been a dub.

Also, I didn't realize the bongo/conga percussion in "YCAGWYW" was going on that early in the tour - thought that was the last few dates only, for some reason. It really sounded great - Ollie Brown, right?

Ultimately, I'm getting a blu-ray player just for this release. And to see this on the big screen, flaws and all, was a dream come true.

Thanks, Edith, but the truth is a sad thing. I am 50 something, fight it as I may...I'll have to drop you a line soon, see what's going on in your universe.

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[email protected]
Saw it in Irvine, Ca last night. So here are my thoughts.

First the positive. Sound was great. Bright and crisp.

Now the negative. This appears to be a straight dup from the film. Very little, if any, attempt was made to improve picture quality. Yes, I know it's dark, as Mick said. But with todays technology, much could have been done. Reds and blues were over saturated. It was sometimes hard to watch. Chroma and luminescence can be adjusted once it's digitized. There was 'ghosting' on many of the shots. Again, this can be corrected. There were several shots with Mick on left side of the screen in a red spot and Keith was on the right with a blue. Keith was unrecognizable. This can be improved. It's only a slight improvement from the 4Reel release. But probably because the 4Reel issue is a generation or two down.

Why so critical? I have friend who's into video and he has commercially available video processors, both stand alone and computer programs. When I get a concert (ie bootleg) dvd that has colour shift, or the picture is too bright or dull, I give it to him. He has taken vertually unwatchable dvd/video and made them almost broadcast quality. All on a home computer! He can even resync sound if it's off. It can be done. Maybe it was the theatre, but if I'm gonna shell out $40 for a BluRay disc, it better be an improvement.

It was fun to watch on the big screen in a theatre with fellow Stones fans, but I walked out disappointed. I was like watching a bootleg with great sound.

Anyone else have similar impressions?

Scotty

I forgot to mention. Before the movie started, a Dish Network menu screen appeared and you could see someone scrolling thru the menu. It appears that this was a satellite feed and not an actual 'hard copy' deliver to the theatre. I guess since this was put on thru Fathom Entertainment, it was a satellite feed to theatres.

Scotty

if that were true, how could the program be restarted, as someone above reported? Can't a hard copy be scrolled through?

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mickijaggeroo

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oldfool

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mickijaggeroo
Before the actual showing of the movie last night, a woman came on to tell us, that they unfortunately had´nt received the 5.1 version, and that those who wished to leave and get a refund could do so in the first half hour. No one did, even though it was in mono. However, it clearly showed the upgrade was´nt done for cinemas, as the picture was not much better than my versions on numerous boots. So I suspect the remastering was done for TV-screens, as the samples in the Exile doc looked excellent on my 46`. Seems Sweden is the only country that´ll show the movie for 5 days in a row.

Which movie theater was this? I hope it wasn't Bio Rio...

This was in Göteborg. Sad to say that the Vikings that attended the movie in Stockholm left after a while, since the manager refused to increase the volume. So the volume was not higher than a regular movie. And the sound was crap too, they say.

I called Bio Rio here in Stockholm now. They have decreased the ticket price as the copy they got is not surround, only stereo. They also told me to keep the ticket so I can see it again for free if they get the surround version.

As for the volume, they can't turn it up more because of neighbours complaining.

I saw it in here in Hawaii.
It was great. They actually had two speakers set up in front of the screen. My first thought was that they were using the quad soundtrack, but I came back to reality and realized it was probably surround sound.

It was absolutely great! Loved seeing it in a theater. Everybody clapped at the end. Lots of people were tapping their foots to the songs. Got a chick to go with me who knows only a couple of Stones songs and is now blown away. Wants me to lend her their music.

i wrote this the morning after and posted on another thread. i had also been at the ny premier in quad...as well as seeing the tour in d.c. and new york in '72.

always a thrill to see the worlds greatest just really putting it out like that close together stripped down and altogether amazing. a treasure that we have it.
as for the recent product release i don't know haven't heard it.
as for whatever the theatre experience thursday, in the particulaar los angeles theatre that i saw it in, here's my report below. as far as the performances and the players, well...amazing as expected. yes i was thrilled. always am with the stones this general period...just superb superb tour and some good nights here on film thank goodness...





Date: September 17, 2010 18:11

saw the film at new Rave Theatres (formerly Bridge De Lux) at Howard Hughes bigass shopping mall kinda place; there's an imax there as well.
general impressions then short comment ? :

the sound was not improved upon. i have bootlegs with better sonics but it's not a deal breaker. the bass is pretty much REALLY hard to hear. it's all mid-rangy and upper mid-rangy kinda blare but really nothing i could'nt adjust to. just sayin. it was NOT like someone gave a shit about remastering this or tuk any care imo. perhaps the dvd product is better.
(seems like the typical "loudness wars" remaster or whatever. pump it up period not theenking what's being obliterated in the process in other frequencies...important frequencies...)

nothing close to the quad experience in sonic warmth accuracy etc...and not close to really good re-mastered presentation of stuff that IS mixed pretty well...

the interview with mick at top was hopelessly un-necessary; the guys like out of it. too much time with presidents and other knights like elton or watever. like the Queen allows a reporter in for a few minutes...
....yeah we know u like the lotus stage please mention in five more times. we know u like all the background singers...thanks for chiming in. nice shirt. shut up. this is a bringdown right before a concert. oh u spent a lot of money of this film? thanks mick. !!
so u don't stumble on the 'a few busted strings a few broken hearts' line...
ok fair enuff. but the look ai'nt better and the sound is worse.

MOST PEOPLE WALKED OUT AS THE FEED PRODUCED OVER A DOZEN MAJOR DIGI LITTLE SQUARE DISTORTION AT CRUCIAL PERIODS IN THE SONGS...OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

so too bad it costs too much to send the theatres a DVD, or like a reliable and warm technology. ? i mean he brought up the money and the restoration, not me...uh, the sound was shite in this context...ok cutting prints for distribution is a lot of dough but they cudda sent a dvd. or something . i guess. and the digi distortion? this would NEVER happen in a reliable medium like film. keep analog alive people. keep analog evolved. it's DEvolved into what we got now...it's hopeless nothing's gonna change in the popular culture...but fans will want something more accurate. those little mono kiddie turntables were a better sound than a lot of whats out now imo.

mick taylor kept getting the longest and loudest applause from audience. just reporting.
but....wow.
wyman magnificent. engaging the crowd directly the ENTIRE Time from the lip of the stage the coolest cat who ever walked the earth and those flying fingers that intuitive synch and punch and power. hardly ever playing eighth notes he's so brilliant like a jazz guy but total rock and roll. he invented this. it's too beautiful. totally great performances i still stand by all that totally!!!

a lot of young people there what a shame the walkouts and interruptions.

i loved seeing the band big and up close and those performances are totally Golden and it's clear to me that its a miracle the stones survived losing brian and really never clearly survived losing taylor. for their OWN reasons, as much as losing the power and glory of that combo. it's like the beatles without one of them...
well...i got to go...what did u think? i got refund and comp tickets so...but an aggro..and they did not do service to their own brilliance in this premiere at the theatre. i'd like to hear from others wh went other locations bout the distortion etc....and reactions?? please and thank you.

oh mick ur so in love with '75 how about a great film documentary. i didn't see what other add ons there might have been at the end cause i left after keith went chuck and it was so great but it kept breaking down. stop breaking down stop breaking down

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the last two rolling stones products this year both notable for NOT being up to snuff sonically, according to very many HERE, when compared to previously released versions of the same products. the exile package NOT from the best master sources as other labels and releases, even in cd format.
this product very much inferior to the adventurous leaders delivering huge amounts of respect and credibility to their own work as far as SOUND. cause it's the SOUND in MUSIC (that the hills are alive with) that is the perntt.
perrrnntt well taken one hopes.
just saying the Stones were visionary on the forefront of what the future could bring with their records and their production and the super imaginative and creative and RESPECTFUL manner in which l and g was first presented.
to cut corners on best possible sound. and then to reduce that standard to blaring distorted dig vid (audio and video) in the feed, well, it didn't work in the venue where i saw it...i'm not even sure it was stereo. i DO have boots that are better in vhs and dvd personally. (at least the audio)....and that for me, is IT.

so...the stones lose something of my connection to their modern exploits almost every time out...from a purely audio delivery standpoint. i like a lot of abb album. loved the licks tour. and good stops almost any tour. that's a matter of fact not equivocation. but, sloppy job mick. kinda classless for someone acting like the president in that turgid interview...cause when push comes to shove, he doesn't stand up for the sound of the music imo. in these cases anyway.

mick taylor and bill wYman, the super coolest cat on the earth in 1972 and beyond!!) will both perform onstage with The Rolling Stones at some point before this next tour is over. that's my prediction and i feel great about it. good news!!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2010-09-19 01:15 by Beelyboy.

Left early!? WTF?! Anyway, Get this; saw it all alone! Loved it. Bought my ticket at 6 & they said only 11 tix had been sold. Not one other person ever even opened the door. It was great.

Sorry. I didn't mean I went alone & 11 people were there. 'The place was empty' all night. I had to run up and down the aisle once just for fun. The concert was great. Best spot was standing in the middle 3rd row.

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Beelyboy
i guess. and the digi distortion? this would NEVER happen in a reliable medium like film.

Reliable? I must've been dreaming all those times I saw dropouts, not to mention burned frames. Film is a fantastic medium, but I wouldn't call it reliable.

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NorthShoreBlues2


The picture was about the same quality as my bootleg version and the sound was a bit off at times, again resembling my bootleg copy.

As for the volume, oh man, when Brown Sugar came on, we were all looking at each other saying this is way to low, other people in the audience starting yelling "turn it up" and finally one of my friends ran out back or somewhere and grabbed a manger and by the time Bitch came on they had increased the volume to "very very loud!!!"

This is very interesting. I saw it in downtown Boston, at the Fenway Regal 13.
The sound was fairly low during Brown Sugar, but picked up nice and loud about a minute into Bitch, then later in Bitch it got even louder and stayed there. But no one in our theatre got up to tell anyone, it just happened.

Sound was loud, but a narrow stereo mix, not much separation. I was disappointed with the picture quality through at least the first half of the film -- the darkest parts. Blurry blurry blurry. And seeing all the digital pixels/blocking in the blacks was just annoying.

Am I the only one that was at a theatre early enough to see the DiskNetworkHD logos/menus while they were tuning in the satellite feed? I have a feeling this may be the culprit for much of the sound and picture quality issues. I have a feeling this whole thing, at least in the US, was done by feeds and not actual hard copies. (And more importantly did anyone hack the feed? ;-) )

I agree that if this is the restoration they did a crappy job. I know this film has always been dark, and they did not use the type of stage/filming lighting that would have made a lot of these shots crisper, but I have to hand part of the blame to the frustrating references to 'deterioration' and all that crap from Mick. That simply should have never been allowed to happen. This film should have been restored and re-released back in the day when a DVD re-release meant something. The Stones waited too long and missed the boat (a la the CD box set era. What else is new Mick?). And his comments are most likely true about someone else owning it, but the Stones being the Stones wouldn't pay who they hired the proper amount they owed them, so the film sat around in limbo. I agree with most who said it looked a tad better than the bootlegs we have all seen. And I am also hoping, like others, that the DVD will be crisper. If not, why would they bother with a Blu-Ray?

I was glad someone finally asked Mick why "Rocks Off" was missing. His answer, I somewhat believe, but there's plenty of out of tune stuff everywhere in any Stones concert. Otherwise most of the interview was flippant, unprepared, unconcerned with being prepared classic frustrating Jagger who got into the most detail about his eye make-up and funny clothes. Really Mick? That's what you come away with? And kudos for whoever assigned yet another young, ill-informed interviewer who asked questions that were 80% pointless.


The theatre was maybe 50% full. I saw all ages, and was glad to see two teenaged girls watching it and clapping after a few of the songs they obviously enjoyed. Otherwise it was a few middle-aged folks, and a group of idiot drunks who thought they were at a real concert and tried to get Keith to hear them yelling his name or "Stones! Awesome!" (why do people insist on doing this?) Funniest part re. the audience was when a couple started leaving just as JJF started. It was obvious that the woman wanted to leave and the man was not very happy about it. He slowed down quite a bit and kept turning back to watch the film as he was moving toward the exit. Poor guy.

Overall it was nice to see it on the big screen, and our volume, though tightly mixed, was def. loud enough. There were a few shots, clips I hadn't noticed before that were a nice surprise (though on a whole this film is shot/edited WAY too tightly -- enough with Mick's ASS already! and tight fretboard shots -- and there aren't enough full band shots) and it's especially refreshing to see long shots like the one of Mick's hand prior to Love In Vain, and his face slide into the frame as he starts the vocal.

The 'outtake' versions of Happy and All Down The Line are much better edits and much less tightly shot -- hopefully someone will have the where with all to get those onto a DVD bonus package somehow.

J

No problems in NYC. Sold out. Great showing. Mick at beginning was GREAT

After waiting for about twenty years for a official re-release of L&G I finally got to see it in Trondheim on Thursday. I had bought seven tickets for my better half, and some friends. We went out early and had about a couple of hours before, to share some to eat and have some drinks before the show started. The film had sold out and the movie theater was packed. They played the bonus cd on Exile and one could see people in all ages from 10 to 70 –very cool. I don’t know how many seats there are, but I would estimate it to be about 200, maybe more. As mentioned before, Jagger spoke about the lotus stage in ‘75, his makeup etc. The second the film went on, there was clapping in the room, and when they started Brown Sugar the floor was shaking because of people were tapping their feet, and that continued throughout the film. The sound was loud from the beginning, and the bass was amazing! I’m not shure if it was stereo or mono, but it couldn’t have been in quad or surround -but definitely better than any of my boots. The picture was also much better than anything I’ve seen before but still muddy and dark. Versions of songs like Happy, All Down The Line, Dead Flowers, Street Fighting Man and Brown Sugar are all better than the studio versions IMO, but the two stand outs in this film is Love In Vain and Midnight Rambler. People were clapping after Love In Vain. Of course, the last four songs takes the movie to an orgasmic energy level and left any doubt about the fact that we all had reached rock’n roll heaven. Everyone were smiling and talking after two rounds of applause when the film ended. I also heard several mentions of Mick Taylor when we walked out. My friends loved the film and we went out and had a couple of glasses of wine before we went home. All in all it was great to see this masterpice of music in cinema together with other happy people, though the sound and picture wasn’t up to what I had expected. If this is what we get on the blu ray version, it’s too bad. I guess this is what happends when it lays for too long in the valuts…

I saw it in The Bronx...a total of 2 people were in the theatre.

It's bittersweet seeing this film. On one hand you're thinking, "this band is fantastic live!!!!"

then reality sets in and you think..."how did they go from that to a bunch of posers on stage???"

They really were once, The Greatest Rock Band in the World, and L&G showed that!!

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S.T.P
After waiting for about twenty years for a official re-release of L&G I finally got to see it in Trondheim on Thursday. I had bought seven tickets for my better half, and some friends. We went out early and had about a couple of hours before, to share some to eat and have some drinks before the show started. The film had sold out and the movie theater was packed. They played the bonus cd on Exile and one could see people in all ages from 10 to 70 –very cool. I don’t know how many seats there are, but I would estimate it to be about 200, maybe more. As mentioned before, Jagger spoke about the lotus stage in ‘75, his makeup etc. The second the film went on, there was clapping in the room, and when they started Brown Sugar the floor was shaking because of people were tapping their feet, and that continued throughout the film. The sound was loud from the beginning, and the bass was amazing! I’m not shure if it was stereo or mono, but it couldn’t have been in quad or surround -but definitely better than any of my boots. The picture was also much better than anything I’ve seen before but still muddy and dark. Versions of songs like Happy, All Down The Line, Dead Flowers, Street Fighting Man and Brown Sugar are all better than the studio versions IMO, but the two stand outs in this film is Love In Vain and Midnight Rambler. People were clapping after Love In Vain. Of course, the last four songs takes the movie to an orgasmic energy level and left any doubt about the fact that we all had reached rock’n roll heaven. Everyone were smiling and talking after two rounds of applause when the film ended. I also heard several mentions of Mick Taylor when we walked out. My friends loved the film and we went out and had a couple of glasses of wine before we went home. All in all it was great to see this masterpice of music in cinema together with other happy people, though the sound and picture wasn’t up to what I had expected. If this is what we get on the blu ray version, it’s too bad. I guess this is what happends when it lays for too long in the valuts…

Very nice review, S.T.P

As for the sound: in Rotterdam (also a couple of hundred people and a full house) it certainly wasn't QUAD nor surround, but also not mono. It was about the same kind of stereo as on the bootlegs (horns left, piano right, guitars in the middle), but the bass was absolutely better than on the boots. And it was loud enough to my taste.

As for the picture: it was better than on the boots. I like the way they filmed it back then, though I also would like to see more of 'the whole band in one shot' views. But I certainly don't complain: I had a good time!

Just back from the L&G show in Burbank. Surprised that the theatre was empty to start. By the end of the film it was 3/4 full.
I was on the edge of my seat the whole flick. Mick was brilliant. Taylor was so young looking it was bizzarre. He was effortless in his guitar playing, makes you teary eyed just watching his slide work.

Very dark but very interesting for a true Stones fan. The SOUND was Incredible.
Love in Vain was the stand out tune for my $13.50.

It was also interesting to see the band only steps away from each other. A drum riser, a few amps and a couple monitors. I would go see it again tomorrow if they would only show it again...

any songs stand out?

Like I said, Love in Vain was amazing. Can't Always Get was great too. Watching Keith and Mick share the microphone was compelling. What a great treat!

Midnight Rambler!

I'm seriously going to buy one of those $700 blow up big screens at Target just so I can watch this in my back yard. Amazing...

Glad it sounded good in Burbank. Shine A Light didn't. October 12th ain't that long until the DVD.

Ah, Burbank, my old home and stomping ground. I miss that area. Now I'm stuck in this BS called San Francisco. What theater were you at?

hey tomk, I saw it at the Woodland Hills AMC...does that make you homesick?

Burbank AMC 16.....No one was there. I was really surprised...

I'm not. I live in Burbank. I live here because it's quiet and like living in a small town. But It's only fifteen minutes from Hollywood!

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letitbleed
I'm seriously going to buy one of those $700 blow up big screens at Target just so I can watch this in my back yard. Amazing...

Hang a bed sheet....same idea