Wasn't the "Pete Best" sketch also performed that night? Or was that from a Mick appearence?

It comes off as the nadir only if seen from the detached point of view of watching a video performance, and expecting tops sound quality, and a pristine performance. Nothing wrong with that. But for anyone who was in NYC in 78, and lived through the fever of that summer, it was golden! All the punks tripping all over ourselves trying to catch up with them. Up and down the East Coast. And SNL was nothing what it is today; a stale 90 minutes of garbage. It was a big deal. The Stones with Koch was a riot. I am not sure, but I think we didn't even know it was going to be Ed Koch hosting. The performance made perfect sense to me. Jagger being horse like that was nothing. It was the Stones on TV in vinyl pants. And Jagger licked Ronnie. They did three songs.

I was home from college for the first time when the Stones played on Saturday Night Live. On that evening, I went with my brother to see the Yankees defeat the KC Royals 2-1 to win the American League pennant 3 games to 1. When Jay Johnstone caught the last out, my brother and I sprinted to barely catch a D train to 33rd. Then we barely caught a PATH train to Hoboken. And I drove the 20 miles home as fast as go could me.

We arrived at home five minutes before the Stones appeared. And then they came on, and Jagger was so hoarse. It was very disappointing at the time. But subsequent viewing made appreciate that the band wasn't so bad.

I really enjoy reading people's fond memories in regards the show. I mean the people who actually saw it in telly at the time. That's the SOME GIRLS generation talking there! For me the movie LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER I saw from a blue screen probably had a similar effect. That's the Stones first time really felt close. If TATTOO YOU and "Start Me Up" made me a fan and convinced me of teh musical substance, it was the Ashby movie that convinced me of their unique live charisma. Today the film is mocked probably for good reasons, but for a fresh fan then, that was IT!

I need to say that for myself it is rather hard to share the excitment of SNL since I had learned it only from a bad quality VHS bootleg, and now located next to a magnificient LIVE IN TEXAS performance, it is truely not an easy one to listen...

- Doxa

I comment on this a lot but look how different Keith looks over a few months. On the Some Girls promos his backgrounds and look is not much different than it was in the sixties. On the tour he is hoarse but still looks the same. All of a sudden Keith's hair is curled, his face is caved in, his voice (perhaps with the exception of We Had It All in 1979 never sounds the same. August or September 1978 must be when he stayed up for nine days and fell face first into a speaker.

Quote
melillo
that SNL 78 performance was vintage stones at their sloppy raunchy best, i really cant understand how it is disliked by many

+1. Classic Stones never failed. Not even in 1976 despite some weak spots.

Quote
mikeeder
I comment on this a lot but look how different Keith looks over a few months. On the Some Girls promos his backgrounds and look is not much different than it was in the sixties. On the tour he is hoarse but still looks the same. All of a sudden Keith's hair is curled, his face is caved in, his voice (perhaps with the exception of We Had It All in 1979 never sounds the same. August or September 1978 must be when he stayed up for nine days and fell face first into a speaker.

I made the same observation. That's the 80's Keith in person/imagewise there, while in the Texas concert it is the 60's/70's persona. I know that because the "80's Keith" was the person I get to familair with in the first place. I see that there in SNL. Probably the lag/hangover period after 1978 tour was harder than normally for Keith, when the Toronto trail results were troubling also his mind; that might made Keith to look so much older so quickly. The future was really uncertain, and for a free soul like Keith who had spent all his life doing whatever he pleases, the possibility of facing a long sentence surely didn't sounded too good option.

- Doxa

After watching it, and listening to the 1978 Passaic boot, it seems clear to me that Jagger was really trying hard to update the Stones image to be more inline with what was happening in the punk scene.

I think he was trying hard (maybe too hard at times) to be ragged/wild/outrageous/irreverent.

It's kind of a contrast, when listening to the Some Girls outtakes, how the 'country' music they were recording, changed to the final product and whole sound of that tour - fast, rough and full of energy.

I can't remember whether it was the book Wired, or Saturday Night, but the story goes that SNL looked at this as a huge TV event on par with Ed Sullivans Beatles. Their show was peaking and this would be their crown. On Wednesday the Stones Rocked the house and the producers and performers were worried they would be blown off the stage by the band. But the Stones did not pace themselves well that week, partying hard with Belushi and others, and when Saturday night rolled around the Stones and Micks voice were ragged and under par. They had peaked too early for the big event. Big event for SNL anyway, the Stones shrugged it off, being rock stars not tv stars, their lives went on as before.

was at the Palladium show in NYC - June 19th 1978 - Fantastic !!!

i enjoyed the hell out of the entire show...remember it well...watching in the UO dorms with a bunch of other drunkards. maybe you had to be drunk or something. yeah, that's the ticket. so he was hoarse...at least he didn't try to sing the war hoarses....

Quote
Doxa

Quote
mikeeder
I comment on this a lot but look how different Keith looks over a few months. On the Some Girls promos his backgrounds and look is not much different than it was in the sixties. On the tour he is hoarse but still looks the same. All of a sudden Keith's hair is curled, his face is caved in, his voice (perhaps with the exception of We Had It All in 1979 never sounds the same. August or September 1978 must be when he stayed up for nine days and fell face first into a speaker.

I made the same observation. That's the 80's Keith in person/imagewise there, while in the Texas concert it is the 60's/70's persona. I know that because the "80's Keith" was the person I get to familair with in the first place. I see that there in SNL. Probably the lag/hangover period after 1978 tour was harder than normally for Keith, when the Toronto trail results were troubling also his mind; that might made Keith to look so much older so quickly. The future was really uncertain, and for a free soul like Keith who had spent all his life doing whatever he pleases, the possibility of facing a long sentence surely didn't sounded too good option.

- Doxa

Whatever happened it was major. I actually first knew sixties Keith though I wasn't a fan until 1988. The Brian Jones era had intrigued me for a number of years before that.

The two Buffalo shows in 78 and 81 were exactly like the SNL show.

....Jaggers voice shot to hell they were amazing that night. Glued to the TV set. They were just great.