IMO this has the best version of YCAGWYW - it's short, raw and to the point..

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Swayed1967

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Come On
On Parachute it's obviously Stones, The Complete band, I viewed even Brian for a short second and it's nice looking at the video but listening to it from a CD gives me no bigger thrill compared to the version from Beggars which is one of them 7 wonders....

I enjoy reading your posts Mr. Come On because although you're clearly a true Stones fan you almost invariably think the opposite of what I do.

The RnR version of Parachute was a revelation (at least for me), and in that sense I find it superior to the album version (although I generally don't see the point in listening to the Stones live) I definitely agree though that you shouldn't listen to it on a CD. A circus is not something to be merely listened to.

I only refer to what the ear hears in most posts, and I think it's great that someone reflecting on what I write ...

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Is there a bluray of this one? Worth the purchase?

was a changing time in the bands evolution with brian nearing the end of his time and new songs replacing old, styles changing and the rockn roll circus was part of this, some very good performances there considering the fact the band wernt physically at thier peak due to lack of sleep, also most of the songs hadnt been developed enough as a live act so taking all into consideration they done well.

jj flash and no expectations are the highlights for me.

From the movie... Parachute Woman
[www.youtube.com]

It's great seeing the Stones live during this period. I can't really separate the music from the great film very well. When I listen to just the music it's pretty mediocre to me but when the film accompanies it it is fascinating.

I sure wish we could hear more of Brian in the mix. Certainly sounds like he was turned completely off most of the time. No expectations is the obvious exception. I think Mick's singing is pretty solid throughout the entire performance, it's too bad we didn't get a better mix and performance from everybody else because this one could have been perfect. Perhaps it's because Keith was having to carry the guitar stuff and Brian was off?

Does anybody know if the lack of Brian was due to his amp settings or whether he was mixed out at a later date?

I'm assuming they mixed him down post-show. IIRC several people at the circus commented how unwell and unhappy he was during the filming plus the tiredness of everyone due to the lateness of their performance. It's such a shame as a Beggars set with Brian would be such a great thing in theory.
Do any of the bootlegs of the rough mixes have more Brian on them ? It would be interesting to hear what he was playing - surely it can't have been that bad even if it wasn't that good.

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ash
I'm assuming they mixed him down post-show. IIRC several people at the circus commented how unwell and unhappy he was during the filming plus the tiredness of everyone due to the lateness of their performance. It's such a shame as a Beggars set with Brian would be such a great thing in theory.
Do any of the bootlegs of the rough mixes have more Brian on them ? It would be interesting to hear what he was playing - surely it can't have been that bad even if it wasn't that good.

Good point. Indeed, are there any recordings of Brian performing where his playing is less than good? There are lots of rumors but is there a document of his playing degrading in quality? Other than mucking about in the studio of course

His piano playing on the attempts on All Along The Watchtower are dreadful. I think they are on a boot or in a documentary with Eddie Kramer but very brief.
I wonder if he did do bad parts whether these were then re-done by Keith so if that's the case maybe we wouldn't know. The only sessions we really have are the Satanic ones and he doesn't seem to play much guitar on that iirc.

I think it was the IORR forum member His Majesty who actually transcribed and recorded his own facsimiles of Brian's Circus guitar parts several years ago. Exactly where he got them from I'm not sure, but it wasn't the usual dvd mix, since Brian is pretty much inaudible there. Either way, the clips were interesting and showed how rudimentary Brian played; basically it was just simple chord chugging with a fairly clean sound.

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deardoctortake1
Except for No Expectations, Brian's audio is not on this one. Too bad. It was his final performance with the band.

And imo it shows that the Stones need to be a two guitar band. Leaving out Jones except for NE is a bummer maybe, but his playing was perhaps not up to par?

[www.reverbnation.com]

Found a long discussion of Brian and what he played on RnR circus here:

[www.iorr.org]

It includes lengthy comments from His Majesty.

Oh yeah, interesting thread.

Re the quality or otherwise of Brian's performance.
I remember reading an article on the Stones (1968/9) and in it Brian is quoted as saying he is very critical of his guitar playing and is doing a lot of practicing to improve matters. His "friends" are then quoted as saying it is unecessary, his playing is just fine.
Brian surrounded himself with the wrong people, of course.

I always have a strange feeling with this album. It's the whole "official story", you know, the Who blow out the stage, the Stones did a low set...
Really is the Who playing amazing? A quick one is good on any standard, but is as great as Tanglewood or Live at Leeds? Really? IMHO, 60% Who power.
The Stones did a great show. Period. Not their best, but a rare, relaxed, very well played set. Hopkins as good as always. Keith freakin good. Charlie, Bill, always good. Jagger, visually amazing, vocally very good. Brian, well, not his hour... end of a sad story.

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"I'm gonna walk... before they make me run"

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Yeah, they played quite decently after all. The fact that their performance is famous for being sub par says something about their level of artistry at that time. Considering they hadn't done a tour for almost two years, suffering from Brian's problems, and being more or less distracted by circus animals, tv cameras and rock 'n' roll celebs, they put on a very good show. You can tell that Keith was definitely way into his most creative and strong period as a guitar player (and songwriter). Brian was definitely out of it, but Keith and Nicky did a great job of covering for him musically.

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LieB
Yeah, they played quite decently after all. The fact that their performance is famous for being sub par says something about their level of artistry at that time. Considering they hadn't done a tour for almost two years, suffering from Brian's problems, and being more or less distracted by circus animals, tv cameras and rock 'n' roll celebs, they put on a very good show. You can tell that Keith was definitely way into his most creative and strong period as a guitar player (and songwriter). Brian was definitely out of it, but Keith and Nicky did a great job of covering for him musically.

It's not the performance that is famous for being «sub-par», it was Mick that said it was, hence the reason for not releasing it. But there were many other factors to consider on why they didn't release it at first (Brian's state, the rights etc.).

I think most fans wondered what he meant when they got this release, because they really liked the performance.

And it was a great performance, imo, it showed exactly the transition the band went through on two of their greates albums (BB and LI, and how Keith was on top of his game, controlling the guitar department, imo.

How true is it, to quote a biographer , that Keith's bass was "terribly out of tune" on Yer Blues ?

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DandelionPowderman

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LieB
Yeah, they played quite decently after all. The fact that their performance is famous for being sub par says something about their level of artistry at that time. Considering they hadn't done a tour for almost two years, suffering from Brian's problems, and being more or less distracted by circus animals, tv cameras and rock 'n' roll celebs, they put on a very good show. You can tell that Keith was definitely way into his most creative and strong period as a guitar player (and songwriter). Brian was definitely out of it, but Keith and Nicky did a great job of covering for him musically.

It's not the performance that is famous for being «sub-par», it was Mick that said it was, hence the reason for not releasing it. But there were many other factors to consider on why they didn't release it at first (Brian's state, the rights etc.).

I think most fans wondered what he meant when they got this release, because they really liked the performance.

And it was a great performance, imo, it showed exactly the transition the band went through on two of their greates albums (BB and LI, and how Keith was on top of his game, controlling the guitar department, imo.

Yes! After reading about how bad it was for nearly 20 years it was incredible to put it on and listen to it and realize how great it was.

As far as Keith's bass being out of tune, my guess is that Lennon wouldn't have invited Keith to play unless he wanted an out of tune instrument in the band.

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jlowe
How true is it, to quote a biographer , that Keith's bass was "terribly out of tune" on Yer Blues ?

It might have been on the run through / sound check, but surely not on the final version.