Are there any official reviews available in French press?

Le Monde published a piece.

Les Rolling Stones en concert à Paris, un savoir-faire toujours intact

À l’hippodrome de Longchamp à Paris, le groupe mythique s’est offert, samedi, un concert plein d’énergie pour ses soixante ans d’existence. L’ambiance de ce Sixty Tour n’est pas dictée par une nostalgie mélancolique, mais par une célébration joyeuse des 60 ans de carrière du groupe.

Par Stéphane Davet

Hier à 19h19, mis à jour à 12h57.Lecture 4 min.

La dernière fois que les Rolling Stones avaient foulé la pelouse de l’hippodrome de Longchamp, les 30 juin et 1er juillet 1995, on se demandait comment, à leur âge canonique – Mick Jagger et Keith Richards avaient 51 ans –, ces milliardaires dispersés aux quatre coins de la planète pouvaient continuer à jouer au « plus grand groupe de rock’n’roll du monde ».

Vingt-sept ans après, nos jambes ont un peu de mal, ce 23 juillet, à parcourir les kilomètres séparant la porte d’Auteuil de l’anneau hippique du 16e arrondissement de Paris, mais le chanteur pur-sang (78 ans) et ses complices ont encore une sacrée foulée. Bien sûr chaque nouvelle course les rapproche de la dernière, comme le rappelle l’hommage rendu en prélude à leur batteur Charlie Watts, mort le 24 août 2021. Au son de sa frappe métronomique, ancre salvatrice d’un vaisseau parfois bringuebalant, défilent les images de cet élégant discret qui, en concert, était traditionnellement le membre du groupe le plus applaudi au moment de la présentation des musiciens.

« Charlie nous manque tellement, nous voudrions lui dédier ce concert », insiste Jagger, en français, au bout de deux morceaux. Le riff arrogant de Street Fighting Man – la meilleure évocation en chanson de l’esprit de 1968 d’après Daniel Cohn-Bendit – et la frénésie moqueuse de 19th Nervous Breakdown avaient donné le ton. L’ambiance de ce Sixty Tour n’est pas dictée par une nostalgie mélancolique, mais par une célébration joyeuse des 60 ans de carrière d’un groupe qui donna son premier show, en 1962, sur la scène du Marquee de Londres.

Le sourire XXL de Jagger

A Lyon, le 19 juillet, pour le premier des deux concerts français de leur tournée européenne, les Stones avaient surpris par leur énergie, malgré une canicule qui faisait tourner de l’œil à plus d’un fan. Aucune raison que l’idéale douceur de cette soirée parisienne ne leur fasse pas faire au moins aussi bien. Devant une marée humaine de 56 000 personnes, la sonorisation puissante et claire démontre, dès les premières notes, que le chanteur est en voix. Malgré un Covid récent, Mick Jagger virevolte avec une prestance stupéfiante.

En 1995, une tour d’éclairage dressée comme une tête de serpent crachait des flammes, avant que des poupées géantes surplombent la foule de l’hippodrome. Depuis le début des années 1980, les Stones avaient pris l’habitude d’agrémenter leurs tournées des stades d’un cirque rock bourré d’effets. Mais si le plateau reste immense, bordée de deux pistes adaptées aux joggings de Mick Jagger, et assortie d’une longue promenade s’avançant dans le public, la sobriété scénographique est de rigueur. Le grand écran de fond de scène et les deux plus petits accrochés de chaque côté se contentent de quelques rares créations vidéo, pour privilégier les images des musiciens, filmés en direct. Même à l’autre bout de l’hippodrome, on peut ainsi profiter du sourire XXL et de l’œil malicieux du chanteur à la taille de guêpe et aux déhanchements d’une hétérosexualité gorgée de féminité. Bandana rose sur reste de tignasse argentée, rides de vieux pirate, Keith Richards secoue sa Fender avec une joie hilare, suivi comme son ombre par Ron Wood, copain (plus que guitariste) idéal, aux pommettes toujours plus saillantes.

Quel besoin d’artifice quand votre répertoire fait autant d’étincelles ? Les années 1960 et 1970 fournissent l’essentiel du juke-box. Avec le risque que les Stones se contentent d’être leur propre « tribute band », déconnectés de l’urgence originelle de leurs créations. Les Londoniens répondent à ces interrogations sur leur pertinence, depuis le tarissement de leur inspiration discographique – les albums Some Girls (1978) ou Tattoo You (1981), selon que l’on soit sévère ou indulgent –, en écrivant l’histoire d’une expérience rock à la longévité unique.

Samedi soir, un vieux morceau de bravoure live comme Midnight Rambler semblait s’éterniser, vide de la dangerosité qui jadis transcendait sa longue narration et ses changements de tempos. Mais dans l’ensemble, la flamme est prompte à se rallumer. Que ce soit sur un mode festif (Tumbling Dice, Happy), romantique (Wild Horses), tendre (You Got the Silver, chanté par Richards, appuyé par la slide acoustique de Ron Wood), sexy (Miss You) ou sauvage. Même si les guitaristes ont parfois du mal à allumer au même moment leurs riffs incendiaires.

Soubresauts du monde

Au fur et à mesure de leur histoire, des retraites anticipées et des disparitions, Jagger, Richards et Wood ont engagé de nouveaux fidèles, sans les intégrer officiellement au groupe. Après Darryl Jones, bassiste remplaçant de Bill Wyman depuis 1993, le batteur Steve Jordan s’en tire avec les honneurs au poste de Charlie Watts. Ce New-yorkais pur jus a fait ses preuves aux côtés de Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Neil Young ou Aretha Franklin, avant de côtoyer Keith Richards dans son groupe récréatif les X-Pensive Winos. Partageant avec Watts un amour du jazz et une exigence de sobriété, il adopte la même frappe sèche et cet art très particulier du tempo capable d’accompagner Richards plutôt que de le conduire.

Le précieux site Setlist.fm, qui répertorie les listes de chansons jouées en concert et leur occurrence au cours des tournées, nous apprend que les deux titres les plus interprétés du répertoire choisi le 23 juillet sont Jumpin’Jack Flash et Honky Tonk Women. On a d’autant plus apprécié d’entendre Out of Time, titre de l’album Aftermath (1966), que les Stones n’avaient jamais interprété live avant le 1er juin 2022. Jadis joué par Brian Jones, l’arrangement de marimba a gardé une charmante préciosité pop.

Après avoir facilement fait chanter la foule en chœur avec You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Mick Jagger a eu plus de mal avec Living in a Ghost Town, premier titre original du groupe depuis 2012, sorti en septembre 2021. Sur fond de rock reggae, ressemblant à certaines productions de Damon Albarn, le chanteur faisait allusion aux allures de ville fantôme que prenaient nos vies au moment du confinement. Il y a longtemps que les Stones n’avaient pas écrit sur les soubresauts du monde.

Certains vieux titres peuvent encore être d’actualité. Avant un rappel proposant, sans beaucoup de surprise, Sympathy for the Devil et (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Gimme Shelter se révéla le sommet du concert. Non seulement grâce au duel vocal opposant Mick Jagger et sa choriste, Sasha Allen, mais parce que ce morceau tiré de Let It Bleed (1969), hanté par la violence de la guerre du Vietnam, prenait une intensité particulière, illustré des images du conflit et du drapeau ukrainien.

Stéphane Davet

Paris had quite the last few days in shows with The Stones and GaGa attracting so many fans...

One of the best shows I’ve ever seen! (Seen about 62 shows so far)
Thank you Rolling Stones for this great show!

Shame on the organization! The security mixed PIT left & right (!) and discussed the point of view where left and right is.
“No security” for the fans. I also saw the girl with the broken leg…no ambulance/ no light. Still have this picture in my head. In the PIT some people where very aggressive- no reaction from the security.
People in the pit have to stand or sit in 2 cm dirty mud! Unbelievable!
Some of the exits signed by “EXIT” Signs where closed after the show, so the people had to go all the way back to exit.

Handle this amount of people is grossly negligent! 3rd time to a French Stones Show for me in Paris - all 3 of them was awful organized.

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harald2002
One of the best shows I’ve ever seen! (Seen about 62 shows so far)
Thank you Rolling Stones for this great show!

Shame on the organization! The security mixed PIT left & right (!) and discussed the point of view where left and right is.
“No security” for the fans. I also saw the girl with the broken leg…no ambulance/ no light. Still have this picture in my head. In the PIT some people where very aggressive- no reaction from the security.
People in the pit have to stand or sit in 2 cm dirty mud! Unbelievable!
Some of the exits signed by “EXIT” Signs where closed after the show, so the people had to go all the way back to exit.

Handle this amount of people is grossly negligent! 3rd time to a French Stones Show for me in Paris - all 3 of them was awful organized.

I felt the same way about a show I saw in Paris in 2017. Poor organization.

I saw Pit A and Pit B signposted clearly and correctly, why would security mix that up?

I guess in Paris they could. Remember they thought "No Filter Pit" meant "No pit" in 2017?

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Green Lady

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Hairball
Along with Midnight Rambler and Happy, a major highlight of this show.
Feel bad for those in Lyon who were shortchanged by this song being cut from the shortened setlist...
One of the Stones' greatest tunes, and in fact one of the greatest tunes ever recorded by any band.

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Silver Dagger
Feisty Sasha has been a revelation on this tour.

But the song they didn't play in Lyon wouldn't have been like this. For whatever reason (probably Mick's voice) they knew they couldn't deliver - and maybe the wonderful show in Paris came at the price of cutting a substandard Shelter in Lyon? If they had sung it then, badly, we'd have been down on them like a ton of bricks.

That's all true Green Lady, and thankfully Mick bounced back 100% for the Paris show.
Still, it's unfortunate they had to sacrifice this masterpiece for those in attendance at Lyon who were hoping and/or expecting to hear it.
For many, it's one of the absolute highlights as it's one of their greatest tunes ever, and it's essential to their shows for a variety of reasons.
Oh well, at least they were able to play 18 tunes at the show, and the shortened setlist might have been a blessing for all due to the extreme heat.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Topi
I saw Pit A and Pit B signposted clearly and correctly, why would security mix that up?

I guess in Paris they could. Remember they thought "No Filter Pit" meant "No pit" in 2017?

The problem was that our tickets were stage left. Not PIT a or b shown on the ticket itself. Stage left has been Keith's side. When awarding the pit wristbands at the entrance, this was partially confused.

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dcba

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Green Lady
For whatever reason (probably Mick's voice) they knew they couldn't deliver - and maybe the wonderful show in Paris came at the price of cutting a substandard Shelter in Lyon?

That's a telling metaphor of the band's current M.O. : making the best use of the (dwindling) human resources the band can rely on. Mick is wise : he knew the big gig was Paris not Lyon.

3 days after and 3 days before shows results in a substandard show on purpose?

That's 3 days of complete rest leading up to whenever they get to the venue on day 4.

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GivenToFly15
Le Monde published a piece.

Thanks for posting, good stuff from Le Monde as can be expected. It was off to a bad start though when he said they were billionaires in 1995! Maybe the "" went missing ;-)

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IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-07-26 13:07 by gotdablouse.

I don't always watch my videos back but I just watched Jumping Jack Flash from Paris and I was rather pleased with it! 99% focusing on the main action, smooth transitions, some nice tight shots so you feel like you are right there etc...

Jumping Jack Flash - Paris

I upload full songs every show so if you haven't subscribed (for free) please do so and you can get notifications when I put up new songs. Everyones positive response makes the videos really enjoyable to do. Thank you

^ Been following your vids from here in NZ Matt. A real treat, thank you for the effort of filming such great quality stuff!

I hope I can get an opportunity to see the Stones one last time.

Stade de France? Where football fans at the recent UCL final were horribly assaulted by the local vibrant youth? No thanks.

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justeillusion
My message send
to Live nation France
"hello a little debrief of the stone concert!
Waiting outside: no toilets for those who arrive early... due to complaints two have arrived... No water point or water sale...
Then wait before the search 1h30 under the sun after having made us empty our water bottles...great...
Dig or overzealous or nothing...
Left luggage after the search....those who had umbrella seat etc... Asked to go to the left luggage...did not go there...
Then almost an hour piled up like sheep waiting for the release!
Concert at the top fortunately but there I was not too worried although the Pit A was much fuller than usual....
High Security in front of the stage.
Sale price on the spot no comment we are not all of the Rothschild family.
WC water point inside well.
Catastrophic exit 1 hour to leave the place and 40 minutes to reach the first metro station...
In short, long live the Stade de France!! We are not festival goers...
Cordially

I've been to many concerts at Stade de France.
Never had a problem.

Let’s see how the Olympics go.

I deliberately waited until today - three days after the show - to post my views. To comment in the most balanced and objective way I can on the performance.

Yes, the organisation, location, admission and exit arrangements were all poor. Way below what we should have to endure given the steep prices we pay to attend. The few stewards and customer service staff I dealt with were, at best, cold and impersonal. Some were downright rude, and that is allowing for the almost legendary rudeness one often encounters in that most beautiful of cities.

And what of the show itself? For me it was no more than adequate. No less, and certainly no more, than we should expect from a band - and an organisation - that charges a great deal of money for the privilege of seeing them play. I have been a Stones fan since 1964. since I first heard the swagger and strut of It's All Over Now on my tiny analogue transistor radio. But although a lifelong fan, I have never worshipped unquestioningly at their feet. Throughout the course of many, many concerts, performances, recordings and record releases, I have been underwhelmed just as often as I have been overwhelmed by The Stones.

This very uncertainty, is of course, part of the fun. The 'will they, won't they?' question that inevitably, for me at least, surfaces before every concert I attend. This time was no exception. And this time the answer was certainly in the negative. Nothing ignited. Nothing soared. Nothing lifted me up and made me want to cry out with delight. All these things HAVE happened for me on several occasions over the years. But NOT anytime in the past ten years certainly. Maybe even longer. We have seen it all before. We have heard everything, or almost everything, they are ever going to play live. Yes it is great to hear 19th Nervous Breakdown after so very long.Yes it is great to have Out Of Time unveiled for us. And I have no problem with Like A Rolling Stone, as I have not heard it played to death like so much of their 85% static set list. Even when the warhorses are played well, which they were here in Paris, they are still vastly overused. For the money I paid to attend, I feel that one is certainly entitled to experience rather more that just another walk through a set list I can now, almost, recite in my sleep.

I realise, and totally respect, the fact that for many of those in attendance, the warhorses can never be over-used. They will punch the air, cheer and holler, sing out the lyrics like their lives depend on it. Good luck to them.

I have seen five concerts on this latest tour. Paris was the last. And not just on this tour, but forever. Sadly I now get far more pleasure from playing those tracks that are still fresh, still exciting, still capable of delivering that frisson of excitement I feel when The Stones really start to cook, to thrill, to push at the boundaries, and to remind us that they were once innovators who blazed a trail for so many others to follow.

Sixty years is a very very impressive number of years to be out there doing it. And it is a nice round number to maybe go out on. It certainly is so for me....

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mattleeuk
I don't always watch my videos back but I just watched Jumping Jack Flash from Paris and I was rather pleased with it! 99% focusing on the main action, smooth transitions, some nice tight shots so you feel like you are right there etc...

Jumping Jack Flash - Paris

I upload full songs every show so if you haven't subscribed (for free) please do so and you can get notifications when I put up new songs. Everyones positive response makes the videos really enjoyable to do. Thank you

Yeah! This is really great. Are there more Paris videos to follow, Matt?

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GerardHennessy
Nothing ignited. Nothing soared. Nothing lifted me up and made me want to cry out with delight. All these things HAVE happened for me on several occasions over the years. But NOT anytime in the past ten years certainly. Maybe even longer.

Agreed, I also feel this way when they play some of the songs nowadays.

To me this is the sound of a band going through the motions... Almost bored with their own song.





Often find myself going back to watch the band when they still played with some passion.

You can say anything you like, but saying they don't play with passion is not an opinion. It's just wrong.

if you read French and like philosophy and physics, this piece if for you

philomag.com/les-rolling-stones-une-alchimie-quantique-par-etienne-klein

"Les Rolling Stones, une alchimie quantique", par Étienne Klein
Étienne Klein publié le 25 juillet 2022

Étienne Klein ne peut pas se passer des Rolling Stones. Il a assisté à leur concert parisien, le 23 juillet dernier, et nous explique selon quelles lois physiques paradoxales « les Stones » ne souffrent pas du passage des années. Au contraire !



« Les plus grands sont les plus grands. Et vous savez qui ils sont »

Keith Richards



Keith Richards a composé Gimme Shelter lorsqu’un orage s’est abattu sur Londres, un jour de l’automne 1968, soit peu de temps après l’écrasement du Printemps de Prague, l’assassinat de Martin Luther King et alors que la guerre du Vietnam continuait de faire rage. Voir et entendre aujourd’hui les Stones interpréter ce chef-d’œuvre sur fond d’images de villes ukrainiennes détruites par les bombardements de l’armée russe produit un effet bouleversant : l’histoire ne cessera-t-elle jamais de se répéter ?

Assister cet été à un concert des Stones, à Hyde Park, Lyon ou Paris, c’est découvrir qu’ils ont un point commun avec Albert Einstein, celui de nous avoir appris des choses décisives à propos du temps : le père de la relativité a démontré que le temps physique est relatif et non pas absolu, tandis qu’eux ont d’abord inventé une nouvelle façon d’être jeune, puis une nouvelle façon d’être vieux. Ils arriveraient même à nous faire croire que le cours du temps vécu serait en partie réversible.
[...]
Il est donc bien des situations où ni le temps ni l’espace ne font quoi que ce soit à l’affaire, et les Stones en sont la meilleure preuve à l’échelle macroscopique.

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yeababyyea

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GerardHennessy
Nothing ignited. Nothing soared. Nothing lifted me up and made me want to cry out with delight. All these things HAVE happened for me on several occasions over the years. But NOT anytime in the past ten years certainly. Maybe even longer.

Agreed, I also feel this way when they play some of the songs nowadays.

To me this is the sound of a band going through the motions... Almost bored with their own song.





Often find myself going back to watch the band when they still played with some passion.

That Twickenham clip is amazing; the urgency and energy of the entire performance from start to finish is breathtaking.
I was in attendance at that show, and have vividly fond memories of every show I attended that tour.
There's no denying that they were clearly a different/superior band back then in many ways.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Mewling, pathetic, negative, cloth-eared nonsense, without any basis whatsoever.

I really like the blabbers here, mimi here, mimi there... enjoy your frustrating lives. Have seen close to 25 concerts and enjoying every minute. Who gives a shit on this permanent whining? I don't. The Rolling Stones are still the Greatest. I'm grateful to live to see the band. They still make a lot of people happy. I'm happy too.

"Mimi"? You mean "mini"?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-07-26 17:13 by Topi.

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MadMetaphoricalMax
Mewling, pathetic, negative, cloth-eared nonsense, without any basis whatsoever.

That is rather harsh, and is, in truth, just as much a personal opinion as are those of us who have posted our own differing views.

Surely we all have a right to hold our own different views without being subjected to quite personal attacks. In my own posting earlier I made a point of respecting the views of anyone whose opinions differed from mine.

The simple fact is that different people will always have different views. Mine are no more, or no less, valid than are yours. I would never descend to personal attacks or critical comments about anyone who felt different to me. Those very differences are what make music so fascinating. There is no way on earth to define music in absolute terms. A single, irrefutable, universally agreed way to define what is great or what is not. What is uplifting. Or what is not.

Surely we can respect our differing views without rancour or attack?

Enjoy The Stones whenever, wherever, and in whatever way works for you. And always keep the faith!

I enjoyed reading your review GerardHennessy - thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
And while I don't necessarily agree with all of it, I do respect and appreciate your perspective.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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PaintMonkeyManBlack
You can say anything you like, but saying they don't play with passion is not an opinion. It's just wrong.

I beg to differ fellow-fan. There can never be one single, defined, universally agreed definition of what is right or wrong in music. There can certainly be as many different OPINIONS on that point as there are people in attendance at any concert. And beyond it too.

I get no pleasure, or sense of superiority from saying I thought the performance in Paris was average. I did not go to the expense of travelling quite some way, and pay what I did for tickets, to end up feeling rather disappointed. It is the fifth concert I went to on this tour. Not what you would expect from someone who simply wants to find fault, especially given the costs and effort involved.

If you feel differently, good luck to you. As a Stones fan I am genuinely thrilled you did not have the reaction I had. I waited for three days to post my views to ensure I was being as balanced and fair as I could be in what I wrote. But what I said, and what others have said in response, constitutes the honest, genuinely held, views of different people. All of whom heard what THEY heard. Enjoyed - or not - what THEY saw. And hold the views THEY now hold. And rightly so.

Just a question, GerardHennessy, which other shows did you see on this tour and how do you compare them / can you compare them, performance-wise?

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icke66
I really like the blabbers here, mimi here, mimi there... enjoy your frustrating lives. Have seen close to 25 concerts and enjoying every minute. Who gives a shit on this permanent whining? I don't. The Rolling Stones are still the Greatest. I'm grateful to live to see the band. They still make a lot of people happy. I'm happy too.

Why are those of us who hold a different view a 'blabber'?. Or categorised by you as 'permanent whining'?

Good luck to you if you continue to enjoy the band. And their performances. Clearly if you have been to twenty-five or more events you are a highly committed fan. You are in it for the long haul. I am genuinely happy that you still consider them to be The Greatest.

I wish I did. Like you, I have also been there for the long haul. Attending Stones concerts for over 40 years in more countries than I can remember. I am not claiming to know more. Or hold a more valid opinion. Just an equal opinion to those who feel differently to me now. I got no pleasure from what I experienced in Paris. No joy, or desire to moan about it. In truth my main feeling was one of sadness. Sadness at what I felt was missing.

In posting my views here I intend no disrespect to anyone. Least of all the band themselves. They have given me an enormous amount of pleasure for over 58 years in my own case. I sincerely hope they continue to do so in your own case for years to come...