Thursday, July 31, 2008

Marty and the Stones


I missed Martin Scorsese's concert film of The Rolling Stones, Shine A Light when it had a limited run in IMAX last Spring. I wonder if my reaction to it might have been a bit different than my DVD viewing with the size and sound many times larger than life. But the concert film I saw didn't include much to leave a major impresion with me.

My biggest issue: Basically, I don't dig the Stones. The rooster posing of Jagger, Woods and Richards really has never done anything for me and the advance of age makes it even more ridiculous. The Stones as an institution plus the length of their legacy makes them stand out and seems to make everyone giddy. Even Hillary Clinton's mother goes kind of weak in the knees when she meets them in the film's prologue. Frankly, I don't really get it.

I do get the band. Charlie Watts is by sure one of the finest time keepers in the world. I've been a big Darryl Jones fan ever since I saw him with Miles Davis. Chuck Leavell brought a lyrical fluidity to Allman Brothers tracks like Jessica. Bernard Fowler is a great R and B vocalist. I guess I'm weird, but I would be more excited to see the Rolling Stones band than the three who take up the spotlight.

The prologue of the film feigns mass chaos and confusion in preparation of the filmed concert at the beginning of the film. What is the set list? Where is the set? What is the first song? To where Scorsese supposedly receives the set list at the last moment. The featurette on the DVD betrays the charade of Shine A Light's pre-concert preface. There is industry to the rehearsals and the filmmaking preparations.

There were a few minutes in the film I quite enjoyed. The breaks on the end of Just My Imagination were quite soulful. And Buddy Guy continues his reign as being one the coolest individuals left on the planet. Also, the vintage film clip interviews that Scorsese used as bumpers between numbers were entertaining and, of course, culled from the best stockpile possible. But mediocre tunes like She Was Hot and eh gads, wretched vocals from Keith Richards on You Got the Silver and Connection, which was mercifully cut off early did not enhance or expand their legacy, at least in my view.

With the Scorsese pedigree and his success in music related films like The Last Waltz and Bob Dylan: No Direction Home, I had hoped for something extraordinary. Perhaps a bigger than life and nearly as big as the Beacon Theater itself presentation in IMAX would have made this a different experience. But not being a fan of the band certainly is a factor. No form or presentation medium can ultimately transfrom the material if one can't really relate to it, I suppose.
posted by well-executed buffet at 10:10 PM
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