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The Performance
[Rating:5/5]
What a raw, sizzling performance from The Rolling Stones. Shot for US television in 1971 shortly after the band completed their 1971 Farewell Tour of the UK and a month before the release of their now classic 1971 album Sticky Fingers (a special edition of Sticky Fingers is also being released alongside this release), this rarely seen performance at London’s Marquee Club has bee resurrected from a two-decade slumber in an attic and is now coming alive once again on Blu-ray (and CD and DVD) courtesy of Eagle Rock. A rare small club performance for the band, which at this time consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman.
The show marks the live debut of four of the iconic tracks from Sticky Fingers, “Brown Sugar”, “Dead Flowers”, “Bitch”, and “I Got the Blues”. There’s an inherently laid back feeling to the performances, even during “Midnight Rambler” that is not present in some of the band’s other concert video performances, such as Ladies & Gentlemen... or Some Girls Live. Perhaps the newness of the material and the fact that they were offered opportunities to do multiple takes (see the supplements section of the review below), freed them up.
Tracklisting:
- Live With Me
- Dead Flowers
- I Got The Blues
- Let It Rock
- Midnight Rambler
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
- Bitch
- Brown Sugar
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
This SD Blu-ray release from Eagle Rock is obviously not going to be up to the standards of true high definition or film sourced production being an original SD video source, but that said, this is one of the better looking transfers in this series. It is relatively clean and close-ups yield a reasonable amount of detail. The concert is encoded in AVC 1080i/60 and framed at 1.33:1.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The audio is a big step up from the video, not surprisingly. The perfomance has been remixed by Bob Clearmountain and Eagle Rock offers the concert up on Blu-ray in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (96kHz/24-bit) and LPCM 2.0 (96kHz/24-bit) options. The 5.1 mix places you in the small venue with lots of ambience and in the surround channels and somewhat boomy LFE and great stereo separation cross the front channels. The separation remains great in the stereo mix, but it sounds less boomy and bit more balanced. If you want that bad club sound feel, the 5.1 mix is probably the way to go, but for better sonics overall, then the 2.0 track is the better option here.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
- Booklet with liner notes, photos, and credits.
- CD of original show and bonus tracks.
- “I Got the Blues” Takes 1 & 2
- “Bitch” Takes 1 & 2
- “Brown Sugar” (Top of the Pops) (LPCM 2.0 48kHz/16-bit)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
A fantastic classic Rolling Stones concert taken from their Sticky Fingers era captures them in a rare, intimate setting. The sound is authentic to the club venue, maybe not the greatest, but it rocks thanks to Bob Clearmountain and the high-resolution lossless tracks provided on this Blu-ray set.
Additional Screen Captures
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