The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones Under Review: 1967-1969

Death-of-a-dream era churned out in a sleepwalk

Not so much a celebration of the Stones, rather an evocation of a capricious society: flower-power is out, Satan is in. This tempestuous era is documented quite vacuously by journalists dressed up in pseudo-academia, insisting upon the overnight transition from love to the dark side, by both band and hippified generation. This is predictably personified by the deaths of Meredith Hunter and Brian Jones. The accompanying rhetoric argues that the era died with them, yet they still have more life than this documentary. It wants to leave a footprint but fails to stamp discernment on to a story told countless times before and occasionally drowns in sycophancy. There is nothing here which hasn’t been heard or read before. Regrettably, even the purported “rare musical performances” aren’t enough to absolve it from mediocrity. There are no complete songs, just mere 30-second revisits to Rock & Roll Circus and One Plus One. This may all have been slightly mitigated if the film had committed to some better archive material, or more engaging personalities than the usual suspect journalists. As it stands, this addition to the series is neither particularly entertaining nor edifying.

hrome Dreams/Sexy Intellectual | CSIDVD 531

Reviewed by Laith Al-Kaisy
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