Rolling Stones...

[Wooderson]

The Hyde Park gigs are being recorded. It's possible that they may do a Four Flicks-style box set that incorporates a number of shows, but the big release from the tour will be Stones In the Park II.

Though obviously with the start of Start Me Up overdubbed.

Interesting thta the reviews I read of the show all pretty much said that they'd been unimpressed with the televised footage from Glastonbury but enjoyed the Hyde Park gig way more than they thought they would.

Stones at the G is the biggest disconnect I can remember with experiencing it live and watching it on telly. I thought it came across quite poor on the Beeb if I'm honest.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Still not felt the inclination to watch it - I really don't want to tarnish my memories of pretty much a perfect evening. The stars aligned for me in all sorts of ways and even the best possible edit job and sound mix isn't going to capture an iota of what it felt like to be in the pit that night.

[Wooderson]

Still not felt the inclination to watch it - I really don't want to tarnish my memories of pretty much a perfect evening. The stars aligned for me in all sorts of ways and even the best possible edit job and sound mix isn't going to capture an iota of what it felt like to be in the pit that night.

Wise move. It has taken the sheen off it for me a little. Mick in particular is miles off the pace.

Its basically the opposite of U2, which contrarily comes across really well on re-watch.

[ThomThomDrum]

Stones at the G is the biggest disconnect I can remember with experiencing it live and watching it on telly. I thought it came across quite poor on the Beeb if I'm honest.

Is it just me or was it just fans who were in the thick of it that really loved what the Stones did, but most others found it "grand" "meh" or even worse?

Also I dont know anyone I spoke to who saw it on the box who thought it was good....The Beeb obviously did not do a good job here....everyone I spoke to had something negative to say. Even my Dad had a go saying they are "too old" for that lark.........made me laugh to hear him say that!

[Wooderson]

I was hardly in the thick of it mate with a baby asleep on me for the whole gig! Yet I thought it was a special show. Huge effort by the band in a bullshit-free performance and a setlist that I'd have difficulty in improving. It was a textbook showbiz performance from them.

That said a few people who's opinions I'd respect said it came across rotten on the BBC on the night. Viewing the footage myself since I can see why theyre so disillusioned. Its laugh out loud bad at times.

[The Nal]

I know a load of people who were gutted they weren't there after seeing the Stones on the Beeb. A couple had been before so they know it never transfers anywhere near as well. If it looks anyway great on the Beeb you know its a cracker of a show.

Fucking BBC. Here were are talking about TV coverage (yet again) and its now dictating how good or bad the gig was for the history books?! Even though they only showed half the gig from the halfway point? No momentum, atmosphere etc. A load of people sitting round listening to it on TV speakers.

I was there. We all were. It was a fucking monster of a rock and roll show. Couldn't give a fiddlers how it came across on TV.

Every year the issue with the BBC coverage is worse.

[Wooderson]

Its a fair point Nal. The BBC shouldnt dictate whether it was a good show or not... sadly though this might turn out to be the case. Outside of the tiny echo-chamber of devotees that were there, posterity will not "willfully ignore" the pro-shot footage on the night. Lets not hold back on this either, the TV footage was VASTLY inferior to the experience itself. Other recent "classic" shows have fared much better on re-watch. This only exposes how lumpen and tuneless it was at times.

[ThomThomDrum]

I was hardly in the thick of it mate with a baby asleep on me for the whole gig! Yet I thought it was a special show.

Very true.........

I dont know............. for me it was grand but nothing more. However, my position in the field was as bad as one can get, so I dont think my experience would be a fair reflection.

But saying that I do know a load of folk who were much further up the field, would not be the biggest Stones fans, and they all thought it was fine. Nothing more, but. No one was "wow, they really ripped it up"...........

Its one of those gigs for me that I find amazing how opinions and experiences differ.

If you look at the likes of Chic or Portishead, not one person at either gig has anything negative to say about them, be they fans or not. This says a lot to me about the those gigs. And the lack of consensus for the Stones? Well is that saying something else?

I just dont know..........

[The Nal]

Its a fair point Nal. The BBC shouldnt dictate whether it was a good show or not... sadly though this might turn out to be the case. Outside of the tiny echo-chamber of devotees that were there, posterity will not "willfully ignore" the pro-shot footage on the night. Lets not hold back on this either, the TV footage was VASTLY inferior to the experience itself. Other recent "classic" shows have fared much better on re-watch. This only exposes how lumpen and tuneless it was at times.

True. The start of 2000 Light Years in particular was well off looking back. But I didn't notice. I was still shouting my head off and dancing about at how heavy the riff and piano sounded compared with the record.

It hasn't changed my opinion on the gig at all. They memories are crystal clear. The TV footage is merely a reminder of the memories.

[jimmyt]

Pretty much everyone I know (in person!!) who wasn't there watched the Stones on the telly and all (without exception) were jealous as hell that I'd actually been there. That said, what I have watched from what I have recorded doesn't measure up at all to the gig I was at but then, seriously, when does TV coverage match up to being there?!

What the people in the Pyramid field shared in that night was special (oh, and I was behind the sound tower watching the screen for most of it and people were still dancing like loons, whooping at every chance and generally having a brilliant time) end of! Think about all of the truly legendary gigs of the past - how many do you think look as good on telly? I've watched the Woodstock film hundreds of times - It doesn't mean I "feel like I was there" or that I feel qualified to argue with people who were about which acts were the best.

Wooderson's U2 point is a valid one (as is the TV footage of the Blur gig at Hyde Park last year for anyone who made the mistake of standing on the left) but they only look good on telly because we know it was barely acceptable when we were there.

[CaledonianGonzo]

To be honest not much of the footage I've watched has been much cop. Bobby Womack suffered on a rewatch and despite Portishead being highly praised by everyone who was there I got bored halfway through and turned it off. Neil sang the praises of the way The Congos finished their set but the version of Fisherman that the Beeb broadcast was - shall we say - erratic at best.

I think there have been enough people in this thread and the 'top 5 performances thread' who enjoyed it to confirm that it wasn't a bummer of a gig. Unless we were all suffering from some sort of collective delusion.

[Wooderson]

The Stones was a triumphant, incredible show.

[Zoo Music Girl]

It looked like his scarf blew across his fretboard and got in the way of his hands :-D

Not the most auspicious start to the gig and it took him a few bars to recover, but after that I thought he was in pretty decent form and there weren't too many howlers, though I think Gary Clarke Jnr. got a bit confused during Bitch.

Immense versions of Gimme Shelter and the Rambler, mind.

Sound wasn't bad, just could have used a bit more welly. Not as good as it could have been, but not as bad as my worst fears about the sound in Hyde Park.

I thought the Gary Clark Jr moment was quite surreal. It must have been quite distracting to have them all standing around and grinning indulgently like mad old aunties

I haven't been able to watch the Glasto footage but the odd clips I've seen don't come close. The Nick Cave set on the other hand looks and sound almost as good as the real thing. Perhaps just an atmosphere thing?

[ThomThomDrum]

But a Glasto Classic in the same sense as Bowie, Blur or Shakey?

[Zoo Music Girl]

I'd put it up there with Blur personally. And I'm a huge Blur fan.

[russycarps]

But a Glasto Classic in the same sense as Bowie, Blur or Shakey?

Not for me, no.

It was a great gig, but lacked that extra "magic" (for me).

[Wooderson]

There was no singular moment like "Tender" or "Free World", no. Nothing even close.

But this was a different kind of 'event' really. This was a box-office ocean-worthy titan of a show. Bigger than Glastonbury has ever been before. There really wasnt much space for the soul to be stirred or for hearts to soar... at least from my perspective. There was relief but nothing approaching catharsis. Those other gigs you mentioned had that in profound abundance.

[Wooderson]

**Really don't wanna appear negative!**

It was a 10/10 gig for me. The best time I've seen the Stones play and one of the best shows I've ever seen anywhere. At times it was breathtaking. The jammarooney at the end of "Knockin'", Lisa Fischer's foundation shaking vocal solo and Keef 'n Ron's "Silver".

Loved it.

[The Nal]

Wasn't at Blur and not the biggest fan but there were a few tunes that topped anything I'd seen on the Pyramid before. Cant You Hear Me Knocking, Sympathy for the Devil and You Cant Always Get What You Want to name a few were up there with anything Macca or Neiler did.

Cant You Hear Me Knocking was a band in full on organic free flow.

Sympathy for the Devil was spectacular top end rock show.

You Cant Always Get What You Want stirred the soul for me.

Oh forgot Gimme Shelter! Duh.

Edited July 8, 2013 by The Nal

[Wooderson]

How good did Charlie Watts sound btw? That is one HEAVY soul brother.

[The Nal]

How good did Charlie Watts sound btw? That is one HEAVY soul brother.

Was one of the highlights for me. Seeing him really loving it after his reluctance to do it. He was having a Glasto moment all by himself.

[Wooderson]

No more than Jagger, Watts is a serious fucking athlete.

[Ed209]

I was stood up on the hill on the right, positioned to get the full brunt of the second speaker stack with a 6'5" view over the whole field - and in all my years I've never seen the pyramid field rock and shake like it did during satisfaction. It was unbelievable and a sight I'll take to the grave.

It may not quite have had the raw emotive quality of those other gigs, but it easily had the energy, and then some.

[ThomThomDrum]

I think one tune summed it up for me

Gimme Shelter.

Great tune and a good performance from what I saw, but Jagger was a bit limp from what I could hear and was been shown up by the female vocals throughout............But I suppose one does have to appreciate that her vocals are a massive, core part of that tune.......

But Jaggers lack of punch was evident to my ears...

[CaledonianGonzo]

Wasn't there either in 2001 or 2009, but I've seen Bowie, Blur and Neil many a time - and, yet, I can't really compare. Saw Blur a few days after Glastonbury in 2009 and it was a good show alright, maybe even a great one, but it was still several rungs down the ladder from anything I'd consider a transformative or soul-enriching experience.

But, as always and just as with Saturday, you had to be there.

FWIW I'm not even that big a fan of Rockin' In The Free World as a tune. Or Tender for that matter. Even a middling performance of Gimme Shelter is, for me, gonna trump either one.