When They Were Young

Last weekend, Maya and I were flipping through the channels one evening, and what did we behold?  John Lennon, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Mitch Mitchell jamming on blues riff with Yoko Ono wailing on the mic.  To top things off, there was a guy on the violin trying to play along with Yoko’s, um, screeches.  Maya wanted to know if Yoko was serious with the way she was screeching, and honestly, I didn’t know the answer.

What we were watching was The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus – a show conceived by Mick Jagger and filmed over the course of two days in 1968.  The show wasn’t aired after filming, and for a long time the footage was tucked away in the “archives” of the Rolling Stones and The Who. Why The Who?  Well, the “Circus” was a themed show set in a big top that had actual circus acts and bands that Mick liked.  So, The Who was invited to be part of the show, and they did a great job – and most reviewers of the DVD have noted.  However, I thought that Jethro Tull and Taj Mahal were just rockin’ and, one thing I didn’t realize that, until I read the Wiki on it, was the following: 

This concert is the only footage of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi performing as a member of Jethro Tull; he was a member for only several weeks. It is interesting to note that while Ian Anderson’s flute and vocal were performed and recorded live, the rest of the band mimed to the album version of “A Song for Jeffrey”.

I think the thing that impressed me the most, was seeing these icons of rock in their salad days.  So young, so energetic, so creative, so unlike their public personae today (Well, for those who are alive, anyway).  The performances, as I said, were just solid.  So, with that, have a listen to a few from the album: 

Jethro Tull “A Song for Jeffery” (Listen HERE)

Taj Mahal “Ain’t That A Lot of Love”(Listen HERE)

The Dirty Mac “Yer Blues” (Listen HERE)

Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (Listen HERE)

–PK

About Ted

administrator

7 thoughts on “When They Were Young

  1. my mom gave me this DVD for Christmas, and I’m embarrassed to say that I still haven’t watched it. This is a good reminder 🙂

  2. Thank goodness you didn’t include Yoko Ono’s screeching. It’s too bad she was included in with talented performers.

  3. Taylor: You should watch that DVD very soon. It really surprised me.

    And ML…I couldn’t put Yoko up there for your listening pleasure because I want to hang on to the few readers that I have. 🙂

  4. Oh man, for whatever reason, I really do not like Yoko Ono and could never understand how she got to record any type of record.

    Jethro Tull, though, I would be interested in seeing. Again, I was exposed to them through my Dad, and I like them probably way more than most 36 year old women!

  5. The story I’ve always heard is that the reason the show was never aired was because Mick felt that The Who had completely upstaged the Stones with their absolutely un-freakin-believable performance of “A Quick One (While He’s Away).”

    The footage of “A Quick One” was used in The Kids Are Alright, although most releases only showed half of the song. The Rock And Roll Circus DVD – as well as the upgraded, totally essential The Kids Are Alright DVD – restore the song to its full length.

Comments are closed.

Previous post Book Review: Private
Next post Semi-Wordless Wednesday