Under Review: 1962-1966

The Rolling Stones - Under Review 1962-1966 is a 90 minute film reviewing the music and career of one of rock music's true giants during their formative years. The Stones are unquestionably one of the most influential bands the world has ever known; this

View from the other side

For the money a really good bargain. The people interviewed were all English and it was really interesting to get a European only slant on the Stones. Lots of performance footage but really would have liked to have seen some interviews with the Stones themselves. Most people interviewed seemed very authoritative and down to earth. A few in particular were lamenting the treatment that Brian received from the Glimmer Twins and rightly so. Without Jones there would not have been such a thing as the Rolling Stoners. August 3, 2008

Excellent musical documentary of the Stones!

Great dvd documentary of the Stones
during the 1960s. Item arrived on
time brand-new. December 26, 2007

"Under Review" under review -- 3.5 stars

A short, solid, engaging look at the first four years of the Rolling Stones.

Their story has already been told many times. This look, however, is unique in that -- after a brief history -- its focus shifts specifically to the songs, to the early covers they chose to record and release as singles, as well as the implications of those choices:

-- their selection of an off-beat Chuck Berry cover ("Come On") as their first effort

-- their subsequent inheritance of a Lennon/McCartney tune ("I Wanna Be Your Man")

-- the pure genius of fusing a Buddy Holly tune with a chugging Bo Diddley throb ("Not Fade Away")

-- the use of a a soul/country combination with Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now"

-- a retreat of sorts to Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster," heightened by Brian Jones' slide guitar contribution

This early cycle culminates with the first Jagger/Richards "original" called "The Last Time" (which, we learn here, actually owes a huge debt to "This Could Be The Last Time," an obscure tune by the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.

But after that, they were on their way compositionally speaking and launched into mostly originals, particularly the buzz-cut riffs and social commentary of "Satisfaction" and "19th Nervous Breakdown."

This analysis also covers their albums, from the self-titled debut through "Aftermath," and concentrates on a time when -- before heroin's omnipresence within the band, before the bum trip of Altamont, before the loss of Brian Jones -- the Stones were fresh and new, but no less intent on being pop star villains.

There's lots of fine, undershown archival footage of the group, and an especially menacing clip of Chuck Berry.

The London blues scene of the early 1960s is also given a quick overview, as are the Stones' fledgling American tours and the controversies calculated by their manager Andrew Oldham.

Plus, you get to hear road manager Tom Keylock go off on a long, unsettling digression about how early (female) audiences left theater seats soaking wet after shows.

This is another sturdy installment by the "Under Review" series and if there's a glaring weakness to this episode (and to the series in general) it's the use of the narrator. This time the speaker -- a woman with a sleek "Avengers"-y British accent -- offers comments here and there and though she may be the coolest chick I've never met, there's something about her delivery that suggests she never bought a Rolling Stones album in her life. The best chapters in this series completely eschew narration.

Still, this quick look at 1963-1966 makes me hopeful they'll follow it up with 1967-1973 at some point. May 27, 2007

Very enjoyable, but a little dissapointing

I enjoyed the DVD and it was very insightful about how The Stones started out and how Brian Jones was the driving force behind the band. However, the live performance clips were short, and just as they would grab your attention, it would cut off to someone giving commentary. Although, the commentary was very interesting and came from British rock experts and people who worked with The Stones as well. I was looking forward to hearing early interviews with the band, as the product implied, but there wasn't any. These set-backs aside, the DVD is wonderful for a history on the Rolling Stones. April 20, 2007

the stones are born

i enjoyed this dvd. the live clips were a little short,but it was interesting to see how they started. i recommend it for a history on the band. March 9, 2007

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