Rolling Stones: Shine A Light
The Stones' soundtrack to their collaboration with Martin Scorsese
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Monday, 07, Apr 2008 12:27
Universal, out now.
In a nutshell...
Timeless. Classics. Impressive. Mick Jagger.
What's it all about?
Following on from his Bob Dylan documentary, Martin Scorsese's new career as a director credible rock films takes another stride forward, with Shine A Light - a biopic about the legendary Rolling Stones.
The soundtrack of the same name as a film is a live double album which provides the perfect sound to the film, with tracks spanning the length of the band's career and showing what an amazing frontman Mick Jagger still is. Appearances from Jack White and Christina Aguilera catch many by surprise.
Who's it by?
If you've never heard of the Rolling Stones then, to be quite honest, you don't deserve this album! Lead singer Mick Jagger fronts the band formed in 1962 and, after several line-up changes over the years, he is joined by Ronnie Wood on bass and guitar, Keith Richards on guitar and Charlie Watts on drums.
As an example...
"I was born in a cross-fire hurricane/And I howled at my ma in the driving rain/But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!/But it's all right/I'm jumpin Jack Flash/It's a gas, gas, gas!" - Jumpin' Jack Flash
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
They've been there, drank the free booze and probably left the t-shirt somewhere the night afterwards. Maybe not this year, although the best soundtrack Oscar may be a possibility.
What the others say
"Like any live Stones album, this one is about the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band rediscovering how great they are." - The Rolling Stone
So is it any good?
A lot has been said about the Stones over the years. With their excesses, trails and tribulations, they are the ultimate rock band. It is, however, easy to forget exactly how good they are. It's only when you see them live, or hear a live album, that you truly remember that they still own their best band in the world title.
Shine A Light is not a stereotypical soundtrack. It is a recording of a New York gig in 2006 and it sounds great. Many live albums don't fully get the experience of a live act over, due to the sound quality. Shine A Light is the exception to the rule.
You just know that Richards and Wood are throwing great shapes, but without the creased visogs leering at you in HDTV pixel perfection the riffs can be a little too slapdash and mechanical at times. Other than that, it is how you would imagine.
The two disks contain all the classics - Jumpin Jack Flash, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Brown Sugar - and a few extras. Mick Jagger delivers more than a few electrifying performances, seldom sounding complacent, always exuding his roguish charisma. He swaggers through Some Girls and Tumbling Dice in inimitable cocksure form.
Guest appearances from Jack White (Loving Cup) and Christina Aguilera (Live With Me) add something different to the show with Aguilera's voice a stunning contrast to Jagger's gruff tones.
While just about every band on the planet has come and gone, the Stones have plugged away. Class is permanent and it shows.
8.5/10
Richard Fox