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THE ROLLING STONES ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS (1968, released 1996). After legal troubles and musical slippage, the Stones recorded BEGGAR'S BANQUET, a return to their dirty blues vibe. The "Circus" was filmed as if under a big top with several friends appearing also, with The Stones naturally playing last. After viewing the footage, Mick Jagger shelved this indefinitely as He felt the Stones set was uneven and they had been upstaged by The Who. While The Stones aren't bad (especially on opener "Jumping' Jack Flash"), they weren't properly rested and original guitarist Brian Jones was barely functioning, so they don't come off very well especially on an embarrassing "Sympathy For The evil".
On the other hand, The Who are magnificent here; "A Quick One While He's Away" is performed with incredible ferocity. Also some decent performances by Taj Mahal and The Dirty Mac, a one off with John Lennon, Keith Richards (Bass and quite good), Eric Clapton and Mitch Mitchell. Sadly, Yoko Ono does her primal wailing on a couple of numbers and is a matter of personal. Also, a very early performance by Jethro Tull with Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi on guitar!
So, musically, not all home runs, but a good time capsule to see many rock stars younger or who have passed on since, like Keith Moon/John Entwistle (The Who), Brian Jones, Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Charlie Watts (The Stones) and John Lennon. ***
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