The Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane

For the Stones Collector
I have now watched this four times on HBO and I intend to buy this on either DVD or BluRay or both. There are interviews and footage I have never seen and I have just about everything collectible where the Rolling Stones are concerned. For me, the highlight of this documentary is the alternate alternate version of Jumpin Jack Flash, which I have never seen anywhere and it beats everything else and I wish I could get clear, clean copies of every video of this classic Stones "comeback" single with Brian Jones. (Of course, the Holy Grail of The Stones performing JJF would be The NME Pollwinners concert of The Stones surprise appearance in 1968.) Surprisingly, the period with Brian Jones is handled objectively and, especially with comments by Mick, Keith and Charlie, with much sensitivity. Of course, there is the "Exile in France" period resulting in Exile on Main Street and the 1972 tour and frank talk about Keith's drug problems and so much more. Bill Wyman sounds like a wizened, old...

The stones deserve better - something like the Beatles Anthology
This is a good program, as far as it goes. But - one short DVD for the STONES??!!?? They require something more comprehensive, like the Beatles Anthology. Here's just a sample of what should have been explored: 1. their background in the British Blues scene. A stones history with no mention of Alexis Korner??!! 2. Background on Mick Taylor. No discussion of his playing with the Gods and John Mayall. 3. Again, background on Ron Wood and the Faces. 4. A huge problem is that the film ends with the beginning of the eighties. There is a whole other history which was not explored. By the way, contributions by Bobby Keys and other sidemen were ignored.

My basic complaint is the film was heavy on showbiz and scandal at the expense of the discussion of the music. For example, Keith's use of open G tuning gained from Ry Cooder. Their meeting with blues heroes would also have been a nice touch (they DID record at Chess in the '60s). Also, a film about the Stones with NO mention of...

Tantalizing but peculiar and incomplete look at the Rolling Stones
'Crossfire Hurricane' is a tantalizing but peculiar and incomplete look at the Rolling Stones. It's audio interview of the Stones' remembrances of their early days placed over some fairly compelling, illustrative footage. Most notably, we're told that "no cameras were allowed" (when recording the interviews). One can't help think that seeing the rockers up close - Jagger's now famous wrinkles, Richards' ravaged features - would have stolen more than a few measures of energy from the tales of their sixties and early seventies heyday. Jagger is as sharp a business mind as they come and Keith - to the shock of all - remembers everything (as his brilliant biography attests to). So, those restrictions come across as a calculated decision to me. Can't say I blame them, but it gives a production a distant, paint-by-numbers feel at times.

The production pores over their early 60s meet-up through Ronnie Wood's 1975 entry into the band. That means we get a deep dive through...

Click to Editorial Reviews