This show was buried by the Stones themselves for almost 30 years... let's examine the legendary Rock and Roll Circus, one cold night in December of 1968!
It was to be said over the years that it was Brian's lack of input and energy that led them to shelve it. But The Who sure did have a reputation of making others feel intimidated.
i bought it when it first came out and there is a scene with Lennon's kid enthusiastically puffing on a joint. I wonder if that scene is still included on the later pressings of the movie.
@@arricammarques1955 I absolutely love their 1968-1969 period. If friends of mine are just getting into them or want to know a little bit more about them, I show them that video.
Dude EVERY SINGLE WORD you said about The Who was 100% spot-on. Respect. I had a similar experience when I first saw this in 1996. It was my first exposure to them and it blew my mind. They’re now my all-time no. 1.
@@raycritchell8225 Nah man The Who were on another level. Daltrey was SUCH a better singer and The Who’s songs were just more interesting. I mean, it’s all opinion. That’s no disrespect to Zeppelin, who were obviously great in their own right. But Plant gets on my nerves and the band was at times very self-indulgent. But you know, to each their own. I just like The Who band members & songs better. Cheers
@@raycritchell8225.. Oh no way bro!! Caught both bands in the 70s Led Zep was great but The Who was fucking a 1000% times better man.. and did i mention my ears are still ringing.. Zep put on a great show good vibes and all but The Who blew the stage up! The Who set the bar for live performances that has not been matched yet.. love Zep but The Who all day on this!!!
Tony Iommi was already in Black Sabbath (it was called 'Earth' at the time) when he got invited to play for Tull. He felt wrong in his new band and left to re-join Earth, but the experience taught him how professional bands do things. He came back and really cracked the whip and made Sabbath the band we all know.
sounds about right- i heard / thought he decided tull were 'a bunch of hippies' and after a couple of weeks he'd had enougha nd wanted to go back to playing the heavy stuff with sabbath?
If you remember that Sabbath did an impromptu reunion for Live Aid in 1985. Jethro Tull was also there and if you look closely at the background during the performance, you'll see Tony Iommi in the background with his guitar on jamming along with Tull. At the time I didn't know why, until many years later when I found out he had been a Tull member once.
...i heard Mr I speak not unfondly of his lil slip of time in Tull in some damn Sabbath doc...i wonder why they lip-sync'd?...anybody? (& dont go makin no sh*t up cause my fone can SMELL it & she"ll sic th g*ddam illuminati on yr ass)...
it's my favorite festival of all time. And I really don't know what do you mean by "Stones' uneven performance". The show is freaking brilliant, Jagger is clearly deep in his element and Richards two solos on Sympathy For The Devil are some of the coolest stuff he ever played. Also, the band looks fantastic. I mean, they all look like they jumped out of a Disney Horror movie or something. Simply amazing.
@@muchanadziko6378 Their shows in the seventies, especially with Mick Taylor are a lot more refined. I love the Stones but The Who’s performance here is miles ahead on an instrumental level and energy level. I’ve always thought the Stones never hit their peak until after the Beatles disbanded so I’m totally biased. You should watch A Quick One While He’s away from the special if you haven’t.
The Who's performance blew everyone else off the stage! It's always been one of my favorite performances to watch. I saw the movie The Kids Are Alright in the theater in 1979, that was definitely one of the highlights for me. At one point, there was talk about selling the Rock and Roll Circus movie to The Who, retitling it "The Who's Rock and Roll Circus." This was no doubt due to the fact that nobody could have followed The Who's performance in the movie.
I still have the VHS tape I bought back in 1996 when it came out. The Who definitely blow The Stones off the stage. Another interesting tidbit of info is that Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi was playing guitar for Jethro Tull on the show. Plus, the Dirty Mac, the supergroup led by John Lennon, put on a great performance as well.
I am a huge Who fan. They were astounding in this performance, and they are the greatest live rock band of the classic era. I like the Stones- they are fantastic. This isn’t to diminish or insult the Stones. But let’s be fair. In this case The Who were incredible. And they didn’t even perform any of their big hits up to that point like My Generation , Can’t Explain, Anyway Anyhow, Happy Jack, Pictures of Lilly, I can see for miles etc. They performed a little known mini opera “ A quick one” and blew the roof off.
I listened to the rock circus the first time it came out (on dvd), in a big record store in Paris. i was around 19yo i watched the whole thing, When i saw the Who it blew all the others away. powerful and mesmerizing.
I agree it was excellent although the live version on the 1972 tour with Mick Taylor is the best in my opinion. I’m -partial to the extremely gritty version of “Parachute Woman” on Circus.
Yer blues in this is just amazing, infact it's so good you can barely even notice Yoko getting stuck trying to put the sheet on a bed at the side of the stage.
When “The Kids are Alright” was first released in theaters (I think it was Fall 1979), I went and saw it the day it came out. It featured The Who performing “A Quick One” on The Rock and Roll Circus. Seeing that on the big screen was one of the most pleasurable experiences in my life.
I too was BLOWN AWAY when I saw the Who’s performance. I said to my wife “ I wouldn’t want to be the band following THAT show” WOW. the Who were AMAZING!
I absolutely love The Stones version of Jumping Jack Flash and Salt of the Earth from this project. If you take them for what they are and take a deep listen you can hear the magic.
This guy is FoS! Brian Jones was fine on this night --- just watch the video. And the favorable takes on Tull far outnumber the negatives on all other critiques of their performance. He got the Who correct at least as all reports had them stealing the show.
Yeah course he plays great. The notion that he couldn't play guitar by then is bullshit. His sense of touch and rhythm was the whole deal with their sound. I believe they did Route 66 at this show too. Wonder what the two guitars sounded like on that. Also on Parachute Woman it's possible to hear a trace of Brian's guitar I think even though it's buried probably intentionally.
"No Expectations" has really become my favorite Stones song. The lyrics were top notch, Waters/Wyman are perfectly in the groove, Keith is holding it steady with the rhythm chords, Jagger is elegantly bluesy, but Jones is just killing it with his slide riffs. I still watch this performance on RU-vid far more than any other by the Stones (and I do love the Mick Taylor era very much).
Brian played some great slide but he could barely keep his guitar in tune on the other numbers and was demoted to maracas, besides with Brian's drug busts he wasnt getting a Visa anytime soon to tour the states, which is why he got kicked out of the band.
I attended the recording at Wembley having got the tickets by applying to The New Musical Express for the tickets on a first come first served basis. Stayed to the end, long boring periods with things being set up but the performance where amazing. Privileged to have been so close to those sixty icons even managed to sneek out the floppy felt hat as a memento.
I loved the performances...I showed this to my very young children on many a night and introduced them to Daddy's music...the whole circus vibe worked its magic on them
@@daveglover6115 He wasn't enjoying it. The night before he was trying to get out of being in it. There is a pic in this video that shows Brian crying. So sad. Look at the pic at the 9:27 mark and see the tears.
When 'The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus' was released, I worked for an FM Rock Station in my hometown here in Brasil. We had it in laser disc. My boss made a copy on HQ VHS and a workmate was blown away by The Who's performance. And he was a Black Sabbath fan! Of course, as a Who-head I had already watched it on 'The Kids Are Alright' documentary.
Great little segment on this historic, if somewhat extravagant and ragged moment in rock history… I remember seeing the DVD in the store for the first time, having never heard of it… And bought it immediately. Was also pleasantly surprised to find out that this was filmed on the occasion of my fifth birthday (December 11, 1968). Yes, the Stones’ performances were a bit uneven - and I was quite shocked to see it just how out of it Brian was - seems they didn’t have his guitar plugged in most of the time. But yeah, The Who really did steal the show - the most incendiary performance of “ a quick one” I’ve ever seen! A must watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet…
...and please do us a favour and make an episode about The Who and their live performances in the 70's. You got your heart on the right place for that! I got on the same fan-journey as you when I heard the "Live at Leeds" album. So powerful! A bass player who seemed to play rhythm guitar simultaneously with his bass, a guitarist who plays solo and rhythm guitar in one strumming... while he jumped around and fell on his knees without any disturbance in accuracy... that all was unbelievable for me as a teenage musician
Hello. I just discovered your channel with this video and have subscribed. In 1968 I was 11 years old and had been playing guitar and singing for three years. I was hugely into rock music among other styles and was closely following the music of the bands that performed in the Rock and Roll Circus. And now, thanks to you, I'm finally learning the back story of the Circus and the many details you included about what went on and the reactions of the other musicians. I found the info you provided fascinating and I really like your presentation. I'm looking forward to checking out all your other videos. Thank you!
A Quick one totally amazing the best performance I’ve ever seen from any rock band in my life, just the way they sang at the end was quite stunning Johns voice petes voice and Roger was perfectly matched god bless them 🍀🏴👍🙏
Moon was magnificent. If you get a chance check out Gene Krupa on RU-vid. He played with Benny Goodman in the 1930' s and was first charismatic musician. Moon could be his son you can't take your eyes off moon. He was incredible.
@@brianmiller5265 people always put John Bonham at #1 and Moonie at 2 or 3. But for me he’s the greatest rock drummer ever. For a lot of reasons not one being his “technical “ ability. Moon put rock drumming as a lead instrument, as a player and showman. Nobody had his personality or showmanship. His speed and fills are legendary. Tommy changed rock drumming forever. Then Who’s Next and Quadrophenia showed his virtuosity. But for me his best was on By Numbers. By the time Who Are You was made he was on the decline from years of abuse but still solid. I always wondered what would have happened had he started to take care of himself and lived and The Who continued on with him. Would have been spectacular.
At 4:50 "this song was the first I heard from the Who that really got me into them... waaay back in the 90s...". Speaking as someone who thought he was late to getting into the Who in 77... that's funny. I completely agree that this ver of A Quick One is their best. If for no other reason just the acapella intro followed by a beat of silence then the loud start of Pete's guitar. That guitar opening (to me at least) is what separates it from all others (Leeds, Monterey). Another reason may be that it was the first live ver of that song I had ever heard (on the Kids Are Alright soundtrack in 79 (?)). Until then, I'd only heard the studio ver from the album. I got the VHS tape of the circus when it was released. I still maintain to this day that the Who is the highlight of the show. Imagine my extreme disappointment upon purchasing the Kids film (also on VHS) only to discover that, for some reason, their performance on the circus was cut down by half for the video. WTF? Was I imagining that I'd seen the full song in the theatre? With an intro by Keith Richards in top hat, eye patch and cigar? Turns out I wasn't imagining things. Why do people make horrible decisions like that? Aside from the Who stealing the show, I've always been a fan of Yer Blues. This ver with its superstar line up does not disappoint. However, after the high of Yer Blues one has to sit through the worst track of the day, Yoko. Nuff said about that crap.
I also heard from reliable sources. That richards.pulled an absolute fit. If he couldn't be included in the dirty mac. He wanted so very bad. To play in that supergroup. He threatened to not even play the show. He said..he would even play the bass.
Want to hear a see. A great..hortible reaction??? Go to you tube. Type in..John lennon.n yoko. Fill in as host. Of tge mike Douglas show. Early 70s... the day. They had on johns..boyhood idol.. Chuck berry.. John. Was so excited. Him n berry. Started jamming. Johnny b. Goode.. wait until yoko!! Playing her bongos... let's out numerous of her screams..lol...unbeknowst..to berry at the time.. the look on berry's face..is priceless..a must see...
LOL!!! Hell, I thought I was behind the times when I didn't hear the entire album "Tommy" until 1970ish. And probably only then with the advent of classic rock making its way onto FM radio signals (thanks college stations!) and the soon to be released movie of Woodstock. Talk about a moment in history. And all without the Beatles or Stones.
My dad recorded "A Quick One..." for me on a vhs and I played the shit out of it... I rehearsed it, playing it over and over again, like I was in the band at 6 years old.
When Mick and Keith watched the finished film they must have realized the game was up. I can imagine they wished they had not invited The Who.....one of greatest performances ever.
I loved The Who - but like you this totally turned me on to them when I snapped it up. Got it at the CD release, being somewhat of a Beatlemaniac at the time. I seem to recall that I had a "pirate" version of Yer Blues, so it was on my radar even back then. I still adore this album. Of course, it also widened my horizons; turned me into a Stones fan as well; despite their attitude to their performance. Parachute Woman was sublime, and IMHO that's the best version of Sympathy recorded. I didn't see the footage until much later, and I have to say I love it, not necessarily for the performances (though again, WOW The Who were TOTALLY smashing it!) but for the historical record and quality - and editing (love Peter Jackson; but can he actually make a short movie?) It's a pity it was canned for so long, and therefore not nearly well known enough now. Really was a spectacular event. But then, I love the Magical Mystery Tour film too, so I'm not perhaps the best judge of "British Invasion-Era" film.
Brian was so loaded he could hardly speak, Keith did not harmonize on Jumping Jack Flash, which I can't understand why? When Mick and Keith harmonized it was milk and honey, even live ,1972 in concert sweet Virginia for instance. Every band has a bad showing, when you watch ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones, you see the Stones true caliber, the greatest band.
When I was younger me&my friends had a VHS tape of Jethro Tull.I found it in my uncle's house.Any way ,We would only break it out only when we had LSD or mushrooms.The drummer Was awesome.flute man makes with his frog eyes contortid.Bends his body like a cartoon.Oh'yea I have to remember when he would go into a flute solo ha stand on 1 leg the other one was doing ballet.creepy dude...
I knew of this Rock and Roll Circus for many years and never thought the footage would ever be shown. When I finally did see it, decades later, I frankly found it dull and very disappointing from a musical perspective. But it's interesting in other ways, as you say. A very fair review with which I pretty much agree.
Nice overview of a 'legendary' performance. Re Brian Jones, the innovation he brought to the Stones is sorely underestimated. Their '60s catalogue is, in comparison to their 70s work, so full of sparkling musical touches that we must question what they lost when he left/died. Mick Taylor brought a new twist but, sorry Ronnie, you lost your sparkle when you embraced the grip of the Glimmer Twins. IMHO.
Many think joining the Stones was bad for Ronnie Wood's career. He was doing great stuff but wasn't a great guitar foil for Keith. I am sure they had fun. I trace it to a late nigjt ( Don Kirstners or Mid Special) with Stones promoting Goats Head snd the Faces at their party best. Keith sat in with Faces for a song I think Ronmie looked more like Keef than Mr Richard did
I got to see Ron Wood live with the Faces and Rod Stewart back in the day. He was playing a see-through clear guitar that I'd never seen before or since. He killed it. Great show.
I am not sure if Brian's contribution to the Stones was so important. But agree with you that Taylor boosted Rolling Stones sound and helped them to release their best albums. Ronnie has not added a lot of value to the RS and was more brilliant while playing with Rod.
If it wasn't for Brian Johns .Their would not be a Rock-N-Roll circus.That was Brians baby.He came up with the Rock-N-Roll circus.He made it happen...He wasn't dead yet...
Brian hated it. Just before rehearsals started he was begging to be excused. There are some pics of him with tears coming out of his eyes. Pete Townsend found him off in a corner crying. Very sad all around.
I got this when it was finally released and the dirty Mac is my favourite. Nice to see my all time favourite album behind you, Genesis live 73, most people don’t know about it and that’s a shame. Cranked up loud it’s still awesome by today’s standards I say.
Wow... I knew Tony Iommi had appeared onstage with Jethro Tull at the Rock'n'Roll Circus taping. But had NO idea Iommi went on to play with Black Sabbath. Mind blowing!
Despite all things ever said about it, until today I've never found a better Stones live performance than this one. Show me a more visceral Jagger performance or Richards sounding better than they did on Sympathy and I'll change my mind. Simply captured the best Stones era ever.
This was a great video! Found it very interesting. I don’t know if you take video suggestions, but do you think you could cover ‘Pink Floyd: Live At Pompeii’? I think it’d be interesting to see you cover it
You only got into the Who in the 90's? Dude you make me feel old and i look younger than you lol. Great video and it matters not when you listened, just that you did. Thanks Guitar Historian.
When they came to Detroit for their US tour they had no confidence and almost shelved it. They actually played at a local high school. Pete T loves the Stones he inducted them into the RR HOF. Don't start drumming up some competition between the Who and the Stones. The issue was Brian Jones. He was barely functioning and had to be fired.
As a teen back then, I saw all the great acts live. Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell, Hawkwind, Procol Harem, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Sly & the Family Stone, Donovan, Ralf McTell, Ritchie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Doors, Leonard Cohen, Rory Gallagher... Never got to see my local London band, The Stones but it was an amazing time to be around.
Saw Jethro Tull at Birmingham (UK) Town Hall in October 1969. I would have been 14 years old. I was apprehensive, because I'd watched The Stones in the Park on my gran's bakelite black and white TV a few months earlier, and they sounded exciting, but a bit of a discordant mess at times. I had no other experience of seeing rock bands live. So I was delighted that Jethro Tull put on a tight set - well rehearsed and a nice clean sound. As it was with most of the other bands I saw in my youth. I love the Stones, but I think they may have been a little bit chemically enhanced at the Hyde Park gig! ;-) It was an emotional occasion for them, so I can see why feelings would have been running out of control.
I saw the movie and there was so much energy bouncing off, it was more of a party than a concert. One of the earliest appearances of Jethro Tull was this movie. Great performances all around.
The high point was The Dirty Mac with Ivry Gitlis joining Clapton, Lennon, Richards, Mitchell “Whole Lotta Yoko” Clapton looking at Yoko wailing, and smiling, and Ivry trying to play with intention.
I bought that DVD just when it was released. It's a great video. I enjoyed seeing things being taken out of context and gently doing something out of the ordinary. There was no harm done, I still haven't seen this guy's view of this. I think I know what the reaction will be. I'll be back to say what I thought after I see this.
Arguably Tull soon became one of the best bands in R&R history and for quite awhile, their popularity in the rock and hard rock scene may have been eclipsed only by Zeppelin.
Tull outlasted Zep by yonks, even if their originality faded away. Locomotive breath is still on track, following the Stairway to Heaven. Grateful thanks to both bands.
@@Sidiqi Anderson took till into some suspect areas over the last few decades, but certainly their classic period places them way up there as a live and recording act. Less accessible than the Who, but a vital link in the story of rock.
@@TheGuitarHistorian Great Episode Honestly For Me It's Really One of my Top 5 Favorite Classic Rock Concerts Of All Time. The Who was At Their Best, I Love The Dirty Mac(Especially Eric Clapton's Solo on that 335 was 🔥🔥🔥🔥) and Most of All Come On!!! THE Best Version of Sympathy for The Devil Ever!!!! Jethro Tull's Performance Was OK But Early For Their Career Pre Agualung!!! Overall this was a Time Capsule of Rock History that People Need to Remember. You should do one on Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same Concert!!!!
New fan finding out what older fans already knew. I remember reading about the 'Circus' back in the day. It was claimed at that time that the reason it was shelved is the Stones performance was not up to snuff and the Who had literally blown everyone away with their performance. Pretty much what was said here. I did learn something new though. I had forgotten about Taj Mahal. Thanks for the video and story!
For 20 years I wondered why this tv special was withdrawn and never shown. Then I finally saw it thanks to youtube, and I said to myself, "No wonder it was buried, it stinks!" The Rolling Stones were drugged/drunk, the crew took too long to set things up, and The Who saw what was going on and said, "We go on now, or we're leaving!" By the time the Stones went on, they were sleep-deprived and tired. The Who upstaged everyone. As for the Stones, Brian Jones was too drugged/drunk to contribute much.
Whenever I need good head music, this is my go-to. All are gems. Up there with pink floyd and the doors, and most of the beatles music & others. Clears MY head.
@@kevinkhoy7171 you know what?! You make a great point. That certainly could’ve been part of his motivation for having her caterwauling performance included with a "supergroup".
I always thought this was one of the best Rolling Stones performances captured on film. Far better than the Hyde Park show that was recorded not long after that was readily available. Maybe because they were so exhausted but they kept going, there's something about it that becomes appealing. But Mick was on fire that night. His vocals have rarely sounded better. I'd argue the Circus version of You Can't Always Get What You Want is superior to the studio version, but that could be because I heard the Circus version first in the 25X5 documentary.
The Stones are on the Mt Rushmore of greatest rock bands ever. They are fabulous. But nobody on the planet could touch The Who live in that ten year era from 67-76. Don’t forget, the piece The Who performed here is one of their obscure works. This was before Tommy and Who’s Next and Quadrophenia and all the hits before during and after. The Stones performed one of their greatest ( if not THE greatest) and still weren’t as good. Please understand this is not a knock on the Stones. They’ve had more success and fame over their career than The Who has. But nobody was better live. I saw Zeppelin, Stones, Floyd, Dead all in their primes here at MSG in NYC. And The Who in 76 at the height of their game. The Who were superior to all.
@@michaelcavallacci2945 the Stones performed songs from an album that wasn't out yet. And Sympathy For The Devil is my favorite performance of that night. It's freaking amazing and Keith's solo guitar work is at it's sexiest and most powerful.
@@muchanadziko6378 I understand. What I meant was - a Quick One is much lesser known that Sympathy is NOW. But at the time Sympathy was new I didn’t realize that. My fav Stones live song is Midnight Rambler from Ya Yas. Awesome. Btw I saw The Who last month at UBS arena here in NY. They were great really, at almost 80 yrs old.
People always say The Who blew the Rolling Stones off the stage, but come on, Jethro Tull totally kicked ass! They were the only band that lip synced, but their stage present definitely said, we have arrived!
Being a Beatles fan, I was well aware of its existence before 1996, and had the Dirty Mac's performance on bootleg. And I had read about Mick shelving it because of the Who's performance, so I thought it would never be released. Oh, my, when I saw the cd in a music store! I bought it immediately and still have it. Beautiful cd and packaging with a detailed booklet. Have to agree with the general opinion: great performances by Jethro Tull and the Dirty Mac, the Stones were good but not great, and the Who´s performance was truly outstanding from beginning to end. Perhaps it's a corny song, but it sounds amazing; I used to listen to it at full blast. A bit later I got it on VHS, but before that, here in Argentina they showed it at the cinema!
The fact that The Who performed a relatively new , obscure, semi - wierd piece and not one or more of their well known songs up to this point ( My Generation, Can’t Explain, Anyway Anyhow, Happy Jack, Pictures of Lilly, Kids are Alright, I can see for Miles etc) and blew the doors off the place is incredible. In the next 10 years they put out Tommy, Leeds, Who’s Next, Meaty Beaty, fucking Quadrophenia!, Odds and Sods, By Numbers, Who Are You and The Kids are Alright. Nobody touched them live in their prime and I mean nobody.
I waited a longtime for this release. I actually have it on bootleg before it was officially released. The Who were the best. The Dirty Mac were great but Yoko just ruined a flawless overall performance of the film. The Stones could have been better but they were still good. Brian Jones’ last performance ever.
Good channel. I was a teenager during these times saw allott of concerts in Detroit and the Toledo sports arena. Org 3 piece James gang ;; Johnny winter. My all time favorite band mountain !;!!! Saw them at the masonic temple in Detroit earley ,70;s. Thanks for the memories. Tull were excellent at cobo hall in Detroit. Martian Barr 1 of the better guitar players I have ever seen.
The Stones had been up for almost 24 hours and after the electrifying performance by the Who, Mick especially, felt they weren’t looking in their best light.
