The Rolling Stones – in Concert – l’Olympia, Paris – April 11, 1967 – Musicorama – RTL –
The Rolling Stones this weekend. An extended excerpt from their April 11, 1967 concert, broadcast presumably by RTL (or ORTF – calling for clarification).
I will be honest, this was my favorite period of The Rolling Stones; what you would most likely call “The Brian Jones era”, since Brian was not only founder but musical shaman of the group. He took the band out of their proto-R&B phase (as so many bands during the British invasion period were) and transported it to new and uncharted territory. His lasting impression on the band went for years after his death and, for me at least, each new Rolling Stones release was looked at with less and less anticipation over the years.
I’m not here to assess or compare The Rolling Stones of the 60s to The Rolling Stones of their last tour. It’s not fair nor is it appropriate. It’s often said that the first time you hear something it’s what casts the lasting impression on you from then on. For me it was It’s All Over Now and scraping money together to get their latest eps and singles (albums were a little out of my monetary league in 1964; weekly allowances being what they were at the time). And feeling truly shattered when Brian Jones died and never really recovering from it. But that’s just me and I form these attachments – it took a while for me to get used to Pink Floyd without Syd Barrett and I have yet to really be able to sit down and listen to an entire Beatles album without going through a horrible depression over the loss of John Lennon and George Harrison. Attachments are crazy things and they happen for all the weird reasons.
That said, this is vintage Rolling Stones – I never heard Ruby Tuesday in this early live context. For newer fans it’s raw and distorted and you can barely hear over the screams – stage sound systems were lousy then – I swear, most deafness is from terrible shrill sound rather than being overpowered. But it’s the rawness that captured us – the sheer power and the exhilaration – hard to draw comparisons now – but there are, believe me.
A little over 12 minutes – but it’s worth it. It’s what we grew up on.
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