Before I get too deep into my thoughts on Crossfire Hurricane, I’d just like to point out one thing:
Mick Jagger, Accidental Endorser of:
?!
So, last night I watched Crossfire Hurricane, the new documentary about the Rolling Stones. I highly recommend it! It’s full of not-so-glamorous glimpses into the rock & roll life, especially in the 60s and 70s. Not to mention, some great live performances and interview clips.
Some parts that were interesting to me:
At one point, Keith said that “Midnight Rambler” was the “essence of the Jagger-Richards collaboration”…in his opinion, every other song they wrote could’ve been written by someone else, except for “Midnight Rambler” – something about making an opera out of the blues. I thought that was really cool, and it’s given the song a cool perspective for me.
It’s also held up quite well over time.
Another song they do that I absolutely love is “You Gotta Move”…I mean, watch that and tell me they’re not an amazing blues band.
The bit about Altamont stuck with me too. It’s such a shame that that concert ended so negatively, and that the violence was tied to the Stones just because they played the final act. Reading Pete Townshend’s book too, it seems like a lot of bands at the time were “assigned” these reputations from the media (e.g. “The Rolling Stones are the wild and dangerous version of the Beatles” or “The Who are loud destructive lunatics”), when in fact they viewed themselves quite differently. Just interesting to see it from the musicians’ point of view.
And that’s why you should watch this documentary.
It’s late and I’m tired, but it’s a holiday weekend so I’m expecting to go a little blog-crazy over the next few days. I’m slowly getting through Who I Am, and have some great quotes to share already. Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader(s?)!
