Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones and more

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones

1974. USA. Directed by Rollin Binzer. “The stars were lining up to enter the Ziegfeld Theatre for the glittering premiere of Ladies & Gentlemen,” Patti Smith recalls in her memoir Just Kids. “I was excited to be there. I remember it was Easter and I was wearing a black velvet Victorian dress with a white lace collar.” While inevitably tamer than Cocksucker Blues, Robert Frank’s more infamous chronicle of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 Exile on Main Street tour, Ladies & Gentlemen had a limited theatrical release and for decades remained largely unseen; today it is an indelible record of the Stones during the Mick Taylor years. Shot over four nights in Texas, and projected in Quadrasound stereo in an innovative attempt to recapture the auditory experience of an arena concert, the film’s tight set features the Stones’ plaintive cover of Robert Johnson’s Depression-era blues “Love in Vain,” and the countrified “Sweet Virginia,” with Mick Jagger on harmonica, Bobby Keys on saxophone, and Keith Richards on acoustic guitar. 90 min.

Archival footage of The Bach Choir recording session for “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

1968. Great Britain. Mick Jagger conducts the choir at London’s Olympic Sound Studios for The Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed. 6 min.