In November 1969, the Rolling Stones introduced themselves as the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” during their massive “1969 American Tour.” Nearly forty years later, it’s hard to strip the perennial rockers of this sobriquet. In Shine A Light, famed director Martin Scorsese blends footage from the Stones’ 2006 shows at New York’s Beacon Theater with archived interviews and recordings that pay tribute to the band’s longevity. The result is a dazzling rockumentary fueled by electric performances, which solidly refute Hollywood’s claim that this is no country for old men.
Scorsese, as usual, is brilliant. The film opens with a semi-scripted behind-the-scenes conversation between Scorsese and Stones front man Mick Jagger about the details that go into preparing for a concert. The sequence captures the backstage mayhem in the final moments before show time: Scorsese is filmed scrambling for a set list as the Stones are introduced. He receives the lineup just before the show’s start and hastily yells, “Set list … okay … first song!” On cue, the camera escorts the viewer to the front row as the music explodes.
The Stones’ opener, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” establishes an impressive energy level that only escalates as the evening proceeds. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Jagger has maintained his voice and stage presence: from the opening number through the encore, he is in constant motion and even bumps and grinds with special guest Christina Aguilera during “Live With Me.” To his credit, Jagger acknowledges the absurdity of the band’s refusal to stop acting young, joking, “It’s lovely to see you tonight. Well—I guess I’m lucky to be seeing anything at all,” just before singing lead vocals on “You Got The Silver.”
While Jagger steals the show, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, backed by Charlie Watts’ steady drumming, provide much of the concert’s high energy—their role is especially evident when Jagger leaves the stage for a couple of songs and Richards takes the helm. Richards’ voice and appearance betray his history of substance abuse, but his performance shows that he can still rock at a blistering pace. Richards’ sound is complemented by the equally alluring Wood, especially on “Start Me Up.” In one of the old interviews, when Richards is asked who the better guitarist is, he dryly responds, “We’re both pretty lousy on our own, but the two of us put together are better than ten.”
Shine A Light is more than a typical concert film, rivaling Scorsese’s much-lauded documentary of The Band’s last concert, The Last Waltz (1978). Rather than telling the story of the Stones’ career arc, Scorsese uses the archived footage to show why they continue to play—exhibiting their love of music and their desire to play rock-and-roll for as long as possible. Careful editing keeps the historical glimpses from disturbing the concert’s flow, and the clips provide the audience with poignant comparisons between the band’s past and present. But during the show, Scorsese wisely takes a step back and lets the cameras roll, letting the Stones’ performance prove that they still deserve to be called “the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.”
