Keith Richards, Medicine Man

Physician, Heal Thyself!
-- Jesus Christ

Given that the Stones have always tried to trump the Beatles--recall that John Lennon once blasphemed that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ--it shouldn’t be surprising that in a recent interview with GQ magazine, Keith had this to say, “Apparently, I do have an incredible immune system, I had hepatitis C and cured it myself.”

Speaking of Keith, many channels have been airing the Rolling Stones’ “Rock and Roll Circus” of late. Here’s my thumbnail critique. Jethro Tull, a band I wasn’t that crazy about, open the show and, arguably, “Song For Jeffrey” provides the best performance of the evening.

Next come The Who. Here is British pretentiousness in all its glory. Long before “Tommy” The Who had flirted with the concept disc idea on “A Quick One While He’s Away.” Many of the British invasion bands were very much influenced by the British Musical Theatre music of the late 19th century, Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas, for instance. One thinks of songs like the Beatles, “When I’m 64,” the Kinks “Sunny Afternoon,” and The Who’s “Happy Jack,” to name a few. Also consider “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Octopus Garden,” two of the worst songs ever written. Suffice it to say The Who do not acquit themselves well in this film. Never being a Roger Daltry fan, I had only to hear Pete Townshend sing to understand why Daltry was the lead singer.

Marianne Faithful can’t sing, she must have had other talents, and we’ll leave it at that.

Taj Mahal is cool, and it’s a chance to see some rare footage of Jesse Edwin Davis, Carl Radle, and Jim Keltner.

Then come the Dirty Mac Band. I’m unsure of whether Clapton is on speed or Heroin, since he variously looks paranoid and sedated. Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards hold it down nicely, as well they should with Yoko caterwauling like a dog hit by a car while this overplaying and under-amplified Israeli violin dude, Ivry Gitlis, chimes in with his cat-in-heat high seriousness. “Yer Blues” is not one of my favorites. It’s a classic case of trying to gild the lily by dressing up an American blues riff in the cloak of pseudo originality.

Then come The Stones. While the last 4 songs are from “Beggars Banquet” and “Let it Bleed,” they open with “Jumpin Jack Flash.” The song is quintessential British rock and roll. It’s a gas, gas, gas. “No Expectations is interesting in that Brian Jones (note the lobotomized glaze) plays slide guitar on a Gibson Firebird, while Keith plays the big Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar. It’s cool to see a side of the Stones that has rarely been filmed. For me, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” highlights why Mick Jagger is so influential as a front man. In retrospect, his shamanistic, tenor howl at the song’s end, and convulsively rhythmic pagan dancing throughout, conjures up the ghosts of sixties decadence at its high point—compare Mick’s romantic delivery of “Sympathy with the Devil” with the Maysles brothers’ 1970 footage (Gimme Shelter) of the hollow little man who sings this three years later at Altamont (note the psychopathic stares of the so-called Hell’s Angels bodyguard). But getting back to Jagger’s performance in “Circus,” he reminds one of Jim Morrison, Iggy Stooge, Joe Cocker, and Arthur Brown all rolled into one electric persona. When he rips off his shirt, he reveals the kind of manic, tattooed, anorexic arrogance that many bands would later emulate, but few would achieve. As with The Who set, Richard’s attempt to carry a tune on “Salt of the Earth” provides ample evidence of why Mick does the singing.

While watching the close-ups of Mick, I was struck by his perfect teeth. I thought the Brits conformed to the stereotype set by Austin Powers. I can only surmise that dental tourism began when those British invasion groups stopped on a secret island on the way over, perhaps Bermuda, and had their choppers overhauled.