Rolling Stones 'Hot Rocks 1964 - 1971' all-star tribute concert: review roundup
The Rolling Stones "greatest hits" album "Hot Rocks 1964-1971" was the subject of an all-star tribute concert that took place on March 13, 2012, at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
As previously reported, the concert featured artists such as Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Marianne Faithfull and Ronnie Spector.
Although there were rumors that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards would attend, the concert organizers denied those rumors and told the media in advance that none of the Rolling Stones would be at the show.
Here is the show's complete lineup of performers:
Marianne Faithfull
Art Garfunkel
Rickie Lee Jones
Ronnie Spector
Rosanne Cash
Steve Earle
Taj Mahal
Marc Cohn
The Mountain Goats
Peaches
Gomez
Angelique Kidjo
Juliette Lewis
Jovanotti & members of TV on the Radio
Glen Hansard (of The Swell Season)
Rich Robinson (of The Black Crowes)
Carolina Chocolate Drops
David Johansen (of the NY Dolls)
Jackie Greene
Ian Hunter & the Rant Band
Jackson Browne
And here are excerpts from reviews of the concert:
From Rolling Stone:
The show featured Hot Rocks almost entirely in sequence, but Italian singer Jovanotti (playing with members of TV On The Radio) opted to perform "You Can't Always Get What You Want" with a youth choir. The kids have bedtimes, so they went on first. They earned huge applause from the moment they sang the opening lines, "I saw her today at the reception." If you closed your eyes, you would have thought you were listening to the album. They nailed the high harmonies and had everyone in the concert hall singing along.
Most of the earlier acts stuck closely to the Stones' original arrangements ... Steve Earle looked absolutely thrilled to have the chance to play "Mother's Little Helper," telling the crowd, "Marianne just sang the first song I ever sang in front of people. This is the first song I ever learned on guitar, which is why I'm so pumped." Earle played a country-tinged version of the tune, and it was a clear high point of the evening.
One of the wild card slots went to Art Garfunkel, who hasn't sung in public (to our knowledge) since he was sidelined by vocal paresis in the summer of 2010. The 70-year-old emerged midway through the night to play a stripped down "Ruby Tuesday." In a rare turn, he opted to leave his wig at home. "No hair tonight!" he joked. Garfunkel sounded somewhat throaty and fragile, but really not at all different than he has during the last decade. It was just one song, but hopefully Garfunkel's vocal troubles are behind him and Simon and Garfunkel can finally play their postponed concert dates.
As the night went on, the arrangements became more daring. The Mountain Goats delivered a jazzy, piano-based "Paint It Black" that brought the song's dark pessimism to the surface. Glen Hansard encouraged the audience to snap their fingers along to a moody, slow "Under My Thumb" that used a stand-up bass as the main instrument. Rickie Lee Jones deconstructed "Sympathy For The Devil" and played it solo acoustic, growling out the words as many in the audience provided the "woo-woo" refrain ...
The night wrapped up when every performer not named Art Garfunkel returned to the stage for a loose rendition of "Tumbling Dice."
From Billboard:
In the mix early on, Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes and his Gretsch guitar gave "Play With Fire" a delicate touch and Marianne Faithfull told the story of how Mick and Keith wrote "As Tears Go By" for her. In town to play shows at City Winery, Faithfull's voice is deeper than when she made "Tears" a hit in 1965, but her command has not diminished a bit in 47 years. Will her obvious musical offspring (both in voice and stage demeanor) Lana Del Rey have this kind of longevity?
The three strong women who followed all added oomph to the proceedings, beginning with Ronnie Spector's flirtatious and brassy go of "Time Is on My Side"; fiercely independent performer Peaches drew puzzled looks in her impossibly tight Ziggy Stardust-ian outfit and punk 'do, but her "Heart of Stone" pumped just fine; and actress-singer Juliette Lewis may have misplaced a lyric or two during her perfectly sassy reading of "Satisfaction," but she made up for it with a pro stage presence.
There were no magical cameos from Stones members at Carnegie Hall, but some of the concertgoers up in the nosebleeds may have been fooled for a second when David Johansen emerged. The ageless New York Doll is looking more and more like Mick Jagger, though a few lbs heavier. Wearing skinny white jeans and a baby blue t-shirt, the protopunk icon barked and raved just the right amount during "Get Off My Cloud."
After nine performances, including a twanged-up "Mother's Little Helper" from Steve Earle and a snarling "19th Nervous Breakdown" by Ian Hunter, the show entered into a more adventurous phase beginning with The Mountain Goats' slowed-down and semi-creepy take on "Paint It Black." It was a low-fi, indie folk shot in the arm for the show, which until then could have passed for one of those specials you see during PBS pledge drives."
From the New York Daily News:
Taj Mahal found the blues grind behind “Honky Tonk Women,” while Rickie Lee Jones wryly performed “Sympathy for the Devil” as Son House might — as a yowling, rural stomp ...
In fact, most the first half of the show featured too literal takes on the Stones’ canon. Ronnie Spector (on “Time Is on My Side”), David Johansen (on “Get Off of My Cloud”) and Ian Hunter (on “19th Nervous Breakdown”) played by the numbers, offering garage-style salutes to the clearly superior originals.
Since you can’t out-rock the Stones, it’s best to go at the songs with something fresh. Steve Earle did just that with “Mother’s Little Helper,” a song he said was the first he learned to play on guitar. He gave it a hard country edge. The Mountain Goats tore all the psychedelia out of “Paint It Black,” stripping it down to a spare piano and drum to haunting effect. Glen Hansard brought a busker’s energy and pluck to “Under My Thumb,” leaning into its flagrant sexism to make the point.
Some leaps fell hard. Jackson Browne de-sexed “Let’s Spend the Night Together” by performing it acoustically. He neutered it even more than Ed Sullivan did on his famous editing of the title line back in the ’60s. Thespian Juliette Lewis acted her way through a preening “Satisfaction.”
One artist earned the right to play things straight. Former Jagger girlfriend Marianne Faithfull offered her usual older-person’s take on “As Tears Go By.” The song, penned for Faithfull back in ’64, was the band’s first original composition. Faithfull also offered the harrowing classic she wrote with Jagger, “Sister Morphine.”
Inevitably, though, the night’s highlights went to those acts that took the biggest risks. Gomez performed “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” as Crazy Horse might, as an inspired dirge, enlivened by singer Ben Ottewell’s classic-rock rasp. Carolina Chocolate Drops went even further, offering an Appalachian folk take on “Midnight Rambler.” Such moments proved that in a great song you can find anything.
