There are a lot of concert dvds of the Rolling Stones that are gathering moss out there, but for the one that captures the band when they were at one of their absolute zeniths, this set from the Inglewood Forum from 1975 is what you’re looking for. The band was still in the afterglow of one of their best albums, It’s Only Rock and Roll, and they deliver a healthy amount of material from this album as well as from Goat’s Head Soup, Exile on Main Street and Sticky Fingers. Ronnie Wood was on his first tour with the band after leaving the Faces, and he fits in like a secret club member, mixing licks and attitude with Richards like they were old army buddies. Along with the band, you ‘ve got Ian Stewart/p, Billy Preston/key, Ollie E. Brown/perc, Trevor Lawrence/sax, Steve modela/tp and the perennial favorite, tenor saxist Bobby Keys who does wonders on “Brown Sugar.” Billy Preston gets a couple spotlights with a funky “Outa-Space” and soulful/gospel fested ”That’s Life.”
As for the Stones themselves, it’s important to remember that this was the period when “glam/glitter rock” was popular, so Jagger, never to miss a trend, is pretty dolled up but still sounds absolutely macho on the sinister “Midnight Rambler” and defiant “Street Fighting Man.” Richards gets off some great guitar licks on “Sympathy For the Devil’ and “Gimme Shelter” and Watts keeps the band driving like a lorry on “All Down the Line” and a nice Motowny “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” This disc captures the band when they ruled the world with an iron fist and there were no rebellions in the land.
Eagle Vision DVD