Rolling Stones From the Vault: Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre 2015

Continuing their apparent bid to be the most documented rock band on DVD and Blu-ray, the Rolling Stones' latest entry in their burgeoning “From the Vaults” series is not all that dusty, hailing from 2015. The Stones—lead singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and drummer Charlie Watts—are captured live at Hollywood's Fonda Theatre (a relatively intimate setting compared to the Stones' usual arena concerts) performing a 13-song set that includes their entire 1971 album Sticky Fingers (older viewers will recall the Andy Warhol-designed cover featuring an image of jeans inlaid with a real zipper). On the plus side, the music is stellar, from the crowd-pleasing “Start Me Up” to the classic closer “Brown Sugar,” with many rarely-played songs in between, including “Sister Morphine” and “Moonlight Mile.” Other highlights include “Sway,” the beloved ballad “Wild Horses,” and “Can't You Hear Me Knocking',” the latter featuring Karl Denson on sax in place of the late, great Bobby Keys. Unfortunately, the show is routinely interrupted for interview clips with the Stones and others (Warhol legend Joe Dallesandro and some guy named Corey Tippin both lay claim to being the jeans-wearing model for the Sticky Fingers cover), which are entertaining (Richards no doubt rightly claims that Sticky Fingers was an album that was “soaked in drugs”), but these segments also break up the flow of the concert. Still, this is classic Stones, beautifully performed, in an excellent venue. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include an audio CD and bonus songs. Recommended. (R. Pitman)