The Rolling Stones: Just for the Record

This series tells the fascinating story of the Rolling Stones, a band whose professional career spans over 40 years. Born in a “hurricane of noise,” original Rolling Stones members Michael "Mick" Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts, each entered this world at a time of constant air raids in London during WWII, and the five-volume unauthorized The Rolling Stones: Just for the Record series speculates that the relentless noise of the sirens and bomb blasts influenced the band in utero (the fifth Stone, Bill Wyman, was born in 1936). Heavily influenced by rhythm and blues greats such as Muddy Waters, the group took their name from a Waters lyric, premiered in a pub called “The Bricklayer's Arms” and the rest is history…and a rather long one at that. Each volume encompasses a decade of the Stones' history, featuring interviews with friends, promoters, recording engineers, back up musicians, fans, and former Stone Mick Taylor, as viewers follow the emergence of the “bad boy” image, the evolution of the band's music, antics of various members, and their perfection of the live stadium show. The final volume “Two Thousand and Beyond,” covers the 2002 Licks tour, while also revisiting material covered in the first four volumes. Photographs, concert footage, newsreel footage, and commentary comprise the majority of this visually solid outing; unfortunately, however, this tribute contains none of the Rolling Stones' music (aside from an arranged “Satisfaction” excerpt that after five volumes gets beaten to death). Extra features include a Rice Krispies commercial with the snap-crackle-pop provided by the Stones, a featurette on the making of “Exile on Main Street,” and interviews with sound engineers and producers . While by no means comparable to the landmark band-endorsed The Beatles Anthology, this should still be considered a strong optional purchase. [Note: also available at the same price, the five-volume unauthorized The Beatles: A Long and Winding Road.] Aud: H, C, P. (L. Stevens)