The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2017

The Rolling Stones have rightly or wrongly often been seen as existing in the wake of The Beatles, and while not really germane to any comparisons of the bands’ artistry, it’s interesting to note that a year or two after The Beatles founded Apple Corp and then Apple Records, the Stones followed suit with their own recording entity, appropriately titled Rolling Stones Records. While it’s remembered largely for its now iconic Andy Warhol cover (replete with zipper), Sticky Fingers was historic for another reason, being the first Stones record released on their own label. But it was probably that cover which gave the album near instant notoriety, so much so that maybe even some fans took a little while to realize what an outstanding musical achievement it was, spawning a number of the Stones' most recognizable hits, including "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses". Despite both the cultural and musical impact Sticky Fingers had, according to the verbiage on the back of this Blu-ray, the Stones had never performed the entire album in concert before this engaging live performance at the kind of smallish (at least in terms of rock arena venues) Fonda Theater in Hollywood in May of 2015. Those who can recite the album's track list backwards and forwards may note that there are a couple of tunes in the Stones' set that in fact were not part of the original album and in fact the concert does not even follow the original sequencing of tracks on the album. But the rather amazing fact that 46 years or so after the album's release, the band is still going strong and the music sounds as fresh and innovative as ever.

While the bulk of this release captures the Stones onstage at the Fonda, with Mick in particular in typically peripatetic form (so much so that attempting to grab screenshots for this review without any blur was something of a challenge), there are also a number of interstitial interview segments (in crisp black and white, as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review), where the band members, as well as some “special guest stars”, opine on various matters. While Keith and Mick talk at some length about the genesis and recording of the album, for some fans one of the more interesting sets of interviews details who exactly served as the infamous model for that iconic album cover. While the debate is probably not definitively answered (despite Joe Dallesandro’s kind of dismissive comments about another potential “candidate”), it’s a fun if tangential look into the background of one of the more legendary album covers from that era.

Despite being well into supposed retirement age, the Stones play with ingratiating vigor throughout the concert, and Mick is a nonstop force of nature. Additional musicians, including the superb Lisa Fischer on backups, provide even more meat on these already meaty musical bones.

The Blu-ray's set list (different from the CD, also included in this package) is as follows:

1) Start Me Up
2) Sway
3) Dead Flowers
4) Wild Horses
5) Sister Morphine
6) You Gotta Move
7) Bitch
8) Can't You Hear Me Knocking
9) I Got The Blues
10) Moonlight Mile
11) Brown Sugar
12) Rock Me Baby
13) Jumpin' Jack Flash

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Rolling Stones From the Vault: Stick Fingers Live at the Fonda Theater 2015 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 2.40:1. The concert begins and ends with some effective bookending sequences giving aerial views of Los Angeles and, ultimately, the neighborhood where the Fonda Theater is, along with some candid shots of backstage shenanigans. Some of this opening material looks like it's been tweaked to appear slightly fuzzy or "distressed", but once the main part of the concert starts up, sharpness and clarity are typically quite excellent. The interlaced presentation occasionally has issues with minor combing artifacts when guitars are strummed quickly or even when Mick's hand movements go completely spasmodic. There are also some minor issues with posterizing due to some blue, purple and red lighting choices that bathe faces in unnatural hues and create anomalous artifacts. Minor banding also intrudes a time or two, especially when lighting arrays suddenly change. All of this said, though, the general look of the concert is appealingly sharp and well detailed, with solid black levels and good fine detail levels during close-ups.

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Rolling Stones From the Vault: Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theater 2015 features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. The surround track is really quite significantly more impressive in terms of spaciousness and low end, but that low end does tend to mask the vocals at times, perhaps more so with regard to the backup singers than with regard to Mick, though even Mick gets slightly buried on certain occasions. Fidelity is top notch, though, with distortion free renderings across all frequency ranges. Crowd sounds occasionally intrude a bit more incessantly on the surround track than on the stereo track, and so listeners are encouraged to toggle between them to see which mix they prefer.

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Tracks (1080i; 14:47) include All Down the Line, When the Whip Comes Down and I Can't Turn You Loose.

The release also includes a Bonus CD with the following track listing:

1) Start Me Up
2) When The Whip Comes Down
3) All Down The Line
4) Sway
5) Dead Flowers
6) Wild Horses
7) Sister Morphine
8) You Gotta Move
9) Bitch
10) Can't You Hear Me Knocking
11) I Got The Blues
12) Moonlight Mile
13) Brown Sugar
14) Rock Me Baby
15) Jumpin' Jack Flash
16) I Can't Turn You Loose Additionally an insert booklet contains some interesting writing on the history of Sticky Fingers.

The Rolling Stones: From the Vault - Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theatre Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You don't get a zippered DigiPack with this release, which may be a disappointment for some longtime Rolling Stones fans, but seeing the band perform this legendary album live is a unique opportunity and one that is almost sure to be enjoyed by anyone who fell in love with the album years ago. Technical merits (especially audio) are generally strong, and The Rolling Stones From the Vault: Sticky Fingers Live at the Fonda Theater 2015 comes Recommended.