When the Rolling Stones decided to broadcast one of their stops on 1994's Voodoo Lounge Tour to the entire world, they probably hoped to give home viewers the authentic feeling of being at the stadium. Well, it worked. For over 90 minutes, you feel like you're sitting right in the middle of Miami's cavernous Joe Robbie Stadium. The sound cuts in and out, you can't understand a word Mick says, the fans' screams are louder than Keith, Ronnie, and Charlie's playing, and the only real pleasure is watching close-ups of the ageing band's still-energised antics on a screen. The boys look like they're having a blast, especially when guest guitarists Robert Cray and Bo Diddley join them for such classics as Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down," and "Who Do You Love". But the audio transfer here continually frustrates and baffles. It best resembles an audience bootleg tape. The Stones may have been too concerned with the show's visual production value because the real reason to watch the thing, the music, pales in comparison. They've got giant snakes breathing fire, screens flashing computer animation, ramps, ledges, suggestive backup singers, and enough costume changes that "Las Vegas Lounge" would have been a more apt tour moniker. If you like the Stones potent, dangerous and truly inspired, you'll have to wait for better film representations, such as Gimme Shelter, Cocksucker Blues and Rock and Roll Circus. If you're a die-hard, the set list reads like this: "Not Fade Away"m "Tumbling Dice", "You Got Me Rocking", "Satisfaction", "Angie", "Sweet Virginia", "It's All Over Now", "Stop Breaking Down", "Who Do You Love", "Miss You", "Honky Tonk Women", "The Worst", "Sympathy for the Devil", "Start Me Up", "It's Only Rock 'n Roll", "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash". --Review by Dave McCoy,

• published: 08 Nov 2013
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