Nov 202009
For those of you relatively new to the Halls of Rock, Townsman 2000 Man (aka 2K) is our self-proclaimed Stones Expert. My discovery of this Leon Russell performance got me thinking about the late, great director, Robert Altman, who was never quite able to capture on film a rock ‘n roll performance this chock full ‘o characters. Could this be the template for many of the performance scenes in Nashville and that trainwreck of a late-70s film of his centering around a Broadway version of The Doobie Brothers?
Then I wondered, What would 2K say about this clip?
Then I summoned him…
The “Broadway Doobie Brothers” is a film called A Perfect Couple. It’s not a train wreck–it’s more like a train crashing into a plane, falling off a cliff onto a school bus. Made when Altman could apparently get any idea greenlighted.
Yes, that’s the movie – and your description is spot on!
Man, that video is dumb, but did you ever see the picture sleeve for that single by The Stones?
(http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/08/19/18/78703bf6711ec4c46d047ef8de24f79a_image_document_large_featured_borderless.jpg)
It kind of fits!
I liked the big, fat guitar solo quite a bit. I don’t know why Leon needs more musicians than fans, but I have to say, it was really working for him. In fact, I’ve never followed the guy at all and I think I’m gonna buy some of his albums. It’s hard to do justice to a Stones classic, and he held his own pretty well. I think the only thing I’ve heard that was more impressive is the version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash on Johnny Winter And…Live.
I remember seeing this on PBS back in the day. Rolling Pin Lady really confused me back then. Now it seems like having someone around to make biscuits is a great idea.
It’s funny how Russell had this couple of years where seemed right at the center of things, and then consciously or unconsciously he pulled back and went for longevity. He’s still touring clubs and putting out albums.
I was never fond of his voice, but the sound of that band was incredibly influential. That sort of extended family atmosphere on display in the clip was a holdover from the 60s and possibly not sustainable. But apparently Russell has populated his band with actual family members in recent years, so maybe that was the key.
Those early Russell albums are all really great. Was he mentioned in that Zelig thread of a few weeks ago?