THE ROLLING STONES: Relevant? Schmelevant

IT'S ROLLING STONES WEEK HERE AT GONZO DAILY

Last Christmas I got drunk and played Beggar's Banquet and Sticky Fingers loud enough to annoy the neighbours (if we had any, which we don't). This actually isn't by any means a unique happening in my life. I have probably done it three or four times a year since about 1978, but on this occasion there was a difference. I was not alone.

I was with my young friend and semi-adopted-nephew Max Blake, who is currently working towards a doctorate in insect genetics in Aberystwyth University, after having completed his degree in girls and beer at Bristol. He and I often drink a little whisky and play a little music, and on this occasion I introduced him to the Stones.

It was somewhat of an epiphany for Max, because like anyone else born after about 1970 (and he was born some twenty years after) The Rolling Stones are to him a slightly boring cabaret act, who every few years tour the world. They have absolutely no relevance to him or his generation, and nor should they. But on this evening he turned to me and expressed surprise that they had once been important. Relevant even.

And the Stones once were the most important band on the planet. Not only because they were second only to The Beatles in record sales, but because they were the quintessential rock and roll rebels.

Now, the other day Ron Johnstone (who is a jolly nice chap) sent me a copy of the latest Chrome Dreams documentary video on the band, and on saturday night, after a terrible week during which my mental, physical and financial health took somewhat of a kicking, and with my nerve endings dulled by prophylactic medication, I sat down to watch it. I didn't agree with everything it said, but I enjoyed every minute.

Now, let me make things quite clear. My favourite Stones guitarist was Mick Taylor (1969-74) and I think the band did themselves a grave disservice when they employed Ronnie Wood in his stead. However, I agree with the band, that Ronnie Wood (who even now I think of as the new boy in the band) was probably the person who saved the band. If they had employed another arty virtuoso (which, on an artistic level they should have done) the band would have imploded and at least one member would probably have joined Brian Jones in the hereafter.

Also for the record, the other people in the frame for the lead guitarist job - Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, Rory Gallagher - would not have fulfilled my personal criteria either, and so Ronnie was probably the best choice that was available. Just the wrong one.

The documentary starts off by slating the last two albums that the band had made with Taylor. Goat's Head Soup I agree is lacklustre, with the only real standout track being Angie, but Only Rock and Roll is a fabulous album. To my mind on a par with Let it Bleed or Exile on Main Street if not quite hitting the peaks of the two albums that I was listening to last Christmas with Max. But I like Black and Blue and think that every album after that was a disappointment until Steel Wheels which somehow pulled a masterpiece out of a very tawdry hat. They very nearly did it again in 2005 with A Bigger Bang, but - to my eyes, at least - Black and Blue was the last great album that the band produced in their heyday.

I remember a review in the NME for Tattoo You in which the reviewer wrote that this was a perfectly good second division Stones album, but that there was unlikely to be a first division one again. Luckily, he was wrong, but only just, and this excellent DVD showcases the band's slow decline into a circus act, albeit a pretty good one. This is a very sad DVD to watch, but it is an unmissable one. But it.

See you tomorrow.