The Stones may have taken over ten years to produce an album of blues covers, but the trails they have been blazing as the world’s biggest ongoing live juggernaut continue to open new commercial avenues. That’s especially true in the multi-format DVD-CD market, where they turn normal concert films into mini-movies by adding band commentaries and local footage.
This process worked on Totally Stripped’s account of 1995’s guerrilla shows and is tailor-made to emphasise the historic importance of their Havana free concert last Good Friday.
Starting with Jumping Jack Flash and MC’d by Jagger in fluent Spanish, the set seems oddly truncated. But as usual, there are magic moments during songs heard a million times, including Keith’s revving car-engine growl through It’s Only Rock ’N’ Roll, a magnificent You Got The Silver and an unusually poignant Angie. However, the real stars of the show are the ecstatic thousands of fans, who visibly can’t believe what they’re witnessing.
