group’s fascination with the juxtaposition of high society
and lowlife: the singer became a jet-set figure; the guitarist,
a full-time junkie who finally “cleaned up” in 1977 and
thereby saved both his own life and the band’s future.
Taylor left in 1975 to be replaced by Wood, formerly of the
Faces, and, despite the occasional bright spot like Some
Girls (1978), Emotional Rescue (1980), or “Start Me Up”
(1981), the Stones’ albums and singles became increasingly
predictable, though their tours continued to sell out. Both
Jagger and Richards recorded solo albums that performed
relatively poorly in the marketplace, though Richards’s work
was significantly more favourably reviewed than Jagger’s.
The Stones embarked on their Steel Wheels album and
tour in 1989. Wyman retired in 1992 and was replaced on
tour by Daryl Jones, formerly a bassist for Miles Davis
and Sting, and in the studio by a variety of guest musi-
cians. Jagger, Richards, Watts, and Wood continue to
trade as the Rolling Stones, and, whenever they tour,
audiences flock in the thousands to discover if the old
lions can still roar.
Several prominent directors have sought to translate
the electricity of the Stones as live performers to the screen,
including Jean-Luc Godard, with the impressionistic
Sympathy for the Devil (1968); Hal Ashby, with Let’s Spend
the Night Together (1982); and, perhaps most notably, David
Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin, with Gimme
Shelter (1970), which covered the group’s 1969 tour and
Altamont Speedway concert. More recently, in the wake of
the group’s well-received album A Bigger Bang (2005), direc-
tor Martin Scorsese, long a fan of the group, focused less on
the spectacle of a Stones’ concert and more on the band as
performers. The result, Shine a Light (2008), met with criti-
cal acclaim and confirmed that the Rolling Stones remained
a major presence in the rock scene of the 21st century.
7 The Rolling Stones 7