LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 14, 2019…ON THIS DATE 45 YEARS AGO THE CONCERT FILM ‘LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE ROLLING STONES’ PREMIERED FOR INVITED GUESTS AT THE ZIEGFELD THEATRE IN NEW YORK CITY. THE MOVIE OPENED UP THE NEXT DAY AT THE ZIEGFELD TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
THE FILM IS REALLY AN AMAZING PIECE OF WORK. IT’S A CONCERT FILM TAKEN FROM 2 STONES SHOWS DURING THEIR 1972 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN SUPPORT OF THE ALBUM ‘EXILE ON MAINSTREET.’
THE CONCERTS WERE RECORDED IN 32 TRACKS AND LATER MIXED IN THE STUDIO IN ENGLAND. IN THE INITIAL RUN OF THE MOVIE IN AMERICA, THE MOVIE FEATURED “QUADRASOUND”. NOW GET THIS, QUADRASOUND FED RIGHT AND LEFT SCREEN SPEAKERS AND RIGHT AND LEFT SPLIT SURROUND SPEAKERS. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO TRANSFORM EVERY THEATRE SHOWING THE MOVIE FROM A 650 SEAT ROOM INTO A 10,000 SEAT ARENA. BEFORE THE MOVIE EVEN STARTED, THE THEATRE PUMPED QUADRAPHONIC CROWD AMBIENT NOISE INTO THE ROOM TO FOOL THEATRE GOERS INTO THINKING THE SOUND WAS COMING FROM THEIR OWN VENUE, INTENSIFYING THE EXPERIENCE WHEN THE STONES PLAYED.
GET THESE REQUIREMENTS:
“The Quadraphonic presentation of Ladies and Gentlemen… required a 44 JBL driver sound system (four systems were built and used by Dragonaire in its road show performances of the film). Each sound system was capable of generating 3300 Watts RMS, and was transported to each venue in a 14 ft. bed truck. Played at 100 dbA in evening and midnight performances, the sound track had to be mixed by a sound engineer based on the number of people in the audience in order to achieve optimal clarity. Sound engineers accompanied the road show presentations.
The film was played in limited roadshow engagements during which advertising was stopped (want ads were used after the first two markets) because the word of mouth for the film increased attendance every day throughout the run. Limited engagements were conducted in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles before the picture was sold to Plitt Theatres which released the film in a “flat” screen monaural version.”
HERE’S THE BEGINNING OF THE CONCERT FROM THE MOVIE (MINUS THE QUADROPHONIC SOUND)
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AND LIVE VERSION OF ONE OF THE STONES GREATEST SONGS
