Hidden Track

[Originally Published April 18, 2008] The recent release of Shine a Light had all the veteran rock critics throwing roses to the Stones and Scorsese. Others marveled at the Mt. Rushmore crevices on the weathered faces of the Glimmer Twins. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards do, indeed, look about 2,000 light years past “elegantly wasted” at this point—not to mention the miracle man, Charlie Watts, on the kit, Foghorn Leghorn on rhythm guitar, and that cat that AIN’T Bill Wyman still holding the bass notes all down the line.

Actually, the flick is damn good. Martin Scorsese is still a master at rapid pacing, wicked close-ups and quicksilver edit cuts. Marty is also America’s Best Director (to watch if you just scored a huge bag of blow). The Stones are not the Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World—that was more of a sweet bit of chutzpah spoken by a road manager rather than an actual claim. Hell, for a few moments in 1969 when The Who wasn’t touring behind Tommy, Hendrix wasn’t napalming the hippies in upstate New York, Iggy wasn’t stroking blades, Zeppelin was in between tours, groupies, mud sharks, Acapulco gold, Ballantine beer and a heaping pile of coke, that rock crown claim may have been true.

But by the early ’70s, the Stones had begun a love affair with the jet setters, Jann Wenners, Truman (Where’s Waldo?) Capotes and scenemakers on the edge of rock music and, for all intents and purposes, that trip really never changed much. Except, of course, the Twins got older, stopped doing loads of drugs, cut back on inspired songwriting and, in their fifties, started to tour way more often than they ever had in the past. Money, my friends, will get anyone off the velvet couch and onto the sprawling stage amidst 40-year old songs and a frontman who defies time, taste and a treadmill. Read on for more of this week’s Hidden Flick…

December 8 has come and gone with no Langerado lineup announcement and plenty of rumors of the festival’s demise. Well, hold tight kiddies because the lineup drops in a little

The next release in the Live Phish series will be one of the greatest shows Phish ever played, December 30, 1997. With little fanfare, this fully remastered three disc set has just been put up at Dry Goods for $21.

Video of this three and a half hour masterpiece and MP3/FLAC downloads are also available at LivePhish.com. December 30 was always a special day for a Phish show, but the concert the band played on that date in 1997 was some next level shit. We can’t wait to hear the official version of this blockbuster that we’ve been begging for since it happened.

During Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro’s last From The Archives broadcast he hinted that this show might get the Live Phish treatment and this evening we’ve got confirmation. A 1997 Holiday Tour t-shirt has also been put out by the band. I know what I want for hanukkah.

READ ON for the full track listing and Kevin’s essay…

We’re getting very excited to check out Rich Pagano’s full-length CD after hearing the three song EP he’s been giving out through his website and at Fab Faux shows. Rich

We have to give credit where credit is do with today’s ‘Tubes selection. Six months back when the HT Staff dropped their favorite albums from the first half of the

This week Stormy Monday brings the funk, kicking off with Herbie Hancock’s super-bad, late night, chick-a-wah classic Doin’ It from Secrets, which really marks the end of his seventies fusion

Rhino Records and the Grateful Dead have set the way back machine to 1990 for the latest edition of Road Trips. Road Trips Volume 2 Number 1 contains highlights from

Sacred steel ensemble The Lee Boys visit Late Night with Conan O’Brien tonight where they will perform Come On, Help Me Lift Him Up capping off a phenomenal year for