The great Rolling Stones are marking a half century of existence
The official line is “we’ll see.” But the Rolling Stones seem in such fighting trim, clear-eyed and focused, that it’s hard to believe there’s not more cooking beyond the current flurry of activity surrounding the band’s 50th anniversary.
The archetypal rock ‘n’ roll band is booked for five concerts in London and the New York area over the next month, the last one a Pay Per View event. The Stones on Tuesday released yet another hits compilation with two new songs and HBO is premiering a documentary on their formative years, “Crossfire Hurricane,” on Thursday.
“Without saying yes or nay,” Keith Richards said in an interview this week, “once this starts rolling, I can’t see it stopping. The band feels good about themselves, they still feel they’ve got something to offer. Obviously there are a lot of people out there who agree. We’ll go along with it.”
Fifty years is hard to fathom (“It’s impossible,” Keith cackles. “I’m only 38.”). The Rolling Stones have been through death, defections and addictions, through classic discs like “Exile on Main Street” and “Some Girls” and forgettable ones, and are still operating with Richards, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. Ron Wood, the new guy, joined in 1975.
