The Rolling Stones may have had to put their highly-anticipated return to North America on hold while singer Mick Jagger recovers from heart surgery, but that doesn’t mean the famous rock band is sitting around doing nothing but counting their riches like some kind of British Scrooge McDuck. Earlier this week it was announced that The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus, the band’s 1968 all-star concert film featuring guests like John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The Who, and many more, will be given an expanded reissue this coming summer.
The concert, which was professionally filmed in front of a live audience in London in December 1968, featured performances by The Stones, in addition to notable pop (and non-pop) acts of the day including, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and The Dirty Mac–a spontaneous supergroup comprised of Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, The Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell and John Lennon.
50 years later, the film has been given “new sonic and visual upgrades” according to its original director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, which fans will be able to experience with an expanded deluxe reissue, arriving on June 7th in the United States and June 28th in the United Kingdom. The film has been restored to 4K Dolby Vision, while the 28-song soundtrack (including previously-unheard tracks) has been remixed and revamped to be sold on both double CD and triple vinyl via ABKCO, which will also release the film on both DVD and Blu-ray.
The soundtrack will also feature three live outtakes from The Dirty Mac, including a second take of the band covering The Beatles‘ “Yer Blues”, and a rehearsal of the supergroup performing “Revolution”. Other bonus material to be featured in the reissue includes new recordings by late concert pianist Julius Katchen, and three new songs performed by Taj Mahal. The reissue will also come with a 44-page book created with a customized foldout gatefold design, featuring David Dalton’s original 1969 Rolling Stone essay, and on-set photographs taken by Mike Randolf.
Fans can check out the unboxing video below to get a preview of what to expect when the film and soundtrack arrive in June.
The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus – Official Unboxing
[Video: ABKCO Records /Films]
“I knew that it was going to be intimate and I knew that they were going to be playing on stages which were pretty small,” Hogg said in a statement of the star-studded concert looking back on the project 50 years later. “It would be more like where they begun in small clubs. So I wanted it to be intimate and I especially wanted it to be intimate with Mick. Because he’s one of the greatest performing people of the last hundred years.”
Fans can also watch the restored, 4K version of the film’s original trailer below.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus – Official 4K Trailer 2019
[Video: ABKCO Records / Films]
[Photo: ABKCO Records]
[H/T Billboard]