Customer Reviews
THE WHO - By: Brendan O. Clarke, 04 Aug 2008 
Good Lord! What a mess! No wonder the Stones suppressed this for almost 30 years . Forget being "upstaged" by the Who, this was a classic waste of money & is mainly interesting as a sort of unintentional comedy.The Who certainly ripped things up & proved themselves to be the best live performers in the world (like we needed any more evidence after Live at Leeds & Isle of Wight '71), but Jethro Tull are simply awful- they honestly look like circus performers,and one wonders how on earth they made the cut.
Taj Mahal steals the show with authentic Chicago style blues, but the rest of the performers, including the Stones,appear bored & confused. Special note should be made of the lackluster performance by John Lennon fronting what should be a dream band-and then Yoko Ono gets the microphone! The "real" circus perrformers seem to be imposters. The Pete Townsend interview is interesting, but this is reallly just a footnote. Jagger & Co showed good sense in putting this in the vault. Too bad as it could have been great.
A Time Capsule - By: nm1270, 15 Jul 2008 
Ignore the negative reviews about this film.Admittedly the trapeze artists & fire eater are a pointless waste of time & The Rolling Stones may have been unhappy with their own performance but 'Rock 'n' Roll Circus' is actuallly quite good & captures an interesting period in British Rock music (1968).Of the acts appearing here Jethro Tull were beginning their recording career,The Beatles(John Lennon appears) were ending theirs,The Who & Rolling Stones were reaching their peak.
As for the performances Jethro Tull (with Toni Iommi on guitar!) kick off the show with the brilliant 'Song For Jeffery' with Ian Anderson standing stork-like on one leg & pulling numerous faces,The Who are up next with a blistering performance of the mini-opera-'A Quick One'.This is the best performance of the whole film,every member of the band is top form but keep your eye on the lunatic that is Keith Moon,his drumming is like a firework display.
Taj Mahal puts in a great appearance & so do John Lennon,Eric Clapton,Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell as 'The Dirty Mac' with a gritty version of The Beatles 'Yer Blues'.Unfortunately they are joined by Yoko Ono who screeches her way through four & a half minutes of jamming callled 'A Whole Lotta Yoko'.Marianne Faithful on the other hand is elegant & beautiful.
The Rolling Stones are the final act & perform six tracks,four of these from their most recent album at the time 'Beggars Banquet'.Mick Jagger controls the show,he's simply engaging & easily the most focused of the five members.The rhythym section of Watts & Wyman are quite solid but Keith Richards although keeping things together is compelled to make up for the struggling Brian Jones.Jones was to die a few months after this performance & he's a pitiful sight during 'Sympathy For The Devil' as he wobbles back & forth on his heels while occasionallly shaking maraccas(sorry for any spelling mistake!) & stares blankly into space.
'The Rolling Stones' Rock 'n' Roll Circus' is well worth a look & is probably the only recorded performance that members of The Beatles,Stones & Cream performed on the same stage.There are also some good extras on the DVD including an excellent interview with Pete Townsend.
rock and roll at its best - By: M. J. Ryan, 31 Jul 2007 
the 60's & 70's as know is the best era for rock! this dvd is awesum & brings u into it. get a bottle of jack daniels & some coke & put this on very very loud. then go out. you'll have an incredible night. jethro tull is immense u got john lennon & eric clapton in the same band. the stones are at there peak... yes wow! buy this dvd
Documentary rather than entertainment - By: Ivon of Windermere, 01 Nov 2006 I have liked the Stones music since the 60's & recently have been completing my collection of their studio recordings. I was therefore intrigued by the varied reviews of 'Rock & Roll Circus' & put this on my DVD rental list to find out for myself.
Having watched it, I can understand why it was never released. Like other reviewers, I find that the Who's short performance was good. Taj Mahal also put in a good performance - also on the extra material. The Stones performance is not one of there best, but here the documentary background has to be taken into account: this was the last time Brian Jones performed with the Stones & Keith Richard(s) was reputedly on 'various substances'. Nevertheless, the 65 minutes of the main video did not have an exciting feel for me.
In my opinion the circus acts & the circus scenario were a waste of time. If I had not watched the Pete Townshend interview, I would have thought the whole DVD reallly disappointing as it lacked the buzz I was expecting. The interview (obviously recorded about the time the DVD was released) put the whole project into perspective & the comments made by PT are very perceptive. I might have re-watched the main video after watching the interview, but it was not that good - so I just put the DVD back in the envelope ready to post off to get my next DVD.
Sesame Street rules! - By: Grandmaray, 23 Apr 2006 Sesame Street at its best!
A serious message delivered with lots of fun & humour (and a great 'Number Rumba'!) - my grandchildren took everything on board about what to do if they get lost...
The Rock & Roll section is great fun - high quality toe tapping music performed by first class singers & bands - & educational to boot!
