‘Some Girls: Live in Texas ‘78’ Finds The Rolling Stones Fighting For Survival And Emerging Victorious  

The Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the death of guitarist Brian Jones, multiple arrests, Altamont, tax evasion, Keith Richards’ drug addiction, the Watergate scandal, gas shortages, punk rock, disco, Mick Jagger’s solo career, the fall of the Soviet Union, hip hop, grunge, the Los Angeles Riots, EDM, September 11th, brain surgery, Donald Trump, and the death of drummer Charlie Watts are but a few of the struggles that the Rolling Stones have faced during their 60-year existence. That they are still around today is a testament to their talent, their legacy, their wealth, their popularity, but most of all, their cutthroat survival instincts.

Formed in 1962, the band almost didn’t make it out of the 1970s. “No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones,” The Clash sang on “1977,” the b-side of their debut single, released in March that same year. A month earlier, Keith Richards had been busted for heroin possession in Toronto and was facing a potentially lengthy prison sentence. Mick Jagger, meanwhile, was dancing his troubles away at Studio 54 as the world fell apart around him. The band seemed irrelevant. They hadn’t put out a truly great album since 1972’s Exile on Main Street and their status as rock’s perpetual bad boys had been challenged by the punk rock insurrection.   

In October 1977, the Stones entered Pathé-Marconi recording studios in Paris and emerged 5 months later with around 50 songs that would reestablish the band’s reputation. Songs from the sessions would form the backbone of their next three albums with the cream of the crop appearing on 1978’s Some Girls, a critical and commercial success and, arguably, the best album of the Ron Wood era. Somewhere along the way, Richards kicked heroin and the band went on tour, mixing stadium and theater shows. Released in 2011 and currently streaming on Peacock, Some Girls: Live in Texas ’78 finds the band playing a spirited set in front of a few thousand at the Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth on a sweltering June night. 

Unlike previous tours, where they were accompanied by a horn section and appeared on elaborate stage sets, including a giant inflatable penis, The Rolling Stones U.S. Tour 1978 was lean and mean. The group performed in front of a wall of amps with the only additional musicians being Wood’s former Faces bandmate Ian McLagan and long suffering road manager Ian Stewart on keyboards. While the band run through their old hits with perfunctory professionalism, they tear into the new material with reckless glee, excited by Some Girls’ blues rock reinterpretation of then-cutting edge punk and disco motifs. 

On stage you see rock n’ roll fashion changing in real time. The long unruly hair of the early ‘70s has been replaced by neat, tidy haircuts, from Richards’ mod shag to drummer Charlie Watts’ buzzcut. Jagger sports what has been referred to as his “F train look;” a cheap red leather cap, yellow blazer and black parachute pants. Underneath the blazer he sports Vivian Westwood’s infamous “Destroy” t-shirt, which featured a swastika superimposed over an inverted crucifix and was made famous by the Sex Pistols. Richards and Wood, however, seem unable to completely forego the trappings of hippiedom, donning large necklaces, flowing blouses and tassels around their waists. 

Despite their efforts at reinvention, the Stones can’t help but slip back into character. Mick Jagger’s pronunciation had long ago lost any connection to the English language, his every vocal decision seemingly predicated by the query, “How would Mick Jagger sing this? Oh yeah, like this, Baaaaiiiiiiieeeebeeeyyyyy-aaaah-ha! WHOO!”  Meanwhile, Charlie Watts’ idiosyncratic drum style coalesced around his refusal or inability to hit both the snare drum and high hat at the same time. It gives the music a woozy wobble, especially on the fast numbers that now dominated their set. The newly “sober” Richards jumps about the stage like a feline high on catnip while Wood’s turn on pedal steel displays his ability to play multiple stringed instruments with equal sloppiness. While not the virtuoso of  predecessor Mick Taylor, Wood’s stinging leads and chunky rhythms perfectly mesh with Richards’ slash and burn riffing. Watching them weave in and out of each other’s guitar lines gives the performance an exciting edge. 

As the show draws to a close, the Stones rip into “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” at twice the speed of the original recording. The band batters their instruments while two girls are seen making out with each other in the audience, not the kind of thing you probably saw a lot of in Texas in 1978. The band had been on stage for almost an hour and a half at this point, performing 17 songs, possibly more, including the bulk of Some Girls, which had only been in stores for a month. With his shirt off and a long evening glove on his right hand, Jagger looks like any other punk rock singer and douses the crowd with buckets of water. As he cavorts about the stage, one is reminded that first rule of being a good front-person is a willingness to look like an idiot. 

Some Girls: Live in Texas ’78 isn’t the best Rolling Stones concert film you’ll ever see. There’s a haphazardness to the performance, the set list lacks focus and the jams go nowhere fast. However, there are moments when they sound as good as you’ll ever hear them, performing with the zeal of death row inmates who just made parole. Having been around a mere 16 years at this point, they were already one of rock’s longest lasting bands and had survived challenges that would have torn most other groups apart. This summer the band will tour Europe.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter: @BHSmithNYC.