I have to start off by saying I am a long time Rolling Stones fan. This is a band that has made Rock N roll history on more than one occasion. They have paid homage to musicians who went before them from diverse backgrounds. They have covered everything from...

the blues of Robert Johnson, the rock of Chuck Berry and the soulful sounds of The Temptations. I make a point of mentioning all this so you realize this is a band that I have much respect for and I feel that should be known before I say what I have to say about their Superbowl XL Halftime performance.

The Stones have often been referred to as "The Greatest Rock Band Ever" and have long been known as a great live act. Lets leave the arguing about the title of greatest rock band ever for another time. I'm not in the mood to try and write that and it is way too subjective a topic anyway. Let us however discuss the band and their live prowess. I for one have never considered them to be as amazing a live band as so many before me have. Don't get me wrong they are a solid show to go see but when it comes to mythic live performances I feel they don't measure up to people like The Who, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen and U-2. If rock were as many have likened it, royalty, The Stones would be princes awaiting the thrown of live performers while the other bands I mentioned would be kings. So with that in mind lets be honest about their Superbowl showing.

Playing in a stadium always has plenty of obstacles. The sound Is often difficult to get right due to the size of the area you are trying to cover. A delay is present between sounds actually being made and when it reaches different parts of the stadium. Sound men in these situations usually need a few songs to get things tweaked just so. Well in this case a few songs was the show in its entirety and it was apparent in the quality of the sound the band had. 

The Stones them selves were a whole other problem at the game. Mick Jagger was working his gyrations a bit more than usual trying to compensate for the short amount of stage time they would have. The guitar playing was quite sloppy on the part of both Ron Wood and Keith Richards. Keith has to be without a doubt one of the coolest guys on or off stage but on that day in that place he might as well have been asleep during the first two songs.

And the songs they chose, WTF? I guess it can best be explained in one thought "The lowest common denominator". "Start Me Up" is one the most over played of The Rolling Stones catalogue and at this point I often shudder at the sound of the opening chords. "Rough Justice" while not a bad song I feel was just a shot at selling more copies of "A Bigger Bang" and making the most of this marketing opportunity to reach an audience they don't always get to. With it being on the radio so much at this point in time I didn't really need to hear it again. "Satisfaction" is the only song I don't have a problem with especially with Mick's introduction of it "Here is a song we could have played at Superbowl one. But good things come to he who waits". I guess it was too much too expect that playing in Detroit they might have pulled out their cover of The Temptations "Just My Imagination" or that they might have reached back further into their song trunk for a gem like "Tumbling Dice" or "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll". Songs that are still well known but not as over played.

If they had adjusted the song selection we might not also have also this "controversy" about censorship. Everybody has at least heard about if not witnessed for themselves the Janet Jackson debacle of a few years back. With that still on the minds of all broadcast media it is understandable that the NFL and ABC had concerns over what would be included in the show. Both songs that were censored at the show are played on so many radio stations across the country on a daily basis and it has never been an issue. If the powers that be felt it wasn't proper "family entertainment" then don’t hire The Rolling Stones. I believe as well that the band members agreed before show time to the censoring regardless of what they say now that people noticed. It is not like it is so unthinkable that The Rolling Stones would do something like that. If you don't agree with that I have one thing to say "Lets Spend Some Time Together". This is of course just my opinion. I am interested in what you think about this. Feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts whether you agree with me or not.