“What’s striking about the other songs they perform is how thrillingly ramshackle the Stones sound. In contrast to most of their stadium-filling peers, you can hear the imperfections, the occasional fluffed notes. They sound like a real band, rather than bored multimillionaires going through the motions, which adds a genuine edge to the big hits: Wild Horses should be dulled by overfamiliarity, but it packs an emotional punch. It’s a sense heightened by their evident delight at having former guitarist Mick Taylor back on stage with them – a delight not shared entirely by the audience, which thins out a bit during the lengthy versions of You Got the Silver and Midnight Rambler – and the set’s occasional surprises: they perform a fantastic version of 2,000 Light Years From Home, from the most reviled of their 60s albums, the psychedelic folly Their Satanic Majesties Request.
As they play Sympathy for the Devil, the scrap-metal phoenix at the top of the Pyramid stage begins to slowly rise up and belch out fire. In the crowd, people are letting off flares and red smoke billows around. It’s incredibly exciting: one of those much-vaunted Glastonbury moments.”
Egentlig er det tankevækkende, at et 50 år gammelt band – i en tid, hvor perfektion nærmest er en selvfølge på plade og på scene – kan køre den hjem med en vaklende sound, der tilfører ældgamle sange nyt liv. Det er nok, fordi Jagger, Richard og Co. aldrig har glemt, hvad musik egentlig drejer sig om…