Author Topic: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?  (Read 3832 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« on: September 18, 2007, 08:27:55 pm »
This poll and the parallel poll about Beatles members were inspired by ineedcrayons (  :D ) in the thread asking people to choose between the Beatles and the Stones. 8) 

So, go ahead and pick your favorite.  I've limited the list of band members to those who were the original members and the replacement guitar players who have stepped in over the years into the position originally filled by Brian Jones.  There have been replacement musicians who have stepped in following the retirement of bassist Bill Wyman and there have been other important musicians who have worked with the group over their long career.  But, for the sake of simplicity, I'm limiting this list to the "classic" Stones.

As with the Beatles poll... feel free to tell us about your least favorite band member too!

This is a much easier question for me than the Beatles poll.  The Stones are one of my all time favorite groups.  And, hands down, my favorite member is Keith Richards.  I think he's one of the best guitarists of all time.  He's much more subtle and even humble than some of the flashier guitar players in rock history (such as Jimmy Page, etc.), but I think he's superb and extremely knowledgeable about a huge variety of music that has really helped the Stones to stay interesting and forward-looking all these years.  I love that he's instrumental in maintaining the focus on the blues that's been one of the defining keystones of the Stones' long career.  My second favorite is Charlie Watts.

I think my least favorite is Bill Wyman (even though he's an original member).  I always felt he was a little creepy and a bit of a wet blanket.  I didn't appreciate his frequent lack of enthusiasm.
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2007, 01:27:15 am »
IMO, Keith Richards is one of the most compelling characters in rock music, ever. I've always been fascinated by him. Partly musically -- he's a fantastic guitarist and songwriter. The blend of his and Jagger's voices on the harmonies really give the Stones their signature sound. And even the few songs Keith sings lead on, IMO, are just about as good as Jagger's. He's not as good a singer, but the songs are good.

But also, if you've ever read an extended interview with him, you can't help but come out liking him. First of all, he's much more friendly and easygoing and humorous than his image might suggest. He tells colorful stories, he jokes around, he gossips, he pays tribute to musical greats, he gives inside scoops. Secondly, though he gets mocked as a spacey burnout, the reputation is undeserved -- he's actually quite astute and insightful. And, believe it or not, he has a great memory. He remembers more of the '60s and '70s than I do. And thirdly, he's really in it for the music. Mick, with all due respect (and I like Mick, too), is partly in it for wealth and status (He's a man of wealth and taste!  ). But Keith Richards seems to just really love music, mainly.

I'd pick Brian Jones as my second. I feel sorry for Brian; I think he started out as a great musician -- apparently he could learn to play any instrument in an afternoon (Keith said so, anyway!  ;D) -- but became doomed by his own lifestyle excesses. That, and the jealousy when he fell into the shadows of Mick and Keith.

That said, I think the Mick Taylor years were the best musically. Sticky Fingers is probably my favorite album, and a lot of the credit goes to that beautiful Mick Taylor guitar playing.

And Charlie Watts is so cool and dignified. And Ron Wood seems like a good sport. I liked him even in his Faces days.

Least favorite? Well, I agree that it's hard to warm up to Bill Wyman. Even though, as Amanda said, he's an original Stone, he always seems sort of stiff and uninteresting.



Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2007, 01:30:43 am »
Good times...  :laugh:
(Keith Richards snorts his father's ashes)
http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,9095.msg176797.html#msg176797

I chose Mick Jagger.
(A 3 minute Saturday Night Live skit of Mick Jagger and Jimmy Fallon both being Mick Jagger)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1511506298

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2007, 01:32:54 am »
I'd love to hear from whoever chose Brian Jones!  :)


Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2007, 01:48:32 am »
Good times...  :laugh:
(Keith Richards snorts his father's ashes)
http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,9095.msg176797.html#msg176797

I chose Mick Jagger.
(A 3 minute Saturday Night Live skit of Mick Jagger and Jimmy Fallon both being Mick Jagger)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1511506298

Ooooo, this reminds me.... Did you ever see the old SNL where Mike Myers (I think) played Mick and Mick played Keith!  It was amazing and very surreal.



And, on another note, I completely agree with Katherine about good interviews with Keith.  He really can be fascinating when he's talking about music.  Surprisingly to a lot of folks, he always seems really comfortable being interviewed... much more comfortable being interviewed than Mick even.  I like Mick too for sure.  I especially *love* it when he plays the harmonica (nice BBM crossover/ tie-in). I remember reading (or maybe seeing) an interview with Keith where he said that you see the real Mick Jagger when he's playing his harp.  And, I think the friendship between Mick and Keith is charming (rivalries and feuds and all...).  It's incredible to me that they've known each other since they were something like 5 years old.

I think Brian's an interesting character, but difficult and so troubled.  I have a lot of respect for him as a musician and I know a lot of people credit him as the main founding member.  I think there are lots of serious, serious Brian devotees out there.


the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2007, 02:01:47 am »
I think there are lots of serious, serious Brian devotees out there.

Well let's hear from them!  :D

Does anyone remember Spy magazine? It was a snarky, gossipy, hilarious and intelligent magazine of ... I guess probably the early '80s? They did something about friendship and ran this table and quiz in which you could determine how close you were to your friend. The very top square said, "Reserved for Mick and Keith."

I always thought that was so cute and apropos. That was before M & K had had their big fallings out. But it's true, they've been friends since they were kindergarteners. Like John and Paul, they complement each other.


« Last Edit: September 19, 2007, 02:48:53 am by ineedcrayons »

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2007, 02:08:57 am »
Ooooo, this reminds me.... Did you ever see the old SNL where Mike Myers (I think) played Mick and Mick played Keith!  It was amazing and very surreal.


Starts at 1:31. 
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSB8kQB6TLY[/youtube]

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2007, 02:13:16 am »
 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Thanks Elle!
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
« Reply #8 on: September 22, 2007, 04:43:21 pm »
So, now over in the Beatles' thread the topic has turned to the question of favorite song.

I thought that question could definitely be extend over here... of for me, an easier question when it comes to the Stones is favorite album.

So... what's your favorite Stones song or album?  And, do you have any relatively obscure recommendations?


For me, that answer changes all the time depending on my mood.

In terms of favorite album... I have to say (usually) I turn to Sticky Fingers as an all-around great/ almost perfect Stones album.  I often think of that one as their best because, to me there really isn't a bad track on that album.  This is, of course, one of the four albums probably most often cited as their best (including Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Exile on Main Street).  I like all three of these other albums (and, from time to time, I go through phases where I like one of these other three better than Sticky Fingers), but I think all three of these other albums have a couple less-than-great tracks on them, unlike Sticky Fingers. On Sticky Fingers, I think one particular highlight is the amazing guitar solo by Mick Taylor on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking." Of these four major albums my least favorite is usually Exile.  There are some amazing tunes on that album for sure, but also quite a lot of songs that I don't like so much (more so than is the case with the other three).

In terms of off-the-beaten-track recommendations...  I think it's really fun to listen to the really, really old Stones tracks from the very early '60s when they were particularly close to their blues routes.  There's a great 3 volume box set out there called The Rolling Stones: Singles Collection, The London Years, which includes truly awesome and obscure old singles (many of which were never on an album in the olden days when singles were the standard).  I think listening to their really early stuff is actually extremely interesting and sort of eye-opening to realize where they came from.

Also, I tend to really recommend their awesome live albums.  Two in particular are just awesome:  Love You Live and Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out are just incredible in the energy level and musicianship that they demonstrate.  I can (and have been known to) listen to those two albums over, and over and over again.  Lots of fun.
 8)


the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie