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Which is your favorite Rolling Stone?
Brown Eyes:
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.
serious crayons:
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.
Ellemeno:
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
serious crayons:
I'd love to hear from whoever chose Brian Jones! :)
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno 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
--- End quote ---
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.
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