Brian Jones vs. Mick Taylor vs. Ronnie Wood

[Vincent Vega]

Hey

This is a poll to see who you think the best lead guitarist for the Stones was. Over the course of their career, they've had three Lead Guitarists whose styles vary greatly and whose talents lie in different areas.

From 1963 to 1969, the Stones had Brian Jones as their lead guitarist. In the band's early days, he was the leader of the group, surpassing Jagger and was the de facto manager for the band. He had an interesting guitar playing style which was compatible with Keith (Richards)'s style but his real talent lay in other instruments--He could pick up even the hardest of instruments, such as the Sitar and Mellotoron and master it quickly. He also was good at the Dulcimer, lute and recorder and many of these instruments found their way into the Stones material from 1965 to 1968 as Jones moved further and further away from the guitar and into more exotic instruments.

From 1969 to 1974, the Stones had Mick Taylor as their lead guitarist. Taylor was a virtuoso blues player and was a very fluent soloist. Taylor's guitar playing far surpassed Keith's and his melodic, sometimes Latin-flavored solos had problems jiving with Keith's choppy, Chuck Berry influenced style. While Taylor was in the band, the line between Lead Guitarist and Rhythm Guitarist was clearly drawn, something that didn't happen with Brian Jones nor would happen with Ron Wood, with Taylor's solos and lead lines playing over Keith's riffs and rhythms. Taylor was also responsible (though uncredited) for composing (with Mick Jagger) many amazing Stones compilations as "Moonlight Mile", "Sway", "Time Waits for No One", "Till the Next Goodbye", and others, songs which Keith had no part of. He also riffs with Keith throughout the song "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" and it is his playing which is heard on the jam ending of the song. He left in 1974 due to not being credited for his work, along with other problems dealing with Keith and the band.

From 1975 to the present day, Ron Wood has been the Stones lead guitarist. While not a soloist, his choppy, raw style mixes well with Keiths and their ''weaving'' of guitars can be heard on songs such as "Shattered", ''Beast of Burden'' and others. He and Keith play off each other on many songs, one guitarist's riffs complementing the other, neither truly taking the lead and instead both sharing the rhythms, solos and riffs of the songs. He is closer to the Chuck Berry style of playing that Keith plays.

[GUNSNROSES513]

Isn't Keith Richard s the lead guitarist?

[Gash]

Isn't Keith Richard s the lead guitarist?

Nope.

I don't want to disrespect either Brian or Ronnie, but Mick has always been my favourite.

I'd love if the Stones would have him for a guest slot on their next tour.

[Shuffle]

They made their best music with Mick... So he would have to be my choice although I love Ronnie and Brian too.

[Midnight Rambler]

Null vote. I love em all for different reasons.

[Lithium]

Brian Jones was a musical genius. The other two are great as well, but musically a landslide behind Brian.

[GUNSNROSES513]

Brian Jones was a musical genius. The other two are great as well, but musically a landslide behind Brian.

could you reccomend me some Stones music. You seem to like them alot.

I got Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, 40 licks and shine a light. I want the more bluesy, rock stuff.

[Guest Satanisk_Slakt]

Brian Jones was a musical genius. The other two are great as well, but musically a landslide behind Brian.

could you reccomend me some Stones music. You seem to like them alot.

I got Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, 40 licks and shine a light. I want the more bluesy, rock stuff.

Sticky Fingers is a perfect album, there's no argument there. It's a part of probably the best line of albums ever made, including Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. and Goats Head Soup. It sat the standards for the gritty, sleazy feel that music adopted later, with bands like Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe. Its influence is, to put it mildly, enormous, especially with little details like the controverisal bulge-cover.

Its strength, and what it basically is known for among album-oriented music-listeners is how well the songs are put together. Whether or not it's intentional or not, I think only Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Co. can answer. You've got the ones that the two aforementioned bands really take influence from, the ones that defined sleazy rock, like "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" and "Brown Sugar", the calm, sort of mellow ones, like "Moonlight Mile" and "Wild Horses", and the ones where their blues-influences really shine through, like "I Got the Blues" and "You Gotta Move" - and they all match each other so well, it's nearly frightening!

My favourite song, at least in 2008, is "Moonlight Mile". About six months ago, I saw the last episode of the first part of the sixth season of The Sopranos for the first time, where "Moonlight Mile" is playing in the background when Phil Leotardo walks towards the wire room with his comàre and the whole thing explodes. Before that, you know, I liked the song and all, but it wasn't really a standout track to me. After seeing that Sopranos-episode six months ago, I've listened to "Moonlight Mile" 573 times, according to iTunes.

Although I loved that album to bits and pieces, I've got absolutely nothing bad to say about it, it's still in the shadow of the work of genius that is called Exile on Main St.. Only in a few select cases, double albums are rarely all killer, no filler. Together with absolute masterpieces and magnum opuses like London Calling, Tommy, The Beatles (White Album) and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Exile on Main St. is one of them.

On Exile on Main St., the Stones mix everything they did before recording it, much like The Clash did with London Calling. They play around with honky tonk-country, some people even think it's the closest rock music has ever come to country music, except Gram Parsons-era Byrds. They even experiment with a little gospel, and those who read my posts often enough in this section knows how much I love it when artists like this experiment with different types of music.

They mix the blues with country, which is rarely a bad thing to do, if you ask me. Take the blues feel and put some country rhythm in there, something The Rolling Stones are masters at, and you've got yourself a great song.

Exile on Main St. culminates in the epic "Shine a Light", where the gospel they have been playing around with really steals the show, like it did three years earlier, on Let it Bleed.

And the thought of this perfect masterpiece having been recorded in a little portable studio is just overwhelmingly bizarre. It is definitely one of my all time favourite albums, perhaps even in my top 20. Missing out on this album is like missing out on sex.

Here's my top ten Stones albums:

1. Exile on Main St.

2. Sticky Fingers

3. Let it Bleed

4. Some Girls

5. Beggars Banquet

6. Aftermath

7. Goats Head Soup

8. Out of Our Heads

9. Between the Buttons

10. Black and Blue

[Ant]

Ronnie Wood seems like such a cool and laid-back dude.

Edited September 10, 2008 by Ant

[Lithium]

Brian Jones was a musical genius. The other two are great as well, but musically a landslide behind Brian.

could you reccomend me some Stones music. You seem to like them alot.

I got Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, 40 licks and shine a light. I want the more bluesy, rock stuff.

Yeah... Just check what Satanisk Slakt quoted. I'd recommend you right away to get Sticky Fingers and Let it Bleed - albeit not their best albums, they are the best if you want to get into them.

Edited September 11, 2008 by Lithium