[www.thestar.com]

Beatles or Stones? The debate that has pitted followers of the Fab Four against devotees of the "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band" was a no-brainer for a young Mick Taylor.

"I'd been more of a Beatles fan," the former Stone admits candidly in advance of an upcoming swing through Ontario and Quebec. A fleet-fingered guitarist who more than knows his away around the neck of a sunburst Gibson Les Paul, Taylor was just 21 when he was tapped to join the band in 1969.

Fresh off a stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers – a training ground for up-and-coming virtuosos like Eric Clapton and Peter Green – Taylor was already a seasoned sideman with a wealth of chops under his belt when the Stones came calling. "It was a big step in terms of the fact that they were a band that was universally popular and famous and had hit singles, but nevertheless still came from the same English blues scene of the early '60s," he says, speaking over the phone from the U.K.

Taylor and his band arrive in Ontario this coming week for a string of shows that will see him draw on material from an extensive, if underappreciated, solo career, while dipping into the Stones' archives for a few chestnuts culled from his years with the group.

Recent choices have included "Stop Breaking Down," a grinding blues number from the 1972 classic Exile on Main Street, and "Love in Vain," a Robert Johnson cover that was treated to Taylor's soulful, vibrato-laden slide playing on Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, a 1970 live LP that memorably featured his fluid and fiery finger work on romping cuts like "Midnight Rambler."

"It felt great, so natural for me," he says of the decision to revive the Johnson song. "It is part of my consciousness, part of my history."

Taylor's first – and undoubtedly most intimate – performance gets underway on Tuesday at Peter's Place, a 100-seat venue in a converted garage attached to the rear of promoter Peter Swanek's Gravenhurst home. (Audience members are politely encouraged to bring slippers so they can shed their street shoes at the door.)

Johnny Winter, James Cotton and Colin Linden are among the luminaries who have lit up this cozy room since Swanek opened the doors in the spring of 2008.

Taylor's band, which has the equally adept Denny Newman sharing guitar chores, plays consecutive gigs in Gravenhurst July 14 and 15, before moving on to blues festivals in Ottawa, Mont Tremblant, Windsor and London.

While the crowds that turn out to hear him these days are a far cry from the audiences who filled stadiums during his time with the Stones, he says his group has been warmly received in England, France, Germany and Japan.

"I can't really think about contemporary trends," he says of his approach to the material. "I can only play what is in my heart and soul and hope people will like it."

When it is suggested that the albums produced during Taylor's years with the Stones are widely considered among the band's best – think 1971's Sticky Fingers and Exile – he doesn't disagree. "Everything about that particular period of time in the music business was right. We were all in our 20s. Mick Jagger was still writing great songs and so was Keith (Richards). And Keith and I played well together."

Taylor, however, left in '74, after wrapping up It's Only Rock and Roll. With marriages and children added to the mix, the year had been a difficult one for all involved, he says. "It did become a bit more of a strain because of various people's problems, including my own, sort of getting in the way of coming up with the goods in the studio."

Life in the band "was a bit decadent, really," he says. "When you have a lot of success and money at an early age, it's bound to go to your head, and it went to mine as well."

His decision to leave created "a lot of animosity," he says, "because they never expected anyone would leave. But I don't know, they haven't done so badly, and I haven't really done so badly."

Taylor has recorded several solo albums and toured extensively under his own name, as well as alongside artists ranging from former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and Alvin Lee of Ten Years After fame to Bob Dylan, whose 1983 album Infidels features Taylor's deft touch.

While he'll readily acknowledge that "some of the best stuff I've ever done was with the Stones" – his jazz-tinged solo on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" comes to mind – he remains determined to "get back in the loop and make people aware of the fact that I am a very good guitar player and a reasonable singer."

As for his former bandmates? "I am proud I was part of it and hope we can remain friends, even if somewhat distant friends. They move in different circles. I don't have a house to go to in Bermuda in the winter."

Taylor plays Peter's Place July 14 and 15. Tickets: petersplayers.com. Other shows: Ottawa Bluesfest (capitaltickets.ca) July 16; Tremblant International Blues Festival (tremblantblues.com) July 17; Bluesfest International in Windsor July 18 and Bluesfest International in London July 19 (thebluesfest.com).

Quote
Amused

Taylor plays Peter's Place July 14 and 15. Tickets: petersplayers.com. Other shows: Ottawa Bluesfest (capitaltickets.ca) July 16; Tremblant International Blues Festival (tremblantblues.com) July 17; Bluesfest International in Windsor July 18 and Bluesfest International in London July 19 (thebluesfest.com).

Did anyone here go to any of these shows?

No, including Mick Taylor.