Thought for the day/night as I sit in front of youtube: The early Beatles took their cues from Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, etc. All the rock 'n roll and rockabilly artists of the 50s. But could you imagine the Beatles (as a group...this might not hold true for individual members) ever devoting themselves to mastering the blues of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, let alone Robert Johnson?

On the other side, there's Eric Clapton (Led Zeppelin too) who famously worshipped the blues artists above (Clapton once said "Muddy Waters was what Elvis was for everyone else" or something to that effect). But could you ever imagine him really loving and doing the music and songcraft of Elvis, let alone artists like the Everly Brothers or Temptations?

That's what, I think, makes the Stones totally unique, and the best. Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson were just as much a part of their sound as Chuck Berry or Elvis or Buddy Holly. No other major artist assimilated so many different sounds and genres into one cohesive whole like the Stones. I suppose in the early days it was Brian who brought more of the blues feel, and Keith more the rock 'n roll feel (and Charlie brought the jazz) but they managed to bring it all together. From the very beginning, they could jump from Otis Redding and Solomon Burke to the Temptations to Howlin' Wolf and back. And their ability to fuse these sounds really shows--for example--covering a Buddy Holly tune to the rhythm of Bo Diddly. Genius! On top of that, add the country music that Keith brought into their sound in the late 60s, and later, even disco, punk, and reggae. Who else could go from Dead Flowers to Dance Pt. 1 to Just My Imagination to Shattered to You Don't Have to Mean It? And that's putting aside all the warhorses.

That's what makes the Stones the best at the end of the day maybe. Perhaps the only other artist that comes close in assimilating all these different sounds is Dylan. Anyways...just some thoughts, just around midnight. Cheers.

Back in -64 it was their sound..it was different to other bands like Animals who also tried Blues..

2 1 2 0

Nowadays their longevity make them different.They starded(with some other..)rock'n roll business,and they are still there....essentially there's no band in the world which was not copying them(little bit at least)

Still the sound of Keith's guitar and Mick's voice.

Line 'em all up ...And yeah they may crack it every now and then ....
But not one of 'em can hold it down like da Stones..The raw nerve sexuality
........The chaotic storm of it all when it hits .... AND they got Mr Charlie Watts....



ROCKMAN

The groove - supple, agile, yet hard as rock - and the weight in their chord changes, crushing other bands.

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"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

"..the weight in their chord changes" I absolutely agree. You put it very well!

apart from TICKET PRICES... a-hem...

It's all about the groove, no other band like it when they're on it together.

....the songs...they wrote great songs....and well then... they could put on a show too....a spectacle.

PR

special sauce.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-08-28 19:12 by ryanpow.

charlie and bill at the core of the engine..

No need to search for an answer. We all know about it. Take It Or Leave It, Love It Or Hate It.

The Stones are the funkiest/sexiest group of all time - it's true it is all in the groove. There's also a subtelty in the way the Stones played in their prime, and Jagger has masses of sex appeal that appeals to both men and women.

Quote
Edward Twining
and Jagger has masses of sex appeal that appeals to both men and women.

eeeeeEEEEEWWWWW!

The Keith/Charlie rhythm twins...

Plus Mick/Brian/Bill/Mick T/Ronnie/Stu!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-08-28 22:39 by rootsman.

This post was very well said! Agree totally. The Stones are so different than other bands in that they really can play rock, funk, disco, country, blues and even Hoagy Charmichael!

I just (re) watched the Biggest Bang DVD from Austin and it exactly prves this point. They can go From the Temptaions (aint to proud to beg) to Waylon Jennings (Bob Wills is still the King) then to tumbling dice to Buddy Holy (Learning the Game) plus all of the other great tunes they penned themselves with out skipping a beat ...pure magic!