By now I think most agree that Brian wasn´t technically a great musician, and that he didn´t play any "standard" guitar solos.
For me, the point is not being technically brilliant, but being imaginative and playing what is great for the song/track. That Brian did very well! (as did the other Stones)
I also think Brian contributed much to the arrangements, which is very important.

Here´s a list of my favourite tracks that features Brian prominently:
(There are of course many others, but I don´t like them as much)
Instruments with question marks have not been verified, but are what I have chosen to believe could be true.


ROADRUNNER lead guitar, harmonica
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY rhythm/co-lead guitar
HONEY WHAT´S WRONG rhythm guitar
I WANT TO BE LOVED harmonica
COME ON harmonica, harmony vocals
I WANNA BE YOUR MAN lead/slide guitar, harmony vocals
STONED harmonica
MONEY backing vocals, rhythm guitar?, harmonica?
MONA (I NEED YOU BABY) lead/“Bo Diddley” guitar
WALKING THE DOG co-vocals, rhythm guitar, whistling
I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU harmonica
HONEST I DO rhythm/co-lead guitar
I´M A KING BEE lead/slide guitar
NOT FADE AWAY harmonica
NOW I´VE GOT A WITNESS harmonica
GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES harmonica
COPS AND ROBBERS harmonica
IT´S ALL OVER NOW rhythm guitar
I CAN´T BE SATISFIED slide guitar
2120 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE harmonica
CONFESSIN´ THE BLUES rhythm/co-lead guitar
LOOK WHAT YOU´VE DONE harmonica
DOWN IN THE BOTTOM slide guitar
LITTLE RED ROOSTER slide guitar
DOWN HOME GIRL lead? guitar
EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY TO LOVE rhythm guitar
THE LAST TIME lead/riff guitar
I´M MOVING ON slide guitar, harmonica?
I´M ALRIGHT lead/”Bo Diddley” guitar, backing vocals
MERCY, MERCY co-lead/riff guitar
FANNY MAE / THE UNDER ASSISTANT WEST COAST PROMOTION MAN harmonica
GET OFF OF MY CLOUD lead/riff guitar
SHE SAID YEAH rhythm guitar
19TH NERVOUS BREAKDOWN rhythm/co-lead guitar
MOTHER´S LITTLE HELPER lead/12-string guitar?
SITTING ON A FENCE harpsichord, rhythm acoustic guitar?
LADY JANE dulcimer
UNDER MY THUMB marimbas
PAINT IT BLACK sitar, acoustic guitar
WHO´S DRIVING YOUR PLANE harmonica
YESTERDAY´S PAPERS vibraphone and/or xylophone
RUBY TUESDAY recorder, piano
BACKSTREET GIRL accordion?, organ?, glockenspiel?
PLEASE GO HOME lead/”Bo Diddley” guitar?
DANDELION harpsichord, soprano sax
SHE´S A RAINBOW mellotron
WE LOVE YOU mellotron
GOMPER dulcimer, flute
2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME mellotron
CITADEL soprano sax, mellotron?, flute?
CHILD OF THE MOON soprano sax
PAY YOUR DUES / STREET FIGHTING MAN sitar, tamboura
JUMPIN´ JACK FLASH rhythm guitar
NO EXPECTATIONS acoustic slide guitar
JIG-SAW PUZZLE mellotron
STILL A FOOL slide guitar
YOU GOT THE SILVER autoharp

He also played percussion on many tracks, as we all know.

This is a tribute to Brian, and not some putting down of Keith (or anyone else).

EDIT: Please don´t take this for being the truth and nothing but the truth...
Information/facts/opinions have been gathered from various books/sites, IORR contributors (special thanks to His Majesty!)
and my own listening/watching experience of the Stones since 1965. Some is probably wrong, though...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-02-17 14:04 by rootsman.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-02-17 12:37 by DandelionPowderman.

rootsman, I don't have time at the moment to go through your list, but thanks for bringing the thread back around toward the original topic!

Brian was a consummate Jack of all trades, sadly he kind of lost interest in the guitar and a lot of it fell to Keith but as rootsman' post above proves Brians immense contribution to the Stones music of the 60's. My favorites are th accordian on Backstreet Girl and his slide on No Expecations and Little Red Rooster.

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His Majesty
You specifically asked for examples of Keith playing Chuck Berry rhythm guitar parts so I provided them. There's nothing in MAJ guitar parts that Keith hasn't played before, during or after that period.

On the Keith parts you mentioned I had my say already. There are Brian Chuck Berry rhythm parts as well, so this doesn't prove anything and it seriously misses the fact that the rhythm guitar on MAJ with it's different parts is pretty unique in the Stones catalogue. That's why I took the time to explain by the way of three examples of rhythm guitar parts on different tracks why it has more of a Brian than a Keith feel to me.

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His Majesty
I also get the impression that if you, along with some other Brian fans, were to learn that he didn't play parts you strongly believe he played that this would in some way spoil the music for you and that's just silly.

Your impression is wrong. I'm able to enjoy a Keith part as well. I even presented a list with Keith parts I like the most, so your accusation has really nothing to do with what I said. My interest for the Stones is big enough to be interested in details and is - as I have to accept - obviously much bigger than that of the "It's Keith"-sayers - and no, I don't think you are one of them, no reason to get upset again.

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His Majesty
The fuzz sound of MAJ is very much that of the Vox 7 series amps they were using at the time. I own one so I know first hand what they can sound like and the sound of those amps is all over Between the Buttons.

As I said, I don't know any other Stones tracks with a repeated two-note motif played by the rhythm guitar as a bridge, except the two I mentioned, 19th Nervous Breakdown and MAJ. Playing a part like this seems to point more to a specific player, in my opinion, than an amp sound that could easily have been adjusted by someone else or in a joint attempt to get a good sound. And even if that had not been the case with MAJ, Brian certainly was a man of sound. As Mick Jagger said, about I Wanna Be Your Man:

"It's all to do with getting the right tune out of the guitar and the amp, which in those days was relatively difficult to do - you didn't have all these boxes to make it up for you. No, he [Brian] was good at that, he definitely was." (Mojo, July 1999, p. 66)

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His Majesty

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Mock Jogger
Bill's obviously not a source you consider credible, right?

It's really quite straight forward, but you're obviously in the mood to be rude.

I'm surprised you took offense at my question. I just didn't know why in one case you consider Bill's account irrelevant (the Ruby Tuesday piano credit for Brian) and in another case obviously not (the Tell Me guitar solo). So I'm curious to know your criteria. I can give you mine: Far away from taking Bill's words for gospel, it is - in general - the best source for most internal band affairs I can think of. Bill was as close as you can be (as the other Stones as well) and kept a diary (as the other Stones did not). So in all things Bill states as facts (as opposed to opinions like his judgement on Keith's singing abilities) I believe his account is more likely to be true than any second hand source. But if there is another first hand source saying something different, it's a matter of consideration which one is true. In our case: if there was an outtake of the RT sessions showing the piano was recorded at the same time as the recorder, it would prove Bill wrong in that case, of course. (His Majesty, I realized you reconsidered your original points in the piano question in another thread. I took it just as an example.)

As I said in one of my earlier posts of this thread there is no reference to the Tell Me-solo in both of Bill's books. In Rolling With he gives the following credits for Tell Me:

"Charlie: drums; Bill: bass, backing vocals; Keith and Brian: guitars, backing vocals; Mick: lead vocals; Stu: piano; Brian: tambourine" (p. 130)

If we agree it's Keith on acoustic guitar, then there is little doubt left that Brian is playing the electric guitar and hence the solo. (Which would be backed up by neptune's original point about the style being more typical for Brian, a point no one here disputed seriously, if I'm right.)

As a side note: I seriously doubt the Stones made any electric guitar overdubs before Nov. 1964 and certainly not on a recording with only two audible guitars and further percussion and/or backing vocals obverdubs required, when they had - if using three track - only one track left for overdubs; the bleeding from the amp to the voc./percussion microphones would be extreme especially in such a small studio like Regent. Apart from that I'd say the guitar solo sounds very one-take-ish.

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Mock Jogger
As a side note: I seriously doubt the Stones made any electric guitar overdubs before Nov. 1964 and certainly not on a recording with only two audible guitars and further percussion and/or backing vocals obverdubs required, when they had - if using three track - only one track left for overdubs; the bleeding from the amp to the voc./percussion microphones would be extreme especially in such a small studio like Regent. Apart from that I'd say the guitar solo sounds very one-take-ish.

Exactly. There were no overdubs on this one. It was all done on one take. And if it was done on one take, then it has to be Brian on the electric (since we already know it was Keith on acoustic). Which then leads to my original question after 305 posts on this thread: Why was this Brian's first and last standard guitar solo? It was a well played solo for its time and one would think this could have been a springboard for more guitar solos for Brian . . .

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Mock Jogger

As I said, I don't know any other Stones tracks with a repeated two-note motif played by the rhythm guitar as a bridge, except the two I mentioned, 19th Nervous Breakdown and MAJ.

Neither track really features a two-note motif playing in the bridge. There's more to it than 2 notes. Something else to consider is that on MAJ the rhythm guitar plays some lead lines towards the end, these lead lines are quite Keith sounding.

It is little details like that as well as general perceptions of Brian and Keith's playing style that make me lean more towards Keith being the only guitarist on Miss Amanda Jones.

I am open to the possibility that Brian may have played the rhythm guitar, I just hear and feel there is more Keith in there than Brian for various reasons.

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Mock Jogger
I'm surprised you took offense at my question. I just didn't know why in one case you consider Bill's account irrelevant (the Ruby Tuesday piano credit for Brian) and in another case obviously not (the Tell Me guitar solo).

Because Bill has been quoted as saying in an interview that Brain never played piano on A stones song. Also, my perceptions about Brian as a pianist weren't what they are now.