Quote
WeLoveYou
I agree about Clapton. A competent guitarist, but he never plays anything interesting. Very overated, and yet enjoying the success Mick Taylor should have had.

Quote
texas fan
Well, I don't see how Taylor "should have had" it, since he didn't write and sing songs that a lot of people want to listen to, and he didn't manage his career in the same way...

Quote
jamesfdouglas

Quote
texas fan
Well, I don't see how Taylor "should have had" it, since he didn't write and sing songs that a lot of people want to listen to, and he didn't manage his career in the same way...

Bingo.
Much how Jimi Hendrix's singing and songwriting was also important but not given their due next to his insamely groundbreaking axework.

It's not all about the guitar playing, folks!

[thepowergoats.com]

Quote
Justin
Not sure I ever really truely believed all that talk about Ronnie being left off the tour. Perhaps Mick said that to Ronnie to give a "scared straight" moment and to shape up. Had Ronnie needed more time, I think the Stones would've waited for him to get better...not just go on the road without him.

Not sure how the fans, or the Stones would've felt with another guitarist there. Don't think anyone would feel comfortable looking back at their history and saying..."didja catch them on the Licks tour?" "Which one was that?" "The one without Ronnie Wood." "Oh yeah, right."

Something about that really sounds tacky. This ain't Van Halen or Whitesnake...with a rotating roster of band members.. Ick!

Quote
Turning To Gold
In my opinion, purely hypothetically, if Ronnie got left at home, the first choice to fill in would have been Blondie, then Waddy Wachtel. They may not be "a big enough name for the casual fan," but then who was Daryl Jones to the casual fan? It'd be more about someone who had the similar background and spoke their musical language, and who could do the hang, talk the talk. They're not big stars but Daryl, Blondie and Waddy have all been around big-time recording studios, big tours and schmoozy backstage haunts for years. It'd also have to be somebody like Daryl or Chuck who could walk in and play the parts in his own style but still not really change the overall sound of the group that much.

if you want to speculate on someone flashy, maybe

- Derek Trucks

- Johnny Winter

- someone from a white American blues background like Bob Margolin or Coco Montoya, someone like that

- the blonde guy from Rod Stewart's band in the '70s, took over from Ron Wood, played the riff on "Hot Legs," his name escapes me

Al Anderson from NRBQ also gets mentioned a lot in these "replacement Stones" conversations over the years. He'd actually be a good fit because he's almost their age, and he generally plays a lot of rhythm as well as lead

Or even maybe Pierre de Beauport. I seriously think if it had happened, it would have been an extremely low profile person rather than a well-known guitarist or rock god who is already a celebrity in their own right.