A great read.

[Bill Wyman Interview]

Some highlights:

What was your most memorable moment with The Stones?

The best one for me was the Hyde Park concert in 1969, on the 5th of July, two days after Brian Jones died. I loved playing live— that was kind of magical.

Which was the band’s best tour?

They were all great. They all kept getting better. I mean, the ’69 tour was fantastic until Altamont. [Note: that concert was marred by a fan fatality.] We had a fantastic tour with Chuck Berry, Terry Reid, Ikeand Tina Turner, and B.B. King—I loved that tour. Japan in 1990 was also fantastic, when we did ten shows in a row, between 45,000 and 52,000 for each show. No one ever did something like that.

Will we ever see Bill Wyman grace the stage with The Rolling Stones again?

If they did one big final live performance that was broadcast all over the world—and they asked me to do it—I probably would do it for the fans. But at the moment, it doesn’t interest me. I’ve had my time.

And absolutely nothing about his metal detector? At least Bill is "open for offers" for a big final show. There's a movie in that. I am sure the business wheels in Mick's head are spinning as we speak.

thanks for sharing this

Mick's rock, I'm roll.

I can't believe he's still going on about not receiving proper credit on Exile songs! The fact is, the songs that are credited to Mick Taylor or Keith sound like Mick Taylor or Keith. Same with Bill Plummer. I love the guy, but please Bill, which song exactly did you play on the released version of the record (as opposed to the original session) that you are not credited for? Well, he must be happy now, because on the new Exile he is credited on every song (sometimes along with another player). So now who actually played the bass from track to track is more confusing than ever. Great.

Well, if he played on certain cuts on Exile, and he's not credited, I would think he has the right to correct it. I haven't seen the new credits. Does he claim to have played bass of Tumbling Dice?

Quote
24FPS
Well, if he played on certain cuts on Exile, and he's not credited, I would think he has the right to correct it. I haven't seen the new credits. Does he claim to have played bass of Tumbling Dice?

That's the thing. he doesn't say exactly which song(s) he supposedly played on that he is not credited on. Shine A Light? No way. Casino Boogie? I don't think so. He may have been on the session for Tumbling Dice, but Taylor is on the released version. Either they wiped Bill, or they used a take from when he wasn't there. I believe the original exile credits are correct. The new credits hedge by crediting Bill plus the person originally credited on every song (if not Bill), which is wrong too.

true--he might be confused by having played on the first takes of songs then getting his parts wiped perhaps without ever been told directly. Still, you'd think he'd recognize what are not his parts.

Well, if it's not Bill on Tumbling Dice, it's certainly Taylor playing in the style of Bill Wyman. Even Keith's bass on the studio JJF is from the blueprint for a counterpoint bass line laid down by Bill on Satisfaction. The only bass line that is first class, and not ala Wyman, on a major Stones recording, is Keith's samba bass on Sympathy For the Devil.

Quote
24FPS
Well, if it's not Bill on Tumbling Dice, it's certainly Taylor playing in the style of Bill Wyman. Even Keith's bass on the studio JJF is from the blueprint for a counterpoint bass line laid down by Bill on Satisfaction. The only bass line that is first class, and not ala Wyman, on a major Stones recording, is Keith's samba bass on Sympathy For the Devil.

'

Check out Taylor's bass on Torn & Frayed. There are actually lots of great Stones bass parts played by Taylor or keith, or Ron on Emotional Rescue.

"When was the last time you saw the Stones in concert?

It was at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 or 2008. I don’t hear the Stones the same way now as when I was in the band, because in those days, it was all sort of dangerous and loose. Now, it’s like a machine. It’s like they’re playing to click tracks, which we never did. The music has become more machine-like than I would like, and that’s not the way it was when I was with them"

That's so true...

Quote
71Tele
I can't believe he's still going on about not receiving proper credit on Exile songs! The fact is, the songs that are credited to Mick Taylor or Keith sound like Mick Taylor or Keith. Same with Bill Plummer. I love the guy, but please Bill, which song exactly did you play on the released version of the record (as opposed to the original session) that you are not credited for? Well, he must be happy now, because on the new Exile he is credited on every song (sometimes along with another player). So now who actually played the bass from track to track is more confusing than ever. Great.

Funny thing is that in other occasion he seems to complain that he couldn't be heard in the original tracks and he didn't have a chance to over-dub them afterwards, that is, he was left out from the record!:

"The unfortunate thing was that if I wasn’t there when something was being recorded somebody else played on the original track. So either Keith would lay down a bass with Charlie, or else Mick Taylor would. Of course, when I came back and the bass was already there, what was the point in me overdubbing if it worked well? If Keith or Mick or Mick Taylor weren’t there for something, they were always able to overdub their instruments later. That was the inconvenience of being part of the band’s rhythm section. If Charlie wasn’t there and Jimmy played drums, then Charlie could never be on that track, like the other guys could"

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-08-26 11:08 by Doxa.

But what sroke me in that interview is the point of claiming how anti-acoustic /delta blues the rest (Mick, Keith and Brian) were in the early days. I knew they were pro-Chicago electric blues but not against the acoustic version (it took until BEGGARS when Mick and Keith really found the delta blues) - I have speculated that it might have been the case but I have never heard anyone confirming that. Of course, they all - at least Keith - were familiar with Big Bill Broonzy and things like that (Keith from his art school days), but probably the "folk" version of the blues was something the guys reflected strongly against at the time. The loud electric guitar and the drums really made the edge and the difference.

But what makes me a bit confused of Bill's own testimony is his recollections of his own position. Was he really into Lightin' Hopkins, etc.? From what I've heard, Bill was a rock and roller (or even a pop fan) who was horrified how the Stones would mostly play boring, slow 12 bar blues. I thought the case was that Bill was educated by the others ("the blues fanatics" by Bill's standards) to the secrets of the blues... This was also the thing a bit upsets me in Bill's Blues DVDs and books. He doesn't seem to recall the of order of the events... Maybe he says something about Brian Jones, but "forgets" Mick and Keith.

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-08-26 11:25 by Doxa.

But as far as seeing the band "objectively" I think Bill is in a right track:

Did you feel when you left the band two years later; that its best music was in the past?

I think the best music was done between ’68 and ’72. Never mind about when I left in ’92.

When was the last time you saw the Stones in concert?

It was at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 or 2008. I don’t hear the Stones the same way now as when I was in the band, because in those days, it was all sort of dangerous and loose. Now, it’s like a machine. It’s like they’re playing to click tracks, which we never did. The music has become more machine-like than I would like, and that’s not the way it was when I was with them.

"Dangerous and loose", my man... (Bill seemingly forgot the 1989/90 but who cares).

- Doxa

I think Bill's complaining regarding Exile is All Down The Line, where he obviously played, but isn't credited.

Quote
24FPS
Well, if it's not Bill on Tumbling Dice, it's certainly Taylor playing in the style of Bill Wyman. Even Keith's bass on the studio JJF is from the blueprint for a counterpoint bass line laid down by Bill on Satisfaction. The only bass line that is first class, and not ala Wyman, on a major Stones recording, is Keith's samba bass on Sympathy For the Devil.

Err, Pretty Beat Up, Emotional Rescue, Fingerprint File. There are lots of great bass playing (completely different style than Bill´s) that Keith, Ron and Taylor have recorded.

To me ER bass is like RW imitating BW

excuse my ignorance.
but, the stones guitarists imitating bill´s style?

is there something like a bill wyman style. i love his playing but i don´t see
what´s stylistically so special.

There is

Quote
stoneswashed77

is there something like a bill wyman style. i love his playing but i don´t see
what´s stylistically so special.

This is the way the man himself defines his style in the interview:

On His Novel Approach With The Stones

I was one of the first bass players in England to understand I had to play along with the bass drum. Jazz musicians and Americans were doing it, but we didn’t think like that in England. Luckily the band learned all these little tricks very early.

On His Rock & Roll Peers

I heard these incredible, magical bass players—Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, and Felix Pappalardi. I totally admired their technique, but I couldn’t stand the way they played; they were all too busy. It’s like another guitar—there’s nothing underneath. Ronnie Wood plays like that, too. He’d play on a Stones song if I wasn’t in the studio, and he’d always ask me later, “What do you think of that, Bill?” I’d always say, “Bloody horrible! Where’s the bass?” [Laughs.]

I think the "style" - being as primitive, intuitive and idiosyncratic - in question is not really so easy to imitate. A wonderful bass player like Darryl Jones turns quite often boring and flat if tries to play with as minimal and archaive style as Bill does. I think as a bass player Bill is exactly equal to Charlie Watts as a drummer. "Anybody" can play like Charlie (because it is technically or theoretically quite basic and primitive), but still "those guys don't swing"...

By the way, listening Bill to "critizise" his bass peers you can hear the same wisdom and philosophy Keith Richards is talking about when discussing playing the guitar (remeber the "silence" being musician's best friend, etc.). If Charlie would talk, he might say similar things...

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-08-26 15:12 by Doxa.

Quote
24FPS
Well, if it's not Bill on Tumbling Dice, it's certainly Taylor playing in the style of Bill Wyman. Even Keith's bass on the studio JJF is from the blueprint for a counterpoint bass line laid down by Bill on Satisfaction. The only bass line that is first class, and not ala Wyman, on a major Stones recording, is Keith's samba bass on Sympathy For the Devil.

Eh? Taylor's bass on TD is as much unlike Wyman as one can get.

Mathijs

Quote
Bill Wyman
Japan in 1990 was also fantastic, when we did ten shows in a row, between 45,000 and 52,000 for each show. No one ever did something like that.

Wot? Didn't he leave the Stones after he noticed in Japan '90 that he actually loathed the Stones and everything around it?

Mathijs

when he talks about the Stones, its always with a kind of grumpiness mixed with faint praise. He never forgets to remind anyone who interviews him how Mick and Keith didn't credit him for whatever.

Quote
Mathijs

Quote
Bill Wyman
Japan in 1990 was also fantastic, when we did ten shows in a row, between 45,000 and 52,000 for each show. No one ever did something like that.

Wot? Didn't he leave the Stones after he noticed in Japan '90 that he actually loathed the Stones and everything around it?

Mathijs

Wyman's life got into a crisis in Japan 1990,I read that his father died and his marriage was over at that point, so he decided to change his life completely. He probably needed the money from the 89/90 tour. I find it admirable that he changed everything and became a happy man.

Quote
Mathijs

Quote
Bill Wyman
Japan in 1990 was also fantastic, when we did ten shows in a row, between 45,000 and 52,000 for each show. No one ever did something like that.

Wot? Didn't he leave the Stones after he noticed in Japan '90 that he actually loathed the Stones and everything around it?

Mathijs

I can't recall him loathing the way Stones worked in 1990. He just thought enough is enuogh - he wanted to do something else. In his books he describes 1989/90 tour with positive remarks (expect his father's death and personal problems like that). He loved how much everything was in their own hands, how they now controlled everything, how professional everything was, how happy band was, how well Mick and Keith get long, contra their previous "druggie" tours (especially he seems to hate 1981/82 tour).

Seemingly you Mathijs seem to have the same problem as Mick and Keith, but not Charlie, to grasp the reason why he quit... I think he left the band when the things were actually better and happier than ever - a great moment to leave, actually. My hats off of that!

What he was bitter about, and is seemingly still, was some things that took place in the very past, not the Stones 1990 AD. I guess in 1990 they were all laughing and singin-along in their way to bank...


- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-08-26 15:27 by Doxa.

Quote
Bill Wyman
I heard these incredible, magical bass players—Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, and Felix Pappalardi. I totally admired their technique, but I couldn’t stand the way they played; they were all too busy. It’s like another guitar—there’s nothing underneath

Well, all these played bass in a band with one guitar. Bill played in a band with two
guitars and a keyboard/organ/piano. I guess that's a big difference.
And apart from that. The typical Stones style, that Bill helped to create, is in my opinion
that not a single member of the band stands out among the others. I guess that's what
makes the band as a whole stand out among other bands.

"It was there that they recorded the bulk of Exile in the sweltering basement"

I almost stopped reading the rest of the article.

>>>
Wyman:

I suppose you could also say I created what was happening on “Miss You,” you know, the walking bass, that octave bass thing. After that, just about every band in the world took that idea at the time and used it in a song. Rod Stewart used it, and a lot of funky bands did, also.
>>

And I suppose you could also say that BILLY PRESTON created what was happening on Miss You.....

"The idea for those (bass) lines came from Billy Preston, actually. We'd cut a rough demo a year or so earlier after a recording session. I'd already gone home, and Billy picked up my old bass when they started running through that song. He started doing that bit because it seemed to be the style of his left hand. So when we finally came to do the tune, the boys said, Why don't you work around Billy's idea? So I listened to it once and heard that basic run and took it from there. It took some changing and polishing, but the basic idea was Billy's. "

- Bill Wyman, 1978

Quote
24FPS
Well, if it's not Bill on Tumbling Dice, it's certainly Taylor playing in the style of Bill Wyman. Even Keith's bass on the studio JJF is from the blueprint for a counterpoint bass line laid down by Bill on Satisfaction. The only bass line that is first class, and not ala Wyman, on a major Stones recording, is Keith's samba bass on Sympathy For the Devil.

can you describe playing "a la Wyman"? What is it?

Quote
Doxa

I think the "style" - being as primitive, intuitive and idiosyncratic - in question is not really so easy to imitate. A wonderful bass player like Darryl Jones turns quite often boring and flat if tries to play with as minimal and archaive style as Bill does. I think as a bass player Bill is exactly equal to Charlie Watts as a drummer. "Anybody" can play like Charlie (because it is technically or theoretically quite basic and primitive), but still "those guys don't swing"...

By the way, listening Bill to "critizise" his bass peers you can hear the same wisdom and philosophy Keith Richards is talking about when discussing playing the guitar (remeber the "silence" being musician's best friend, etc.). If Charlie would talk, he might say similar things...

but I don't think bill is a minimalist player, certainly not by the mid-70s. His comments are ironic in that he often played--and was mixed--more as a 3rd guitar. Stones records are far from bass-heavy.

Quote
WeLoveYou
To me ER bass is like RW imitating BW

So name ONE song Bill played like that...