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OlRiddim
His self-titled solo debut from '79 has been a go-to album for years and years - from the opener "Leather Jacket" (an ode to the beautifully wasted times) to the closer "Spanish/A Minor" (listen for the tease of the "Time Waits For No One" solo at the end). There's crunch: nice Keith-style riffing on "Broken Hands" - and there's sweetness: "Baby I Want You" - with a whole lot of MT guitar throughout.

after a five-year wait, it was worth it. a stones throw wasn't bad, either, but two solo studio albums in almost 4 decades? not quite the prolific recording artist that i think most expected.....

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StonesTod

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OlRiddim
His self-titled solo debut from '79 has been a go-to album for years and years - from the opener "Leather Jacket" (an ode to the beautifully wasted times) to the closer "Spanish/A Minor" (listen for the tease of the "Time Waits For No One" solo at the end). There's crunch: nice Keith-style riffing on "Broken Hands" - and there's sweetness: "Baby I Want You" - with a whole lot of MT guitar throughout.

after a five-year wait, it was worth it. a stones throw wasn't bad, either, but two solo studio albums in almost 4 decades? not quite the prolific recording artist that i think most expected.....

Right on ... and that's the sad part.

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OlRiddim
His self-titled solo debut from '79 has been a go-to album for years and years - from the opener "Leather Jacket" (an ode to the beautifully wasted times) to the closer "Spanish/A Minor" (listen for the tease of the "Time Waits For No One" solo at the end). There's crunch: nice Keith-style riffing on "Broken Hands" - and there's sweetness: "Baby I Want You" - with a whole lot of MT guitar throughout.

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StonesTod
after a five-year wait, it was worth it. a stones throw wasn't bad, either, but two solo studio albums in almost 4 decades? not quite the prolific recording artist that i think most expected.....

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OlRiddim
Right on ... and that's the sad part.

Not really if you take into account that MT never set out to be a solo artist. He left the Stones intending to use his talents as a guitarist in a different musical context. Unfortunately the group he joined (Jack Bruce project) was disbanded after less than one year and these circumstances forced him to rethink everything. It seemed the only thing left to do was develop some material of his own.
This doesn´t change the fact that the guitarist role is a natural fit to him, rather than being a bandleader/frontman. To this day he doesn´t really call himself a "solo artist". He´s brilliant at enhancing any track he´s asked to contribute guitar to. But writing songs from scratch does not come easy to him.

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Lightnin'

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OlRiddim
His self-titled solo debut from '79 has been a go-to album for years and years - from the opener "Leather Jacket" (an ode to the beautifully wasted times) to the closer "Spanish/A Minor" (listen for the tease of the "Time Waits For No One" solo at the end). There's crunch: nice Keith-style riffing on "Broken Hands" - and there's sweetness: "Baby I Want You" - with a whole lot of MT guitar throughout.

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StonesTod
after a five-year wait, it was worth it. a stones throw wasn't bad, either, but two solo studio albums in almost 4 decades? not quite the prolific recording artist that i think most expected.....

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OlRiddim
Right on ... and that's the sad part.

Not really if you take into account that MT never set out to be a solo artist. He left the Stones intending to use his talents as a guitarist in a different musical context. Unfortunately the group he joined (Jack Bruce project) was disbanded after less than one year and these circumstances forced him to rethink everything. It seemed the only thing left to do was develop some material of his own.
This doesn´t change the fact that the guitarist role is a natural fit to him, rather than being a bandleader/frontman. To this day he doesn´t really call himself a "solo artist". He´s brilliant at enhancing any track he´s asked to contribute guitar to. But writing songs from scratch does not come easy to him.

fair enough....but if you add up ALL the sideman studio work he's done in 4 decades since leaving the stones - it is still incredibly underwhelming. a guitar is a terrible thing to waste....

StonesTod - Taylor has been on alot of sideman projects over the years, just hunt them down..

I got Mick to sign my Stones throw and also my copy of his 1979 album, Japanese
version - he had never seen that one before...

MLC

I like both studio albums and agree with Honestman about the sound on the second one, but the first one is full of true gems. I used (and still do) to play it over and over.

I'm always waiting for a third studio albums and got my fingers crossed...

I am really shocked that there is so much love for his self-titled solo album.

IT SUCKS!

I love me some MT as much as the next guy but really?? Gems?? please....

His voice is boring at best and the songwriting aint too impressive either. Take Ronnie's solo record from the same year: raunchy, rockin, fun, down and dirty rock n' roll. MT's...it has it's moments but I was really disappointed when I bought it. After the brilliant work he did with the Stones, this is the best he can do?? Soft rock just doesn't move me, and that's what this sounds like to me. Some great licks here and there but the album has no balls!

I'll have to give it another spin (yes I do have the LP!) but I really can't remember much apart from Leather Jacket.

For those who haven't heard it I've uploaded "Special" from the "Unreleased Second Album" >>> [www.mediafire.com] <<< really an excellent track!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-05-19 04:54 by gotdablouse.

I like both albums, songs like Never Fall in Love Again and Baby I Want You, would be great songs if performed by better singers and better production. Taylor most likely didnt have the time and money to much more than he did. What did the stones have, 70 hours of tape on Tumbling Dice alone. ( Dont know if thats true, maybe it was 7 hours

I have his first album. IMO, it's boring, but with some good moments.

Taylor isn't the horrible singer lots of people on this board say, but he lacks character and signature.

I've tried to pick up this album from time to time, just to see if I'd get a better impression. Still haven't.

I also have a problem with Taylor's "new" style of playing on this album. I believe he started to play more without a pick, something that makes his solos more on and off, compared to that with the Stones. On the other hand, this something entirely else, and very different music.

I listed to his albums and boots almost everyday on my ipod, Taylor in the mornings and Brussels Affair in the afternoon. Even though Taylor aint the best singer, his music is still very listenable and a little addictive. His live set rarely changes however and he has stopped playing everything from his first album.

I would say the opening 2 lines from Leather Jacket are also a kudos to the Glimmers: You and your lady are the king and queen, Rock & Roll Circus, its the best I've ever seen.

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MCDDTLC
StonesTod - Taylor has been on alot of sideman projects over the years, just hunt them down..

I got Mick to sign my Stones throw and also my copy of his 1979 album, Japanese
version - he had never seen that one before...

MLC

ALOT? i'm sure i have almost all of them, if not all. it's not that much considering a 4-decade span. i've been a sideman on just slightly fewer.

What about what Bill German said in UNDER THEIR THUMB that he would regularly get sent to him self-made albums from crappy bands who'd say, "We hired Mick Taylor to play on it!" And German said Mick Taylor playing with a crappy band didn't make that band good; that the CDs always sucked. These bands would want German to plug the albums in Beggar's Banquet (which he never did).

Broken Hands is the best rocking song done by any current or former stone since 1979. I can only come up with Hand of Fate in 1975 that comes close to broken hands.


play the guitar boy

i really,really like the music he made in his solo years.
Only saw him twice. Would love to see him more times in concert
byeee
jeroen

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OpenG
Broken Hands is the best rocking song done by any current or former stone since 1979. I can only come up with Hand of Fate in 1975 that comes close to broken hands.


play the guitar boy

you really hit the nail on the head there !

Yeah the song has swagger, balls, guts and MT is out front for the whole world to listen to that famous Vibrato.



play the guitar boy

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OpenG
Broken Hands is the best rocking song done by any current or former stone since 1979. I can only come up with Hand of Fate in 1975 that comes close to broken hands.


play the guitar boy

Better than Start Me Up, She Was Hot and Summer Romance?

Haven't heard the song yet, but now I gotta check it out. Cool!

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DandelionPowderman

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OpenG
Broken Hands is the best rocking song done by any current or former stone since 1979. I can only come up with Hand of Fate in 1975 that comes close to broken hands.


play the guitar boy

Better than Start Me Up, She Was Hot and Summer Romance?

Haven't heard the song yet, but now I gotta check it out. Cool!

it is great , imagine jagger singing it !

IMO - Start Me UP was started in the 70's and is Keith rehashing open g tuning,
summer romance sounds so contrived and she was hot is again keith rehashing chuck berry licks.

Broken Hands has depth,soul, and musically charged

play the guitar boy

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OpenG
IMO - Start Me UP was started in the 70's and is Keith rehashing open g tuning,
summer romance sounds so contrived and she was hot is again keith rehashing chuck berry licks.

Broken Hands has depth,soul, and musically charged

play the guitar boy

Yeah, but what a rehash!!! IMO, that riff wiped the floor with everything. And the sound is unbetable.

BTW, I can understand your take on Summer Romance, but a closer listen to She Was Hot will reveal a band developing. Yeah sure it's Berry-boogie, but there is melodic passages during the chorus, crescendo towards the ending, rhythm changes and brilliant vocals as well. That's the parts of the song I love the most.

Posted by: DandelionPowderman ()

Yeah, but what a rehash!!! IMO, that riff wiped the floor with everything. And the sound is unbetable.

BTW, I can understand your take on Summer Romance, but a closer listen to She Was Hot will reveal a band developing. Yeah sure it's Berry-boogie, but there is melodic passages during the chorus, crescendo towards the ending, rhythm changes and brilliant vocals as well. That's the parts of the song I love the most.


DP - I respect your thoughts and knowledge and enjoy your posts,how some can not enjoy MT's two solo records is amazing to me especially when most of the posters here love music and truly make it part of their everday life. MT's two solo records show him growing as a musician and him playing landscapes that are sublime and beautiful.Yeah Keith and jagger showed maturity as musicians and writers between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed before Taylor joined. But after 1975 the glimmers have not done much to make me say wow that is a great @#$%& song. In the end its all about what when are you going to write the next great SONG.

play the guitar boy

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OpenG
Posted by: DandelionPowderman ()

Yeah, but what a rehash!!! IMO, that riff wiped the floor with everything. And the sound is unbetable.

BTW, I can understand your take on Summer Romance, but a closer listen to She Was Hot will reveal a band developing. Yeah sure it's Berry-boogie, but there is melodic passages during the chorus, crescendo towards the ending, rhythm changes and brilliant vocals as well. That's the parts of the song I love the most.


DP - I respect your thoughts and knowledge and enjoy your posts,how some can not enjoy MT's two solo records is amazing to me especially when most of the posters here love music and truly make it part of their everday life. MT's two solo records show him growing as a musician and him playing landscapes that are sublime and beautiful.Yeah Keith and jagger showed maturity as musicians and writers between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed before Taylor joined. But after 1975 the glimmers have not done much to make me say wow that is a great @#$%& song. In the end its all about what when are you going to write the next great SONG.

play the guitar boy

Thanks, and likewise, OpenG.

In the end I guess it's all about which direction you wanted one of your favourite guitar players to take. The 80s fusion stuff just isn't my bag.

I like some of the stuff on MT's first album (I don't have the other album), and I think MT gets a bit unfair treatment by members of this board for his debut - as I tried to say in my first post.

As you say, there are "soundscapes" in there very much worthwhile discovering for every music fan. Still, the album as a whole is a bit dragging in my book. But that's my aquired taste.

You have heard me play. You know I'm as much of a Taylor fan as anyone here on IORR. But I'm also a great Keith fan, and I truly beleive that Keith brought out the best of Taylor, something he either didn't want to - or never managed to find back again after he quit.

Ironically, Taylor played a standard Keith-ish Berry solo while guesting on Talk Is Cheap

But after 1975 the glimmers have not done much to make me say wow that is a great @#$%& song.

I actually got that wow-feeling the first time I heard How Can I Stop. There's gotta be exceptions for you too?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-05-20 13:34 by DandelionPowderman.

Why did Taylors playing develope, yet Richards did not. Taylors playing is still developing, he has moved away from flat picking to a more finger style, while Richards have stopped moving all together. Taylor three years with mayall had some great playing or was it Mayalls organ that made Taylor sound good. so he is not a song writer, so what, neither are many of the other so called guitar Gods. It was Taylor who let Richards have the freedom that he didnt have with Jones.

Taylor's playing developed is obvious playing melody does not limit the player as he explores many styles and plays more in major scales. Lets face it playing in Open tunings limits what you can do to and your boxed in as a player.Taylor also plays with and without a pick to get more of a fat vibrato. MT is like a painter and enriches whats inside the picture frame.In defense of Keith he was more interested in rhythm and never really wanted to be a solo player. His melodies were in open tunings

Stones fans are like Beatles fans, only it was Lennon v McCartney but the Stones is Jagger v Richards, Richards v Taylor, Taylor v Woods. Maybe they all would have been nothing without the other.

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DandelionPowderman

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OpenG
Posted by: DandelionPowderman ()

Yeah, but what a rehash!!! IMO, that riff wiped the floor with everything. And the sound is unbetable.

BTW, I can understand your take on Summer Romance, but a closer listen to She Was Hot will reveal a band developing. Yeah sure it's Berry-boogie, but there is melodic passages during the chorus, crescendo towards the ending, rhythm changes and brilliant vocals as well. That's the parts of the song I love the most.


DP - I respect your thoughts and knowledge and enjoy your posts,how some can not enjoy MT's two solo records is amazing to me especially when most of the posters here love music and truly make it part of their everday life. MT's two solo records show him growing as a musician and him playing landscapes that are sublime and beautiful.Yeah Keith and jagger showed maturity as musicians and writers between Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed before Taylor joined. But after 1975 the glimmers have not done much to make me say wow that is a great @#$%& song. In the end its all about what when are you going to write the next great SONG.

play the guitar boy

Thanks, and likewise, OpenG.

In the end I guess it's all about which direction you wanted one of your favourite guitar players to take. The 80s fusion stuff just isn't my bag.

I like some of the stuff on MT's first album (I don't have the other album), and I think MT gets a bit unfair treatment by members of this board for his debut - as I tried to say in my first post.

As you say, there are "soundscapes" in there very much worthwhile discovering for every music fan. Still, the album as a whole is a bit dragging in my book. But that's my aquired taste.

You have heard me play. You know I'm as much of a Taylor fan as anyone here on IORR. But I'm also a great Keith fan, and I truly beleive that Keith brought out the best of Taylor, something he either didn't want to - or never managed to find back again after he quit.

Ironically, Taylor played a standard Keith-ish Berry solo while guesting on Talk Is Cheap

But after 1975 the glimmers have not done much to make me say wow that is a great @#$%& song.

I actually got that wow-feeling the first time I heard How Can I Stop. There's gotta be exceptions for you too?

some truths in both your posts , guys

truth 1 Yeah, but what a rehash!!! IMO, that riff wiped the floor with everything. And the sound is unbetable.
obviously the greatest post taylor stones song

2 how some can not enjoy MT's two solo records is amazing to me especially when most of the posters here love music and truly make it part of their everday life.i agree and i do.

3 I truly beleive that Keith brought out the best of Taylor, something he either didn't want to - or never managed to find back again after he quit.
and vice versa , both were already great players and really pushed and got the best playing for us during those years MTs solo album is an extention to the stones catalogue for me.

<3 I truly beleive that Keith brought out the best of Taylor, something he either didn't want to - or never managed to find back again after he quit.
and vice versa , both were already great players and really pushed and got the best playing for us during those years MTs solo album is an extention to the stones catalogue for me.>

Not true, imo. Keith improved a lot as a player after Taylor quit. He became a much better solo guitarist, and wrote an incredible number of songs in standard tuning (Among others for Some Girls), which I think contributed to his well-documented improvement.

Keith improved a lot as a player after Taylor quit. <DP>

I had this discussion with my dear friend Mathijs a while ago. Keith is too much of a self-made man to judge about this in a unprejudiced way.

Imo Keith became a more polished player after their first tour with Ron. Not better necessarily, different though.

To me,from "Some Girls" and onwards, his X-factor vanished.