By Jas Obrecht October 16 2011

By the time of our 1979 interview, Mick Taylor, master of slide guitar and the poignant solo, had accumulated some of the most stellar credentials imaginable. Thirteen years earlier, just after he’d turned seventeen, Mick had launched his career with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, touring the U.S. and playing brilliantly on six albums. “He had the hard job of replacing Peter Green in my band,” Mayall wrote in 1970, “and over the period of two years made the grade to where people who played the guitar used to crowd every concert or club date and stand in awe and amazement at what he played.”

My encounter with Mick Taylor took place four years later, at another high point in his career. He’d just finished recording his debut solo, the self-titled Mick Taylor, for Columbia Records. Rather than go the route of importing famous musicians, Taylor had played most of the instruments himself. His guitar playing. I thought, was spectacular, and in person, Mick turned out to be humble and gracious. Our two-hour interview took place on June 22, 1979, while Mick was in Los Angeles. Portions of this 11,000-word conversation appeared in the February 1980 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Here, for the first time, is the complete, unedited version.

read it here:
[jasobrecht.com]

What a great interview! Thank you, Open-G. It was good to read the entire interview finally. Mick touches on all the topics we've discussed forever here from whether he was a full band member, contributions vs. credit, contribution vs. songwriting, who plays what on which song. Great stuff. The pre- and post-Stones sections were great, too. Only one I wish was touched on was "Broken Hands" and "Hand of Fate."

Thanks Open-G. Taylor knows what he's talking about, that's for sure

Phew, I got through it. Great interview, for sure. Wasn't there some big debate on here about who played what on Can't You Hear Me Knockin'? Well, now we know.
Mick sounds like a great guy too.

You got the Sun, You got the Moon,
and you've got
The Rolling Stones

Thanks!

I haven't read the original interview as it appeared in Guitar Player for years so I look forward to reading this version later. I have scanned it however and one thing that jumped out at me was this:

JO: "Who did the leads in “Bitch”?

MT: "I did that."

Now, to my ears the leads on 'Bitch' were done by Keith. His signature is all over it. So I wonder then what else is written there that contradicts conventional knowledge.

To my ears, Keith is the first guitar (rhythm) and Taylor the second (the lead) on "Bitch." Others claim the reverse is true. The Herbie Mann cover with Taylor suggests it's Taylor on rhythm but who knows. I'm prepared to accept Mick's memories in 1979 as accurate.

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WilliamPatrickMaynard
To my ears, Keith is the first guitar (rhythm) and Taylor the second (the lead) on "Bitch." Others claim the reverse is true. The Herbie Mann cover with Taylor suggests it's Taylor on rhythm but who knows. I'm prepared to accept Mick's memories in 1979 as accurate.

There are lots of mistakes in that interview, also from Taylor´s part. Seemingly, it´s not that easy to remember it all

There is no doubt that Keith plays the lead on Carol on Ya Ya´s, for instance. And several reports from the studio sessions + Keith´s unmistakable style tells us he plays the lead on Bitch. Although Taylor once did a Keith-ish Berry-lead: I Could Have Stood You Up on Talk Is Cheap.

MT - he could of wrote the riff to Bitch since Keith never claimed it over the years.

play the guitar boy

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OpenG
MT - he could of wrote the riff to Bitch since Keith never claimed it over the years.

play the guitar boy

Of course he could, and he played it on the record, too. But the lead is Keith.

Taylor also played the riff on every show.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-10-17 20:06 by DandelionPowderman.

MT could never sound that ANGULAR Nor would anyone ever want him to play that type of solo - MT was only 4 years removed from the stones and it is hard to imagine him saying that -


play the guitar boy

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DandelionPowderman

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WilliamPatrickMaynard
To my ears, Keith is the first guitar (rhythm) and Taylor the second (the lead) on "Bitch." Others claim the reverse is true. The Herbie Mann cover with Taylor suggests it's Taylor on rhythm but who knows. I'm prepared to accept Mick's memories in 1979 as accurate.

There are lots of mistakes in that interview, also from Taylor´s part. Seemingly, it´s not that easy to remember it all

There is no doubt that Keith plays the lead on Carol on Ya Ya´s, for instance. And several reports from the studio sessions + Keith´s unmistakable style tells us he plays the lead on Bitch. Although Taylor once did a Keith-ish Berry-lead: I Could Have Stood You Up on Talk Is Cheap.

On Could Have Stood You Up the second solo, which is Berry-esque, is Richards. The first solo, which is Taylor-esque, is Taylor.

It could be semantics with Bitch -the lead guitar can be the driving rhythm guitar, which is Taylor. The solo guitar is Keith. Maybe he meant that.

It is nice to read that in 1980, Taylor did not feel he was 'cheated' out of song writing royalties. He plainly states he could offer ideas, but that he didn't write much at the time and that it wouldn't make sense to bring in songs when you have Jagger and Richards in the band.

Mathijs

For the sake of semantics as Mathijs rightfully suggests, who starts the song with the opening riff? Is that Mick or Keith? The second guitar (to my non-musician ears) is what I consider the lead guitar since that sounds like the one that solos. Granted the whole magic of that song (pre-STEEL WHEELS tour) is that the guitars duel with one another. It was like YA-YA'S all over again and I never cease loving it.

It was like YA-YA'S all over again and I never cease loving it.

Agreed, no make-up this time:

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WilliamPatrickMaynard
For the sake of semantics as Mathijs rightfully suggests, who starts the song with the opening riff? Is that Mick or Keith? The second guitar (to my non-musician ears) is what I consider the lead guitar since that sounds like the one that solos.

The opening guitar, the main rhythm, is Taylor, and he played it during the '72 and '73 tours. The second guitar, the riffs, fills and lead, is Richards.

Mathijs

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OpenG
MT - he could of wrote the riff to Bitch since Keith never claimed it over the years.

play the guitar boy

Same with the Last time and Brian Jones.

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Redhotcarpet

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OpenG
MT - he could of wrote the riff to Bitch since Keith never claimed it over the years.

play the guitar boy

Same with the Last time and Brian Jones.

Taylor neither has ever claimed the riff to be his.

[www.timeisonourside.com]

Sometimes we run things down... sometimes we get an idea for a song from, say, a rhythm that Charlie and Keith have played together or something, or like Bitch that Charlie and Bobby (Keys) and me played. Quite often, we go into it without the song being written - which annoys me intensely. But that's the way we record sometimes.

- Mick Jagger, 1971

This is one of our groove tunes. We recorded the backing track at Olympic but the overdubs, with the brass and everything, were done live one night in my house in the country, a sort of mock baronial hall I used to have called Stargroves, where The Who and Led Zeppelin also recorded later on. The Stones' Mobile studio was one of the first. We used to park it outside our houses and do tunes. We eventually gave it to Bill, and he's just sold it to be broken up.

- Mick Jagger, 1993

Instantly (when Keith walked in the studio) it went from not very good, feels weird, to BAM and there it is. Instantly changed gears, which impressed the shit out of me.

- Andy Johns

When we were doing Bitch, Keith was very late. Jagger and Mick Taylor had been playing the song without him and it didn't sound very good. I walked out of the kitchen and he was sitting on the floor with no shoes, eating a bowl of cereal. Suddenly he said, Oi, Andy! Give me that guitar. I handed him his clear Dan Armstrong Plexiglass guitar, he put it on, kicked the song up in tempo, and just put the vibe right on it. Instantly, it went from being this laconic mess into a real groove. And I thought, Wow. THAT'S what he does.

- Andy Johns, 2007

Mathijs

It could have been Keith in the studio, but I have to say I prefer most of the '72-'73 versions when it comes to the musical (less rigid) balance of the guitars.
A pity Keith's lead on Bitch sounded very "drugged" sometimes, but that's a part of Rock & Roll, unfortunately.

I knew the second guitar or lead guitar was Keith live (Marquee Club and Leeds, too), but I was never sure on the studio version. I really thought it was Keith then Taylor on the album, but that begs the question why switch it around in concert. Thanks for the response.

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Mathijs

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DandelionPowderman

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WilliamPatrickMaynard
To my ears, Keith is the first guitar (rhythm) and Taylor the second (the lead) on "Bitch." Others claim the reverse is true. The Herbie Mann cover with Taylor suggests it's Taylor on rhythm but who knows. I'm prepared to accept Mick's memories in 1979 as accurate.

There are lots of mistakes in that interview, also from Taylor´s part. Seemingly, it´s not that easy to remember it all

There is no doubt that Keith plays the lead on Carol on Ya Ya´s, for instance. And several reports from the studio sessions + Keith´s unmistakable style tells us he plays the lead on Bitch. Although Taylor once did a Keith-ish Berry-lead: I Could Have Stood You Up on Talk Is Cheap.

On Could Have Stood You Up the second solo, which is Berry-esque, is Richards. The first solo, which is Taylor-esque, is Taylor.

It could be semantics with Bitch -the lead guitar can be the driving rhythm guitar, which is Taylor. The solo guitar is Keith. Maybe he meant that.

It is nice to read that in 1980, Taylor did not feel he was 'cheated' out of song writing royalties. He plainly states he could offer ideas, but that he didn't write much at the time and that it wouldn't make sense to bring in songs when you have Jagger and Richards in the band.

Mathijs

I don't think it's Taylor-esque. At least it's more Berry-esque than anything Taylor ever did.

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WilliamPatrickMaynard
I knew the second guitar or lead guitar was Keith live (Marquee Club and Leeds, too), but I was never sure on the studio version. I really thought it was Keith then Taylor on the album, but that begs the question why switch it around in concert. Thanks for the response.

Well, Taylor is credited with playing the main riff, but to my ears it sounds like Richards. The riff is played with a strong right hand, tight and with a vengeance, and this is just quite a-typical for Taylor. I do not know one Taylor rhythm part, before, with or after the Stones, that sounds a bit like this. And, Taylor played it quite different live, much less focussed and tight. Not worse, but just different.

Mathijs

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Amsterdamned
Thanks Open-G. Taylor knows what he's talking about, that's for sure

Apart from some bad memory, he does

- I think on “Carol,” I played the solo.

Who did the leads in “Bitch”?

- I did that.

Who does the sort of fuzzed solo?

- On “Soul Survivor”? Keith.

- Yeah, I played on “Angie.” I played the acoustic guitar.

Was that mainly you?

- Yeah.

Thanks Open-G. Taylor knows what he's talking about, that's for sure <Amsterdamned>

Apart from some bad memory, he does <DP>

I knew it!....

I think he meant lead, as in lead off the song, not the solo, it appears to be Richards solo to me and Richards on Carol as well. Richards solo's to my ears are stuttery and lack flow, thats why he does Chuck Berry so well, it suits his style or did his style develop after listening to Berry.

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lapaz62
I think he meant lead, as in lead off the song, not the solo, it appears to be Richards solo to me and Richards on Carol as well. Richards solo's to my ears are stuttery and lack flow, thats why he does Chuck Berry so well, it suits his style or did his style develop after listening to Berry.

its quite brilliant and brave of keith to start his phrase with a pull-off ( no jokes) , isnt it .
also the variations at the fade out tells me that its taylor playing the riff track.

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straycatblues73

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lapaz62
I think he meant lead, as in lead off the song, not the solo, it appears to be Richards solo to me and Richards on Carol as well. Richards solo's to my ears are stuttery and lack flow, thats why he does Chuck Berry so well, it suits his style or did his style develop after listening to Berry.

its quite brilliant and brave of keith to start his phrase with a pull-off ( no jokes) , isnt it .
also the variations at the fade out tells me that its taylor playing the riff track.

Compared to Taylor's mean riff on the Gimme Shelter Philadelphia '72 version during the verses, something is telling me it actually could have been MT. Not sure though.

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straycatblues73
its quite brilliant and brave of keith to start his phrase with a pull-off ( no jokes) , isnt it .
also the variations at the fade out tells me that its taylor playing the riff track.

Could you expound on why you think it's brilliant and brave? I don't see it myself.

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Redhotcarpet

Same with the Last time and Brian Jones.

In a 1965 Beat Instrumental magazine Keith told us Brian wrote The Last Time riff.

So Richards did get Open G from Ry Cooder and Richards was still writing songs telepathicaly without even being there. Even Andy Johns didnt know what Richards did.

Thanks for the interview!

[savoirfaire-hoorayforhollywood.blogspot.com]