I sent a message to Andrew Loog Oldham via his official facebook page about who played the accordian on Back Street Girl, here is his reply...


"a more advanced player indeed. knowing that was what i required i followed the suggestion of jack nitzsche and engaged a gent named nick de caro to play the part. nick was an established LA arranger for people like sonny & cher and many more. all is good in loogsville - hope the scottish vote goes the way it should. best, o"

So it wasn't Brian after all, which I thought was likley given the rather disciplined nature of the playing.

Many thanks to Andrew for answering!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-26 04:38 by His Majesty.

Here's how I asked, just to give better context.

"Hi there!

Currently re-reading 2Stoned, great stuff!

Wondering if Andrew can recall who played accordian on the stones Back Street Girl from Between The Buttons? Some say it was Brian, but it has the feel of a more advanced player.

Hope all is well in the world of loog? Best wishes from cold and rainy aberdeen in Scotland."

That's nice to know...thanks for asking and posting

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Thanks!

[www.spectropop.com]

ask him why the loog?

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StonesTod
ask him why the loog?

Cos he's fukking cool!

Okay, so Brian at least played marimbas on the song, right?

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24FPS
Okay, so Brian at least played marimbas on the song, right?

Possibly that gentle vibraphone part that some mistake for an organ and some a marimba.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-25 21:36 by His Majesty.

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His Majesty

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24FPS
Okay, so Brian at least played marimbas on the song, right?

Possibly that gentle vibraphone part that some mistake for an organ and some a marimba.

I don't really know the difference between a marimba, a vibraphone or a xylophone. I know Bill Wyman plays one of those three on the 'new' cut Don't Be a Stranger and it's pretty fantastic.

This is really interesting. Thanks

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Keep On Rolling

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Rolling Hansie
This is really interesting. Thanks

???

Sorry...was posting the link about Nick, but just saw Her Majesty already did so above.

The Stones are listed among his credits at the end.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-25 22:27 by Jah Paul.

Keith's acoustic playing on this is ace! Great accordion too of course.

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24FPS

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His Majesty

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24FPS
Okay, so Brian at least played marimbas on the song, right?

Possibly that gentle vibraphone part that some mistake for an organ and some a marimba.

I don't really know the difference between a marimba, a vibraphone or a xylophone. I know Bill Wyman plays one of those three on the 'new' cut Don't Be a Stranger and it's pretty fantastic.

They all sound like this Look at the crazy Bass player at 1.12

HD




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Jah Paul
Sorry...was posting the link about Nick, but just saw Her Majesty already did so above.

The Stones are listed among his credits at the end.

His, not Her.

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His Majesty

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Jah Paul
Sorry...was posting the link about Nick, but just saw Her Majesty already did so above.

The Stones are listed among his credits at the end.

His, not Her.

Sorry...must have had The Beatles on my mind! ><

Thank God, I couldn't sleep wondering about this...

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dewlover
Thank God, I couldn't sleep wondering about this...

Now you can sleep well, but make sure you remember to wake up. ><

This has been a mystery for years to many Jones era followers! Thank you His Majesty very much! Sort of disappointed it was not Brian though Mystery number two = Was it Brian on lead solo on the long version of "Tell Me", many people on this board who are musicians think it might of been. ???

Thanks for clearing up this mystery! I always thought it was too well-played to be Brian. Great song.

title of thread shoulda been: "accordion to oldham, backstreet girl player id'd" - another missed oppo

Well, Brian can take credit for one thing. The accordian is played in the spirit of Brian Jones. Sensitive, emotionally resonant playing was his forte. I remember reading Charlie describing Bill's playing as feminine. Yes, Bill played a sensitive bass, sometimes. He could just as easily lay down Brown Sugar and shake the world. Brian's, and then Bill's, sensitivity was vital to their sound and is very much missed today. They were the water signs in the group, up agains the fire of Leo Mick and Saggitarian Keith. There's a reason many of us mistake the accordian playing for Brian.

Id say it's played in the spirit of the song.

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24FPS
There's a reason many of us mistake the accordian playing for Brian.

I think there are various reasons... one being that many people are too quick to credit Brian with any unusual instrumentation. Before finding out, I felt that if the accordion was played by Brian it was one of his most accomplished performances.

I feel the same way about the piano on Ruby Tuesday. Even with the Courtfield Road footage where Brian plays parts of Ruby Tuesday on piano, I still feel some uncertainty as to who actually played piano on the studio version.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-26 03:32 by His Majesty.

I sent Andrew a link to this footage and asked whether Brian played the piano on the studio version...





"interesting. as were the reader's comments below. not sure if it was brian. i may have blocked it out. i doubt it as he was not around that much for the basic tracks at that time. could have been jack, equally it could have been nicky hopkins, if we brought the stuff back to london to finish." - O

Hmm, the mystery continues...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-26 03:38 by His Majesty.

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24FPS
Well, Brian can take credit for one thing. The accordian is played in the spirit of Brian Jones. Sensitive, emotionally resonant playing was his forte. I remember reading Charlie describing Bill's playing as feminine. Yes, Bill played a sensitive bass, sometimes. He could just as easily lay down Brown Sugar and shake the world. Brian's, and then Bill's, sensitivity was vital to their sound and is very much missed today. They were the water signs in the group, up agains the fire of Leo Mick and Saggitarian Keith. There's a reason many of us mistake the accordian playing for Brian.

Interesting take, and I think there is a lot of truth to it (the astrological nonsense aside). When Brian left and the Stones discovered the open G template that would come to define their sound up to the present day, the music did become more "masculine" in a way, and we did lose some of the sensitivity (which Mick brought to the table as well) of the earlier pop period. Now it's sometimes hard to even imagine a time when the Stones had never heard of open G guitar and that sound played no part in their music. It was still great.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-26 06:01 by 71Tele.

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His Majesty




Keith's acoustic playing on this is ace! Great accordion too of course.

Yes. This may, quite seriously, be my favourite Keith intro to any song: utterly simple and completely effective. We had the big argument about the marimba/xylophone/celeste/glockenspiel/vibraphone in the Track Talk thread for Backstreet Girl: whatever the damn thing is, that's Brian playing it, and it's essential to the gentle lullaby-like feel of the track.

Thanks for doing the research into the accordion question (I wonder who said "what we need on this track is an ACCORDION" - and what the first reaction in the studio was!) I can't find any track on YouTube with Nick de Caro playing one, but he worked with Phil Spector and Nicky Hopkins at various times, so the connections are there. His arranging work tends to be too lush and string-laden for my taste, but he does do another nice "sinister lullaby" here with Claudine Longet, from about the same period as Backstreet Girl. If you're old enough to remember "Rosemary's Baby", you'll know this one:





(edit to replace the Claudine Longet video with a working copy )



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-19 08:03 by Green Lady.

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His Majesty
Here's how I asked, just to give better context.

"Hi there!

Currently re-reading 2Stoned, great stuff!

Wondering if Andrew can recall who played accordian on the stones Back Street Girl from Between The Buttons? Some say it was Brian, but it has the feel of a more advanced player.

Hope all is well in the world of loog? Best wishes from cold and rainy aberdeen in Scotland."

Hi HM,

Never thought you were Scottish. Are you an Aberdonian then? All best SD

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Silver Dagger


Hi HM,

Never thought you were Scottish. Are you an Aberdonian then? All best SD

Yes.