While listening to these 2 records again recently, it's always amazed me
how damn little guitar Jones played on either. We all know his contributions
on other instruments to these sessions contribute greatly to the overall effect
of each track (indeed, perhaps recording techniques of the mid '60
only permitted such coloring, ie: in order to add the marimba,
you have to do it at the same time as the backing vocal and put it
on the same track), but I'm talking about guitar playing here.
So this is what I seem to here as Brian's contributions on Aftermath, Buttons, Etc..
aftermath (British version):
Mother's Little Helper- "eastern" like guitar riff played through a flange-type
pedal device (like the Beatles used on Yer Blues). Could be Keith.
Stupid Girl: rhythm guitar? Mayebe organ.
Lady Jane: dulcimer
Under My thumb: marimbas. Guitars are all Keith, including fuzz bass
Doncha Bother me: slide
Goin' HOme: harp
Flight 505: rhythm? Sounds like all Keith
High and Dry: harp
Out of time: marimba
It's not easy: rhythm? SOunds like all Keith
I am waiting: dulcimer
Take it or leave it: autoharp
Think and What to do?: sounds like all Keith
Have you seen your mother: SOunds like all Keith, including acoustic.
Who's Driving your plane: harp
Let's Spend the night together: organ? no brian on guitar here.
Ruby Tuesday: recorder
Sittin on a fence: sounds like all Keith. Harpsichord maybe?
Ride on baby: autoharp

Buttons: I don't think Jones plays any guitar on this.
Maybe Cool, calm, and collected.
Please Go home sounds like all Keith. Oscillator maybe?
Miss Amanda Jones is all Keith. SO is My Obesssion and Complicated. Sleeping Here sounds like all Keith. As does All Sold Out. Back Street girl, BJ on accordian.
Connection sounds like all Keith. BJ on vibes on Yesterday's Papers.
We Love You and Dandelion: Mellotron.
Satanic Majesties: I don't think he plays a note of guitar here.
Mellotron and percusssion, but no guitar.
What do you all think?

gee i dunno!

I've tried for a while to find out who had been playing guitar on what song, but it can be quite confusing. In Robert Palmers books you find all kind of remarks, but when I watched live images from the old days (and I don't mean the play-back ones) you find controdictions. It's All Over Now is just one of those examples.
The most reliable remarks one should expect to come from the Stones themselves (or recording technicians like Malo and Hassinger), but even there you sometimes find contradictions. I gave up and decided to just enjoy the Stones great music.
Good Luck!

Brian is clearly playing slide on "Dontcha Bother Me" on Aftermath
Brian on Buttons (courtesy various incl. Complete Works site):
Organ (Lets Spend the Night, Complicated)
Marimbas (Yesterday's)
Piano (Ruby, All Sold Out)
Recorder (Ruby, ASO)
Tambourine (Connection)
Banjo & Kazoo (C, C, & C)
Harmonica (Who's Been Sleeping?)
Saxophone, Clarinet, Trombone, piano (something Happened to Me)

as for Flowers, aside from reruns LSTNT, RT, & Lady Jane - I include Sad Day, Who's Driving Your Plane, & What to Do on my version
Guitar (Sad Day, Mother Baby, What to Do, My Girl-?)
Guitar, Harmonica (?)(Plane)
Marimbas (Out Of Time)
French Accordion (Backstreet)
Theremin, Guitar, Mellotron (Please Go Home)
Sitar, Guitar (M's Little Helper)
Harpsichord & Bells (Take it)
Harp, Harpshichord, Marimbas (Ride On Baby)
Tambourine, Guitar, Harpsichord (Sitting on a Fence)

What a flexible cat! Satanic:
1 - flute, percussion, brass
2 - mellotron, brass
3 - mellotron
4 - guitar
5 - flute, mellotron, percussion, brass
6 - mellotron, percussion
7 - mellotron, brass
8 - sitar, flutes, mellotron, percussion
9 - mellotron
10 - harp, mellotron

ps - I believe Brian also plays guitar on Its Not Easy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-03-22 18:23 by john r.

BRIAN'S GUITAR ON AFTERMATH:

Stupid Girl- low note rhythm guitar

Doncha Bother Me- slide

Think- There are four guitars on this gem. Keith plays electric (including solo)and acoustic on right channel. Brian plays fuzz guitar and toned down electric (which constitutes the lead) on left channel.

Flight 505- trades off rhythm and lead parts with Keith; classic weaving taking place . . .

It's Not Easy- very silent lead (very low in the mix-you can hear it faintly in the background), but the solo is Keith's

BETWEEN THE BUTTONS

Please Go Home- Brian playing Bo Diddley slide. Sounds very simlar to his playing in Mona. Brian plays no other guitar in BTB.

FLOWERS

Sittin' On a Fence- Brian plays lead acoustic here (doesn't sound like Keith)

I've read in several Stones books that in the late 60's, alot of the guitar work is Keith only since Brian was losing interest and obviously doing alot of drugs.

Ruby Tuesday is Brian playing the recorder(not a flute) as well as the piano.

"I've read in several Stones books that in the late 60's, alot of the guitar work is Keith only since Brian was losing interest and obviously doing alot of drugs."

Yes, that's very much promoted official story.

- Doxa

And we all know official doesn't always mean true.

There's a Brian discography here:

[www.angelfire.com]

[p207.ezboard.com]

From what I've read Brian broke his hand and it never healed properly and severly effected his guitar playing. Add to that the drugs, MJ,KR and A.L Oldham not recording whatever parts he tried to play and whatever illness he had that put him into seizures you may be able to see why he didnt play much six string. The main part was his hand, it just did not work.

Keith was playing almost all the guitars from Aftermath until Mick Taylor added his bit to Honky Tonk.

Brian did get out, as we all know the beautiful "No Expectations"

Milo, NYC
I'm Losing My Touch

For sure, the only two albums Brian did NOT play guitar on were Between the Buttons (U.S. version) and TSMR. He did play sufficient amount of guitar in Aftermath and I think he played slide on three songs in Beggars Banquet- No Expectations, Parachute Woman, and Jig-Saw Puzzle. I guess we will never know for sure who plays what on much of BB. What a pity! But Parachute Woman has a Brianesque quality to the slide playing. Compare the smooth slide on that song with Keith's on Salt of the Earth. Very different. As for Brian's hand, I don't believe that story so much. He may have broken it at one point, but I don't think it limited his ability to play. If his hand was such a problem after 1966, then how was he able to pull off No Expectations, one of his greatest guitar performances? He just decided to stop playing guitar for a while to explore other instruments and to spite Keith . . .

I must be missing something becuase I have just never been that impressed with the slide work on No Expectations. I mean it fits, it is nice, but I just cannot see it as such an instrumental masterpiece and demonstration of guitar prowess. Yet I hear it mentioned over and over as such a masterpiece, almost as often as I hear about MT's VIBRATO. I think Brian's earlier guitar work was much more impressive than this.

It's the feel kahoosier...it's the feel.

ROCKMAN

ROCKMAN, you hit it right on the head. Brian Jones may not have been a guitar virtuoso ala Clapton, MT, or Jeff Beck, but he sure did have a lot of FEEL. Who cares if he couldn't play a billion notes per second . . .

Hahaha KahoosierI I'm with you on this one. Every once in a while certain performances or perfromers are mythicicized (is this a word?). They become legendary and larger than lifer becuae maybe at some point somebody got a Boner over this performance and others jumped on the bandwagon. When did Clapton ever become "God"? I bet he painted that graffiti himslef... yes "No Expectations" is a good song; great quiet ethereal soundscape. And the slide is very pretty, but I have never heard this "genius" in it that I hear all the time. I know all about "feeL' etc. IMO Keith's playing exhibits more of this 'feel' with one finger than Brian's. Maybe it's just because it is sort of Brian';s last real guitar track on record. But I mean there it is: open tuning in whatever key the song is in and he slides up to the fifth fret anf then whopopee do back down or up to the 12th. Never got it. To be honest I don't even dig Brians' harp playing that much. He is VERY good. I just prefer Jagger's playing by a mile from day 1, as far back as '64.
Yes, talk about 'feel'. Brian's harmonica is very cerebral; too many clear notes. Whereas Jagger just sux and huffs and blows. A few grunts here and there. It fits the Blues a lopt better than Brian IMO. Jagger has never lost his brilliant harp playing. On CYHMK in Lix I thought that his solo was the high point. All over the first 3-4 albums Jagger is reat. And whoi can forget those sonic blasts in "Stop Breaking Down"? But I'm off topic.
Anyway, Brian...yes, great, the best, always...just don't think "NE" is all that.

Geez, I never said No Expectations was a 'guitar masterpiece' or a 'work of genius'. I stated that it was one of Brian's best guitar performances. Very different. But hey, to say NE is a 'guitar masterpiece', 'work of genius' etc. wouldn't be too far-fetched. Let's face it, Brian plays damn well on it. His slide work is perfect for the song. Who else could have played it? Some might suggest MT, but he probably would have added a couple long solos, changing the song completely (and not for the better) . . .

Keith played the slide on Parachute Woman and Jigsaw, you can hear him working out the parts on Boots from the sessions.

Milo, NYC
Stop breaking Down

Yeah same here neptune...where did this genius stuff come from?

ROCKMAN

kahoosier Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I must be missing something becuase I have just
> never been that impressed with the slide work on
> No Expectations. I mean it fits, it is nice, but I
> just cannot see it as such an instrumental
> masterpiece and demonstration of guitar prowess.
> Yet I hear it mentioned over and over as such a
> masterpiece, almost as often as I hear about MT's
> VIBRATO. I think Brian's earlier guitar work was
> much more impressive than this.


....not as much as how bad Ronnie Wood plays guitar these days

I respect women who can suck golf balls through a garden hose....