Re: Bad News - The 70's are gone.
Date: April 28, 2005 05:06
I was 7 years old in 1970.
The '70's are the historical and musical soundtrack for the most exciting and adventurous times in life, including my rebelious teenage years. To say that the '70's are gone would be denying the existence of one of the most important periods in my life.
Mick Taylor and the Rolling Stones output during the first 5 years of that decade are superior to everything else that I can think of from most other bands. I was a Zeppelin fan, a Hendrix fan, a Bob Marley fan, and a even a Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fan...thanks to my older brothers record collection. But first and foremost I was a Rolling Stones fan. Eventually, my personal tastes in the late '70's deteriorated to the point where I actually embraced Punk Rock. Thanks to bands such as the Stones, Pink Floyd, Sabbath, Purple, etc., and all the classic rock bands that turned into giant pre-historic money-mongering machines, I sought out the alternative. I then sought out rare, and at the time some might say strange and primitive Jamaican reggae, especially all the weird dub stuff from Lee Perry and King Tubby and other genius Jamaican producers. I then entered college and studied music appreciation, classical music, and Jazz. But then I came full circle when I saw the Stones for the first time in '81...up there in the top 3 of the best concerts I've ever attended...even though it was Ronnie rather than M.T. Unfortunately, aside from Some Girls, the Stones output during the latter part of the decade was considerably weak, and one can only point the finger at Ronnie Wood for this decline in quality. But the live shows were great (and still are to this day for the most part) with Ronnie and they always will be better than most, but as I said, the decline had already set in as far as recorded output is concerned. Thank goodness we have the recorded genius of Mick Taylor during his period with the Stones, it's a great topic to discuss, and without it there wouldn't be much else to talk about regarding the Stones into the '80's, 90's, and now the '00's (?).
For the record, I am a devout fan of the Brian era as well(the sountrack to my childhood '60's upbringing), but the fact remains that it was the early '70's and the Mick Taylor era that deserves the most attention. Regardless of all this rambling nonsense of mine, the Stones - in any formation - are the worlds greatest rock and roll band (along with the Beatles) in the history of the world...period!!!