Re: Bernard Fowler
Date: August 19, 2005 20:45
Chelseadrugstore we all have our shall we say pet peeves as far as albums, sidemen, tours, blah blah blah, but wheras Chuck (who I admit is a competent player i.e. the Allmans and likely a nice guy) bothers me due to the nature of his function w/in the band - and the relative banality (& lack of finesse) compared to Ian McLagan, Nicky, Stu, or even Billy circa '73, before his head got too big for his afro, I like most of the other musicians they've been touring with since '94 (after they dumped Matt Clifford). Bernard I met twice and was a warm, approachable, sharp guy who seemed pretty self-effacing. This was during the Ron Wood "Slide" of '92 - 93 & he fit perfectly, and was exactly what the New Barbs tour could have used - a strong co-lead vocalist, comfortable supporting RW, singing songs originally done by Rod and Mick (RW-associated Stones songs i.e Black Limo, Pretty Beat Up, IORR, etc), and he is excellent imo on the Charlie albums as well. I'd already liked his stuff w/ Bill Laswell (countless Laswell projects inc Material's One Down - I'd guess Laswell intro'd BF to Jagger during the Shes the Boss sessions), Tackhead, & Nickelbag. Check out N'bag's covers of Bowie's 'Win' or "I Don't Know Why I Love You' or their scorching version of "Only Happy When It Rains" (shreds the original) - the guy is very much a pro, & a bit chameleonlike, but projects plenty of heart & hot buttered soul & lead-vocalist high energy as well (more soulful, nuanced, appealing, & rounded a singer than Cory Glover of Living Colour, a band I like)...And if Keith doesn't want to sing much backup anymore, I'm fine w/ Bernard, Lisa, & Blondie - who's an asset for any auxiliary bass/keybs/guitar/perc as well as having a pretty cool resume (btw all over the new Hubert Sumlin, on a variety of instruments)...The issue w/ all these people is degree - The Stones whould be front & centre, mix wise, w/ a sax solo here or keys on tracks as appropriate, not as a sonic bed on which the guitarists can occasionally snooze...