Brian was replaced succesfully
Mick T. was replaced succesfully
Stu - well there were Nicky and Billy

But Bill Wyman - after his retirement they lost the swinging sound and were never a complete band again.

So for me it´s clearly Bill Wyman

Mick Taylor off course.
Gold era and after with Ronnie, well... Another band. Another story.

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-10-06 21:52 by powerage78.

Jimmy Miller - have the stones had a good producer since the golden era?

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DandelionPowderman

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Munichhilton
I’m not sure how anyone could think Brian’s departure negatively affected the band when that resulted in what everyone calls the golden age or the creative peak!

Of which Brian also took part (2 out of 4 albums)

That’s a stretch...but he was there I suppose. No expectations is gorgeous

Bill...

but let me mention one that I really miss

Robert Henry "Bobby" Keys

Bill wyman. For (live) sound.

No doubt Mick Taylor. It was very sad when Brian passed of course, but he had sort of been drifting out anyways with less and less contributions.
When Mick Taylor left, the void was massive and all they could come up with was Ronnie. Nice guy, fit's in nicely, but he ain't no Mick Taylor.
He's an OK guitar player, but has no real signature sound, and most of his contributions could have been by any adequate guitar player.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

The most negative departure...Bill Wyman.

Brian Jones is unquestionably important, but he was already withering upon his departure and the band's biggest works were (mostly) yet to come.

Mick Taylor is outstanding, but that core guitar in Keith never left, and "Some Girls", one of their best, is on Ronnie's watch.

When Bill left, that was the most negative void as that was the bass sound (most of the time) since the beginning.

They became more of a straight rock band when Bill left. They lost Bill's "roll".

A factor in choosing the biggest impact has to include why they left imo.
Many are assuming incorrectly, that they could have continued contributing and excelling at the level in which they left.

With Brian and Taylor, drug and alcohol abuse were their undoing.
Given that, and the negative impact it had both individually and on the band, Bill is the only real choice of the three.

Particularly sad for Taylor, as he has attributed the drug use as the main reason he had to get out the first time, then decades later rejoins the boys, only after yet another stint in rehab. While that's well documented, I speculate the rehab took for a bit, like it does with most, long enough to get along and be invited to join the tour etc. But with the way it ended, with limited playing time and bitterness, it clearly didn't take. Again.

Thankfully Ronnie finally got sober, and what a positive difference in his playing and overall contributions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-10-07 00:01 by MisterDDDD.

Richard Manuel .....



ROCKMAN

Touché, Rockman!

Jimmy Miller

Brian's death reinvigorated the band, Taylor quitting reinvigorated the band. Bill quitting made little difference since was all Vegas Stones at that point but Bill's playing was most missed by me.

Bill.

Without a doubt...Bill. Listening to the Stones' older albums, I sure do miss his rumbling bass and can't help but wonder what the 'newer' material might have sounded like had he been laying down the 'bottom' rather than Daryl Jones. Same holds true for the bands' live performances.

While Taylor's departure definitely changed the dynamics and sound of the band, I feel there was still some positivity to be had after Ronnie joined the band...at least initially. If anything, Mick and Keith's drifting apart should take the blame for any 'negativity'.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-10-07 02:56 by FancyBluesMan.

Difficult one .........I'm not sure what Brain could have added after '69 maybe he could ended as a Brian Eno type if guy....so I go for Mick Taylor and not only for his soloing.....

__________________________

If we are talking only about which departure NEGATIVELY affected the band the most, it's Mick Taylor by a mile.

Bill.

Blondie .... the cost to demolish
his room under the stage was staggering ....



ROCKMAN

Ian Stewart

Bill, then Stu, then Bobby

Mick Taylor had a great impact on the band ,asthe sound of it with him was the template for basically what they have been doing for the last 50 years.It was Brian’s band.He started it.But when he left the band got better.Wyman was the biggest loss,as Dylan has said.

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Munichhilton
I’m not sure how anyone could think Brian’s departure negatively affected the band when that resulted in what everyone calls the golden age or the creative peak!

I go w/ Brian nonetheless. C'mon, even if he was wasted and not contributing much anymore, it was a HUGE thing for the Stones to drop an original member, especially considering how much he contributed to their early success!

Bill is next but let's face it, the impact was not the same as w/ Brian, by then no one really cared much about the Stones anymore (hardcore fans certainly did, but I mean the general public - not even close to the degree they did when Brian was dropped).

Wyman, for the chemistry alone. The real core of the Stones is Keith, Charlie and Bill. You remove one leg from that three legged stool and it's not the same. Bill could improve a song, envelop the sound and give it form. Darryl has nothing personal about his playing. You could hear humor in Bill's playing, like the rubbery notes on She's So Cold. Darryl simply fills a hole.

People underestimate Bill as a musician. He could also play keyboards, and marimbas and steel drum. His sensitivity was a bit overwhelmed by Brian's, but it became more apparent once Brian was gone.

>You could hear humor in Bill's playing

>People underestimate Bill as a musician


Totally, on both counts.

Its a hole big enuff to drive a truck thru.

jb

When the Stones lost the prolific and creative Keith Richards to his drug dealers in the 70s the band went downhill. And their descent to mediocrity found another gear soon after when the Jagger who could write powerful lyrics jumped ship. One would hardly notice the loss of Brian, Mick T. Bill etc. if the Glimmers hadn’t burned out (just like few people in 1971 mourned the loss of Brian when they unzipped Sticky Fingers or missed Taylor’s noodling while dancing to Miss You in 78 - these bit players are only missed and romanticized once the music becomes stale).

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Swayed1967
When the Stones lost the prolific and creative Keith Richards to his drug dealers in the 70s the band went downhill. And their descent to mediocrity found another gear soon after when the Jagger who could write powerful lyrics jumped ship. One would hardly notice the loss of Brian, Mick T. Bill etc. if the Glimmers hadn’t burned out (just like few people in 1971 mourned the loss of Brian when they unzipped Sticky Fingers or missed Taylor’s noodling while dancing to Miss You in 78 - these bit players are only missed and romanticized once the music becomes stale).

Bit players? What is Satisfaction without Bill's counter melody on Satisfaction? Ruby Tuesday without Brian's recorder? She's A Rainbow without Nicky Hopkins? Bit players, ha.

Ian Stewart

Rod

Bill = yes
Stu = yes
Brian = no
Mick T = not at all

Brians gradual death had a huge imoact. Taylor? Huge loss. They went from other-worldly spiritual group to a sloppy mess that never really took off, at least not live (I love the -75 and -76 tours and mostly -81 and -78) until they gave up and turned into a Vegas act. Bill’s departure ruined what was left - the Stones no longer were the Stones. He is perhaps the biggest loss after all.