Keith -- and Charlie -- always better in the studio than live
Date: September 16, 2007 16:13
I came to think about this the other night, inspired by all the debates about which Stone is doing the best job at what time and place, especially following the last tour with Keith getting a lot of critique.
And here is my opinion:
BETTER IN THE STUDIO than LIVE
Keith Richards. Of course, Keith's natural habitat is on tour, on stage. Going to one concert, seeing one dvd from pretty much any era confirms it. Five strings, three fingers, one @#$%&...yada yada yada. But really, Keith's true artistic moments at the top of the game -- where he outshone himself -- is in the studio. People still wonder if the guitar solo on Sympathy is really him. His slide on Let It Bleed, the funky groove on Monkey Man, the twin guitars on Rocks Off, the early open tunings on Street Fighting Man or Happy...on stage they sounded cool but always technically weaker and often plain sloppy. I know many of you will deny it, saying the technique isn't important, etc., but I think Keith's true abilities as a rhythm or semi-lead guitar player really came forward the most in the studio.
Charlie Watts. Just like Keef, Charlie performed his best when Jimmy Miller kicked his arse. He was awesome on the '72 and '78 tours -- maybe the most "Charlie" he ever sounded, but as the years went by his funky tom tom fills turned more and more into repetitive snare rolls. Just listen to Honky Tonk Women, Monkey Man, Rocks Off, Jig Saw Puzzle, Stray Cat Blues ... he never recreated that live.
Brian Jones. The Stones founder and first guitarist was a true pioneer when it came to putting blues on television and grabbing the girls attention. But his most innovative, touching and interesting musical moments where in the studio. The marimba on Under My Thumb, the sitar on Paint It Black, the mellotron on 2000 Light Years, the recorder on Ruby Tuesday, the slide on No Expectations...the list goes on. Though it might partly have been Mick and Keith's fault, Brian did nothing on guitar towards the end, even when he tried.
BETTER LIVE than in the STUDIO
Bill Wyman. Never the one to step forward in the mix, Bill was a helluva rockabilly bass player. Reliable like few, standing like a statue, barely moving his hands, he always delivered. But on record, many of the most distinctive bass parts were played by Keith or Mick Taylor: Sympathy, Tumbling Dice, Happy, Silver Train... true, he played on Miss You, but that was supposedly a Billy Preston thing. On stage, though, that's when his walking bass lines really made the Stones swing. Just listen to Midnight Rambler, All Down the Line or When The Whip Comes Down.
Ronnie Wood. Since his style is close to Keith's, he meshes well with the Stones sound and doesn't stick out as much as Mick Taylor. His slide and pedal steels and the odd funky riff (like Hey Negrita) stand out on record, but for much of the time, you don't really notice the man. I think his high points are on stage. Listen to the solos on YCAGWYW in '75, Wild Horses at Knebworth and Beast Of Burden in '78. Or the leads on All Down the Line or Happy. Often sloppy, sometimes drunk, Ronnie's always best when he has his spontaneous moments of brilliance on stage. Especially when his guitar partner is even more drunk and sloppy.
Mick Taylor. This is a tough one. I put him here partly to make my pretentious rant symmetric. But Mick Taylor always played well, and his famous studio moments, like Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Sway, Winter, are essentially single takes of live Taylor in the studio. His sound wasn't as varied live, but his solos were. He makes 20 recordings of the same song from the same tour worth hearing. He took older songs to new heights (Gimme Shelter, Sympathy, Street Fighting Man, Love In Vain), and I haven't even started babbling about his vibrato.
EQUALLY GOOD LIVE and in THE STUDIO:
Mick Jagger. 1962, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 2007. Enough said. His howlin on Stray Cat Blues in Europe '70 sums it up. Or his humble telltale of Sympathy for the Devil in the studio... I give up. And he seemed to carry the whole band in 2007.
End of rant. Hell, my post feels like a Mojo article...
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-09-17 00:52 by LieB.