Oh well whatever. I've had the pleasure of being onstage with Blondie a couple of times and I can confirm that he is a very gifted musician and a very nice and modest person. The Stones have been working with competent backing musicians ever since 1970.

drewmaster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's interesting how certain non-Stones who are
> close to the Stones (Don Was, Michael Cohl, and
> Blondie Chaplin, to name a few examples) provoke
> such hostility in certain Stones fans.
>
> Drew

im with you drew. the three above names alone are a big part of the stones. blondie is a great musician-i've seen him play with other bands and he was fantastic. michael cohl brings the stones to millions and don was brings the records-sounds like all plusses to me...

uh, i think the stones bring cohl millions

It's nothing personal. I just don't see what he adds.

I'd love to hear his "Fragile Thread" album, to find out.

Anybody here, except Beelyboy, attended the show at Laguna Beach yesterday ?

LOL
actually i heard a streamed interview from a Scandinavian radio station (someone here provided the link) when he released his last solo album and he was very low key about any stones questions;

he was cooperative but definetly there to talk about his own indie effort, how it was recorded and when, his own family, etc...it's hard putting those things together and he has the stones job and not a big label deal or budget etc...
and it was his own stuff you know? not "blondie from the stones plays the stones"

... and i came away admiring him for not sucking on the stones legacy to promote himself; no show biz bull or self aggrandizing in him, pretty straight ahead fellow working his indie album a little...
respectable, cool...seemed like his own man with his own original music and i got to respect that; but hell, i don't know any of these people...

...but i got the distinct impression he was not interested in talking stones stories despite the requiste interview questions...
...but i don't remember much about the tracks they played from it to be honest...just heard a couple in passing and can't really make a fair judgement.

...but yes, and you will find this shocking Erik, better sit down...
I just couldn't make the show.
too close to orange county for comfort down the south bay. not including you redondo hermosa and san diego!!!
i shouldn't talk; i'm in the hell hole they call seattle...nice place to visit tho. portland or back to cali next, (or GA. which won't make elmo or luke happy heh heh...)speaking of portland where in the heck is nikkibong?

generally speaking i like the band as stripped as possible and would prefer they re-think some of the rhythm players from tour to tour...shake things up a little... and would like to be able to afford some good 'seats' at arenas when they play '08...

they will facilitate neither of these things in my lifetime.

if they would like to add another guitarist than add another guitarist for real.
if they want it to be blondie, then bring him out and turn him up on those songs.
they will do neither of those things in my lifetime.

other than that, i think the less i know about them personally, in many ways, the more freely i can relish, adore and just disappear completely into their music. I am not a particular fan of any of the non-stones except bobby personally, tho i don't doubt they are nice people who are kind to the fans.
and mick and charlie are still so strong and consistent. if there's a good guitar mix they can strike lightning hot at any moment and they are still my most favorite band in the world.

i've been on a Handsome Girls kick for two weeks now; coming off of a '81 high from constantly listening to 'down the road a piece' over and over, tho i think i'm heading back toward the very earliest stuff next; but i'm a slave of HG right now. i'm a prisoner of rock and roll.

hey, talking about the stones, i'm thrilled that bill's playing the ahmet charity show...as happy about that as zep, tho VERY excited about zep; i want to hear the crowd when the introduce bill wyman. i really do.
wish i could stream it, dang..



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-12-09 16:29 by Beelyboy.

I'm not a major fan of the sounds coming from backing group, either - but they're probably needed...badly needed, at least for Jagger.

Wise decision on not talking about RS when he - Blondie - was releasing his own CD. But; it would be somewhat odd if he didn't come to that conclusion. Not even Bill Wyman or Mick Taylor liked to talk about RS when they were doing their own music - allthough they have lots of more insight and stories to tell.

Nikkibong, yea he's just not here anymore, I wonder what happened to him ?
Hmm, can't remember him being banned, he might have left on his own free will...

I saw Blondie play at a small club in Chicago a year or so ago...he was selling his new CD, which I bought and asked him to sign. But there were people in front of me who wanted to take a picture with him and he absolutely refused to pose for pictures. Anybody know what that was about?

I think he's a "Keith" man and serves to balance out Bernard - a "Mick" man.

Both very talented, but would still love to see just the Stones, Darryl, Bobby, and a piano man (Chuck or Mac).

"No Anchovies, Please"

thats all they need to pull it off, maybe even less

rocks off Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I saw Blondie play at a small club in Chicago a
> year or so ago...he was selling his new CD, which
> I bought and asked him to sign. But there were
> people in front of me who wanted to take a picture
> with him and he absolutely refused to pose for
> pictures. Anybody know what that was about?


Have to say in his defence I met the guy last summer and he was quite the opposite. He was in a rush to go somewhere and said that he would see us later - and when he came back an hour or so later and saw us in the hotel bar having a drink, he made a point of leaving the company he was in to come over, chat and pose for photos.

If you guys don't know about Blondie it is your fault !

He's been a great musician and known for years.
In the early 70's he helped the Beach Boys to record their 2 best albums.(At least to me.) He is playin guitar, piano, perc. and sings.

And the Stones use him for many things on and behind the stage. And it's been getting more and more.The boys are 60+ and need helping hands . .

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rocks off Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I saw Blondie play at a small club in Chicago a
> > year or so ago...he was selling his new CD,
> which
> > I bought and asked him to sign. But there
> were
> > people in front of me who wanted to take a
> picture
> > with him and he absolutely refused to pose for
> > pictures. Anybody know what that was about?
>
>
> Have to say in his defence I met the guy last
> summer and he was quite the opposite. He was in a
> rush to go somewhere and said that he would see us
> later - and when he came back an hour or so later
> and saw us in the hotel bar having a drink, he
> made a point of leaving the company he was in to
> come over, chat and pose for photos.



Well, no, I wouldn't know what that is about either. A little over a year ago in Vancouver, when we saw him in the hotel lobby and later in the bar, he spoke to us very nicely. In the bar, we asked for a foto (my 12 year old and I) and he was happy to do so.

Some kind person took a great foto of us, he was even leaning down with his chin on my daughter's head. After the foto, he asked if the foto came out alright and maybe did we want to take a second photo. Now how's that for nice and thoughtful?

And even at the Bonnington "convention" in London this year when he came in with Bernard to each sign their CDs (though Blondie was left short as only 3 of his new CDs had arrived) and he was rather plastered, when I asked him to sign a promo card for his new CD, he immediately obliged.


P

cousin, i'm sure every one on the stage has good experience and excellent professional resume.

but for the sake of historical accuracy, or let's say historical perspective; blondie was 9 years old when the beach boys were formed and they did kinda well those first ten or twelve years if you check the discography.

star sailor is well known, but for history's sake blondie came into sessions for holland in '72 for some tracks, a well respected album certainly, and brian was seriously starting to tank and missing in action for most of it; and Blondie also gave their live shows some real solid guitar...this does not diss your man...who has reason to be justifiably proud of his contribution but i bet blondie himself would acknowledge that the beach boys first ten or twelve years before all this had yielded the cream de la creme of the band's legacy...

...and i totally respect your personal faves of the stuff with Blondie, tho i would pick several other bb albums as personal favorites, you'd probably want to include Carl & The Passions, in which he was a key player also. but he wasn't actually a 'beach boy' and makes no such claim i do not think.

blondie came in as a utility player with the beach boys, (ala w/our boyz,) around '72, but was given 3 lead vocals, including star sailor written by brian and van dyke parks and a few other peeps...which is INDEED! a majestic accomplishment and moving performance, and also a lot of room to contribute as a musician outfront and did certainly spark up their live shows, no little thing.

anyway, if he, or anybody else, is gonna play guitar with the stones, then have them up and in there and let it get real and rock on like that for those numbers...i can barely hear what he's doing and also do sometimes find it tiresome all this 'the boys are old men now and can't really play very well or with focus so they need help'

ronnie hasn't played this well in years, if he keeps sober or semi-sober, things will be okay...if keith needs some support on classic riffs, there's no shame in that.
maybe i'm in denial and keith is worse off than i think; u hear all kinds of things from night to night on various legs of abb, especially after the accident...but i think he's A OK; peeps at the beacon and other places where there was more on the line and it was more intimate seemed to be very very satisfied.

keith is brilliantly creative and a natural; almost jazzy in the sense that he "plays" within the arrangements...there MUST be at least SOME measure of bored show-horse when the show is programmed and timed and there's 9 other people playing and singing stuff LEADING him...NOT because he's an old cripple, but because that's the nature of extravaganza...

i am sometimes of the mind that all the extra personnel keeps them from their very own depth of expression and focus in ways.

i miss the live stones. can't wait for shine a light. hope it's not too very overdubbed.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2007-12-10 09:43 by Beelyboy.

I dont see what's the point of having him onstage either.

The Stones have always used extra musicians (or multi-tracking) in the studio, where they felt it was needed. So, in concert, if they want to include the cowbell on HTW, or the maracas on SFTD, or the acoustic guitar on Brown Sugar, or backing vocals (since Keith doesn't do them anymore), then I don't find that contrary to their legacy. Blondie appears to fill the role quite nicely. Now, whether they need a four-man horn section is another story.

I'm not getting into personalities or the various Keith and Ronnie "can't play, won't play" issues.
I agree with Beely's asseement of how this band works and I've never had any objection to Blondie playing guitar on stage.
Most of Stones best work has involved the interplay [won't call it "Weaving" ;^)] between at least three [and sometines more ] guitar tracks... besides the keyboards and horns.
What's wrong with echoing that on stage too ?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-12-10 10:46 by Spud.

Blondie Chaplin is such a great musician, his own work is fantastic and I really like his "work" on stage, may it be playing guitar or doing some percussion. Good to have him there.
Oh, by the way: If you think playing maracas or other percussion while singing is easy and simple...you're wrong. Out-of-time percussion can ruin a whole song. It's not that easy to get the cowbell to swing, and Blondies percussion does certainly "swing" big time.

I heard he was VERY rude to fans after the last Vegas show.
They saw him in one of the MGM bars, and he refused to talk to anyone...
he just sat their alone with drink in hand glaring and scowling at anyone who approached him.

they should get rid of every backup musician.. they don't need any of them no disrespect meant to them.. i'd prefer to seee just the five guys and if keith or ronnie go down in flames cause they are drunk then so be it.. i'd get a kick out of seeing that anyways...

Blondie's a fine musician, a very dear friend to Keith and an important band member. And he's a nice person. That's several good reasons.
After the tour in Europe he went down to Redlands where he spent time with Keith and his family.
And let's just accept the fact that the Stones decide who they want to have working for them. The Stones only pick the best - and the nice people among the best. Blondie's important both socially and musically.

gstone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Blondie's a fine musician, a very dear friend to
> Keith. and an important band member.

ok, I agree.

> And he's a nice person.

some reports here indicate that he he is not always nice. then again, who is able to be nice permanently? after all, were talking about a human being. I for one would say he is nice sometimes, but can also behave a bit narcistic at times. I for one think that someone like Chuck comes over a lot more, lets say, natural & genuine. but then, these are my personal observations. to each their own.

is Blondie an 'important band member' ? well, who are we to decide this? we should not make the mistake to look at the Stones as they were 30 years ago and decide that someone like Blondie is not necessary. the Stones today are not the Stones of the past, and to decide wether Blondie is important or not we would have to send nowadays Stones on stage without him. if you dont hear a difference, then he is not important. if their musical performace would suck without Blondie, we would know that hes important. however, I doubt that the Stones would be better without him like some here seem to think!

The Rolling Stones want Blondie on stage.
That’s the point.

OK...Well, I'm glad to hear that Blondie has been cool to some/most of the fans. Maybe he had a rough night in Chicago.

i've experienced him both nice and not-nice. i spent some time with him during some of the summer touring but in london, it was a different story. i also was at that show in chicago last year and know exactly what you mean, rocks off. he gets tired early. i think he gets overwhelmed with all his friends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-12-11 00:20 by little queenie.

i don't care if he's naughty or nice; jeesh, my postman is nice. very nice. extremely nice.
what's the point.

Beelyboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i don't care if he's naughty or nice; jeesh, my
> postman is nice. very nice. extremely nice.
> what's the point.


exactly...he is not exactly the guy one wants to take to bed anyway, so what? hell, Im not even gay!!! and Im sure Blondie is well aware that at least 99,9999 % of his "friends" hanging around in the bars of Stones hotels will be gone once the band stops touring forever...

little queenie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i've experienced him both nice and not-nice. i
> spent some time with him during some of the summer
> touring but in london, it was a different story. i
> also was at that show in chicago last year and
> know exactly what you mean, rocks off. he gets
> tired early. i think he gets overwhelmed with all
> his friends.


I thought the show was great. I just didn't get his adamant refusal to take pictures. He was signing his CDs and talking to fans...but no pics.

It sounds like we have been to a number of the same shows. Looking forward to meeting you and some of the other IORR'ers at the Buddy Guy show.

He can be mean and evil, that's fine by me - as long as he does a good job with the stones. But the question is: Is he audible on stage? Can you hear his voice? Can you hear his guitar and percussion? IMO, he's pretty buried down in the mix.