I never understood why the band has stuck with this buck-toothed, backwoods hack as a replacement for Ian Stewart. He's unimaginative, marginal at best, and tries to steal the show each and every chance he gets. All I can figure is that Jagger feels Leavell is more refined or versatile but I don't buy it at all. Poor choice, fellas!!!

Here's a sample of Mac's playing with Rod Stewart from a 1993 radion show in San Antonio, Texas.

[www.yousendit.com]

I do prefer Macs playing to Chucks.

But without the orgaization skills and enthusiasm of Chuck there wouldnt be any Rolling Stones today.

I like Chuck.

That's really a freaking good piano player, that Mac. It swings much better than Chuck...much much better.

Chuck was Stu's hand-picked replacement, "I quite like that boy from Georgia."
So let it go people.

And Chuck is getting better & better in making
Jagger & c playing good old songs.

I'm afraid TOPS is 100% correct. Chuck is an organizational genius. And Jagger depends on him. Unfortunately, he is ill-suited to be the Stones keyboard mainstay. Ian was the perfect choice...sloppy, ragged, yet spot-on funky and brilliant...and he could swing like a mother. Chuck did some amazing work with the Allman Brothers Band in the early-mid 1970's...and then with his own band Sea Level...but he is not the musical fit for the Stones that Ian is. Unfortunately Ian is about as organized as Keef...

Diamond rings, Vaseline, you gave me disease, well, I lost a lot of love over you.

Organization and polish are not good things for the Stones...

Chas Wrote:
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> Organization and polish are not good things for
> the Stones...


Not musically no. But I agree to the fact that they probably wouldn't be touring nowadays without Chuck, Lisa, Bernard......and all other people in the back, like Cohl. It shouldn't be like that, but it is.

Now! You decide that now! Bit late in the day for that really.

WHat are you referring to, jagger50?

I mean Chuck has been in there for quite a while now. Surely at this stage of the game it's not worth changing him for someone else.

Basically, if I had to sum up the piano players the Stones have had, this is how I would do it:

Ian Stewart - a ferocious purist who loved his boogie woogie (RIP.

Nicky Hopkins - oozing with talent and versatility (RIP).

Ian McLagan - Plays with great zeal but overshawded at the time by Stu.

Chuck Leavell - A total fake, musically. More of an organist than a pianist.

For those that don't know, Chuck has kept a diary of every single song they have played at every gig since he joined. When they want to try a different song for a change they go to Chuck.

They go to Chuck? Why, because they're getting Alzheimers? They don't play their old songs anyways! All they do is rehearse them eg. "Flight 505," "Around And Around" like back in '02 but they old boys are too lazy to work them through. They just give up and play "Jumpin' Jack Flash" over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Chuck is a patsy pure and simple.

It's not my opinion, I read it in one of my Stones books.

I got mixed emotions about this. I think a lot of Chuck's playing sucks....just listen to the Tumbling Dice on Rarities for instance.
Then again, it's true that he is a very good organiser and support for RS, and that he is a kind fellow.

Give and take our different views it's obviously down to the Stones themselves who they recruit. Can you imagine the phone call?

Musically most people agree, but yes we all know that we get the rare songs because of Chuck Leavell. Which is great.
We get the tours because of Cohl. Which is great. But then financially speaking he could let it loose too.
As for the bass player. Wyman is a better fit to the music. But then he doesn't like flying around.

HE IS A GREAT PIANO PLAYER AND A MUSICAL GENIUS! GET A LIFE PEOPLE, LIKE I SAID, STU PICKED HIM BECAUSE HE WAS MORE LIKE HIMSELF THAN MAC.

Steve B. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They go to Chuck? Why, because they're getting
> Alzheimers? They don't play their old songs
> anyways! All they do is rehearse them eg. "Flight
> 505," "Around And Around" like back in '02 but
> they old boys are too lazy to work them through.
> They just give up and play "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
> over and over and over and over and over and over
> again.
>
> Chuck is a patsy pure and simple.

In a fresh way...it sounds so new!!!!

Mac himself has said that Mick felt he would be a bad influence on RW, which is kind of a joke considering KR is around. Mac should be the piano player.

did the stnes played "flight 505" ?

buffalo 81 Wrote:
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> did the stnes played "flight 505" ?


No, but they took flight 505 from UK to US when they started the 1966 US tour (no joke, it's the truth)

But they did rehearse it on Tuesday, August 6, 2006 in Toronto after a friend had called Keith and mentioned to him a coincidence that he had just taken a flight from Europe with the #505. So Keith brought that one in to the rehearsal sessions but the band stuck with the same old same old. Too bad....


[www.iorr.org]


Tuesday August 6:

Hot Stuff
Heart of Stone
Going To A Go Go
Sad Sad Sad
Flight 505

yeah i agree,Mac is great!chuck is not so bad but a bit faceless for the stones!