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robbluedog |
Just a bit of a perspective from the dog.
When the Stones started out it was all about how a band sounded as a unit, much more than how one particular guitarist played as an individual. The two guitar attack of Keith and Brian was a winning combination to that end. Later Brians excursions into other sounds and instruments also served them well. As the 60's wore on however, the age of the guitar hero came into being -Clapton, Hendrix and the rest. So when Brian Jones was no longer fit to carry on as a Stone it was only natural that a guitar player like Taylor, someone who could fulfill the role of a 'guitar hero' for the Stones would be picked to replace him.
Taylor was not a Brian clone, he was very much in the mould of the great blues solo guitarists of the day. This was a day and age where it was mandatory for every band to have one. Taylor was the right man for the job at the time.
Later when Mick Taylor himself was leaving, it coincided with yet another seachange in the world of popular music. Punk had arrived and the era of extended Santanesque soloing was suddenely dated. Therefore it was only natural that the Stones would favour someone that could get into the groove and lend themselves to the stripped down back to the basics sounds that punk repopularised. Ron Wood was definetly also the right man for the job - at the time.
Now that Woody himself may be ailing to the point where he may not be up to an extended Stones tour, you have to ask yourself - what sort of arrangement would best suit the times and secondly what sort of player could fulfill that role?
Well the sort of arrangement would be a player/players that would be hired on an as needed basis just as Darryl Jones is. And what sort of player? A team player who could cut the whole show technically but tastefully, and vaguely at least look the part showwise. Who?
And one last point. Don't expect any regrets from Mick and Keith re Ron. Given a choice between getting someone new, someone who is the right man for the job at the right time, or giving the whole show away and calling it quits before they are ready to, there really is no prizes for guessing which choice will be made.
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