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Topic: When was Brian Jones at his peak as a musician? Return to archive Page: 1 2
29th May 2007 08:09 PM
morocco Hi. I think in the early days of the Stones, there was a time when Brian Jones was clean and sober, and practicing guitar day and night with Keith Richards in their squalid apartment together.

I can see them facing each other, each with an acoustic, playing chords and weaving riffs around each other.

Do you think there was a time when Jones was a better guitarist than Keith Richards? I bet it was Brian that taught Keith a lot of those old blues songs. When was Brian at his best? What has Keith said about Brian's musicianship?
29th May 2007 08:10 PM
Pepe 1866-1967
29th May 2007 08:11 PM
Pepe Sorry 1966-1967
29th May 2007 10:27 PM
GhostofBrianJones The first dates were funny! I agree maybe 1965-1967.
29th May 2007 10:31 PM
MikeyC613 He hit his peak during Jumpin Jack Flash at the Rock and Roll circus. That cat Elmo could mime on a dime.
30th May 2007 09:40 AM
dkmonroe His peak as a musician in general was probably Aftermath, when he was prodigiously picking up any and every instrument and making them an integral part of whatever arrangement he was involved with.

If you believe the legend (first recorded, AFAIK, by Tony Scaduto) that Mick and Keith were stopped in their tracks by Brian playing "Dust My Broom" with Blues Incorporated, then Brian might have been a better guitarist than Keith at that point, roughly 1962-63. However, the recorded evidence of the Stones shows Brian always firmly planted in the rhythm guitar position (and often a very elementary rythm guitar at that), never taking the lead unless he's playing slide, and his slide playing (despite all the raves for "I Wanna Be Your Man") while competent and authentic, is not exactly virtuoso by any standard. I really think that if Brian really was ever "better than Keith" as a guitarist, the lead playing would have been a bit more evenly distributed between the two, but the lead playing is overwhelmingly Keith.

Brian's real virtuoso instument was the blues harp. His playing on "Look What You Done" is one of the most impressive performances by any musician on any Stones record, and Brian's harp playing afforded him a place front and center with Mick in live performance. He played brilliant harp all the way up to Beggar's Banquet, but his peak at that instrument was probably 1964.
30th May 2007 10:19 AM
gimmekeef Just play "Aftermath" loudly...its his album.....The foundation album of the big four to come shortly after he left....
31st May 2007 06:32 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:
Just play "Aftermath" loudly...its his album.....The foundation album of the big four to come shortly after he left....



i have 'aftermath' i'll cue it up tonight before i go to bed.

what the fuck do i know really...i was like 1 or 2 years old at the time. to me brian was the shit.
31st May 2007 06:54 PM
gimmekeef
quote:
fireontheplatter wrote:


i have 'aftermath' i'll cue it up tonight before i go to bed.

what the fuck do i know really...i was like 1 or 2 years old at the time. to me brian was the shit.



I was 14....Bought the album in Florida when on a trip from Canada...for me its one of the most underrated albums of alltime...I hope you get even half the pleasure from listening that I have...
31st May 2007 06:57 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:


I was 14....Bought the album in Florida when on a trip from Canada...for me its one of the most underrated albums of alltime...I hope you get even half the pleasure from listening that I have...



stupid gil is a bit of a harsh song....

but it is a good cd.
31st May 2007 06:59 PM
deuce Before he died
31st May 2007 07:06 PM
gimmekeef The swagger strut intense beat and bullshit that is Stupid Girl is what made The Stones.......
31st May 2007 07:11 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:
The swagger strut intense beat and bullshit that is Stupid Girl is what made The Stones.......



maybe so, but still, it is a pretty low blow towards the ladies.

31st May 2007 07:16 PM
gimmekeef
quote:
fireontheplatter wrote:


maybe so, but still, it is a pretty low blow towards the ladies.





Only one I believe.....but they'd never do a song like that now......Instead we get Streets of Love.....
31st May 2007 08:10 PM
Riffhard The Brian era Stones' is one that I love to delve into on occassion. For my money his best work was the stuff he laid down between 1965-67. What made his era so special was the fact that he was a multi instrumentalist. Ruby Tuesday,Dandelion,Paint It Black,Under My Thumb,Lady Jane,and 10,000 Light Years Fron Home are just some of the tunes that would have never come off as well with out Brian's ability on various instruments. Not to mention some of his great early guitar work on other tunes like Play With Fire,Get Off My Cloud,Time Is On My Side,and,of course,his slide work on tunes like No Expectations.


Brian's contributions cannot be overestimated,but neither can his weeknesses which were ultimatly his downfall. Too bad. For if Brian had a stronger constitution and was not so full of self pity who knows what may have been. I miss the Stones using the unique instruments that Brian introduced to their sound. Those sounds have never really been reintroduced to the overall sound of the band with the minor exception on tunes like Continental Drift and a few on othe albums. Most noticably on Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge.



Riffy
31st May 2007 08:21 PM
lotsajizz his peak guitar playing was '63--'64, especially his slide work....when he moved on to other instruments he seemed to let his guitar craft go by the wayside....
31st May 2007 08:36 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:


Only one I believe.....but they'd never do a song like that now......Instead we get Streets of Love.....



good one

sol is a bit like wtf....????

but, from time to time i really enjoy it.
31st May 2007 08:48 PM
Riffhard
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
his peak guitar playing was '63--'64, especially his slide work....when he moved on to other instruments he seemed to let his guitar craft go by the wayside....



See there jizzy. When the suject is relegated to the Stones we tend to agree much more than we disagree. I fully agree with you about Brian letting his guitar collect dust after he picked up the recorder,sitar, tamboura,dulcimer,accordion,trumpet,trombone,etc...

His slide work was indeed incredible. To this day he stands as the best slide player the Stones have ever had in the band. That says someting. Because Woody,for all his faults,is a great slide player.

However,I am still glad that Brian did experiment with all those other instruments. If not for his abilities to pick up just about anything and master it we would never have gotten so many great eclectic songs from the early Stones.



Riffy
31st May 2007 11:46 PM
Zack
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:
Just play "Aftermath" loudly...its his album.....The foundation album of the big four to come shortly after he left....



That's a stretch.

The first line of Spanish Tony's book was something like "In 1965, Brian was king."

That says something.
1st June 2007 12:26 AM
Philip I should say, Brian didn't play trumpet/trombone, when they appear on those early records(between the buttons/satanic majesties) it's played by session musicians.

The only instrument he mastered was the harmonica!

Mastering an instrument means having total control over it, this is something he simply didn't do apart from harmonica, but he certainly got some good shit out of anything he touched.

1st June 2007 02:17 AM
Zack His mellotron playing on We Love You was unlike anything else I've ever heard on that instrument.
1st June 2007 12:59 PM
dkmonroe
quote:
Zack wrote:


That's a stretch.

The first line of Spanish Tony's book was something like "In 1965, Brian was king."

That says something.



I think it says, "In the late 60's, Brian was king." And I don't really believe it for a second.

I think the Tonys, both Spanish and Scaduto, had a vested interest in pumping up Brian's image. It made their books more melodramatic.

Brian was king until Andrew showed up.
1st June 2007 01:00 PM
dkmonroe
quote:
fireontheplatter wrote:

maybe so, but still, it is a pretty low blow towards the ladies.


It was a low blow against a particular lady. It wasn't meant to be a general condemnation of all ladies.
[Edited by dkmonroe]
2nd June 2007 02:49 AM
VoodooChileInWOnderl
quote:
Pepe wrote:
1866-1967



No mames Pepe... ahora sí que te viste pasado

Gusto de verte de este lado del sol
2nd June 2007 08:11 AM
GhostofBrianJones Riffy is right as usual. Brian gave the Stones their signature sound in the
Sixties and he was always fantastic on any song he played on. He did let
the guitar go by the way side when he began to play other instruments on
the songs. He and Keith created magic in the early days too.

I used to try and picture Brian trying to play the Tuba.
2nd June 2007 11:32 AM
Brian Jones Girl
quote:
GhostofBrianJones wrote:
I used to try and picture Brian trying to play the Tuba.



He probably did play tuba since he played the saxophone...
2nd June 2007 11:33 AM
Brian Jones Girl I don't really think he had any "peak" as a musician.
He was talented all of the time!
2nd June 2007 12:52 PM
Philip
quote:
Brian Jones Girl wrote:


He probably did play tuba since he played the saxophone...



They are completely different instruments. If someone can play sax does not mean they have the ability with tuba, trumpet etc, they are a lot harder to play.
2nd June 2007 01:40 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:
dkmonroe wrote:


It was a low blow against a particular lady. It wasn't meant to be a general condemnation of all ladies.
[Edited by dkmonroe]



you're right i guess....after all, girl is singular.


everybody say ow
2nd June 2007 02:01 PM
GhostofBrianJones I am going to have to check out that song Stupid Girl. It can't be any different
toward the ladies then Under My Thumb which I happen to love the music
to anyway.
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