|
|
| Nasty Habits |
Excerpt from a January 2002 interview with legendary Memphis Musician Jim Dickinson, who played on the Wild Horses sessions. Dig his perspective on Chuck Leavell!
Q: When did you start hooking up with British musicians, was it around that time?
I guess that the first one I met was Jimmy Page, which was quite by accident. We didn't play together but I took him to Sam Phillips' studio. The 'Stones I met through Stanley Booth, the rock writer, who was travelling with them. When they cut at Muscle Shoals studio, where they did "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses", that was kinda my idea. Stanley called while they were on the road and asked if The Stones could record in Memphis - they had three days at the end of the '69 tour - 'cause they wanted to record when they were, y'know, 'hot' from playing together. With [Musicians] Union regulations back then - I don't know if they're still the same way - you could get either a touring or a recording permit but not both. They were in a position where they could tour but not record and had been prevented from recording in Los Angeles. So, they were looking for a place where nobody would care and I told 'em that they couldn't record safely in Memphis at that time - 'cause The Beatles had tried to record at Stax and had had word that there was no way - but I told 'em about Muscle Shoals.
Q: What happened next?
So, Stanley called [Jerry] Wexler, who put it together, and then Stanley called me back and, when The Stones got to Muscle Shoals, I was there. I was the only 'outside' person who was allowed to stay. On the third day, when they recorded "Wild Horses," which began with a minor chord and Ian Stewart [Stones pianist and road manager] wouldn't play minor chords, [laughs] y'know...[Jim got roped in to play piano] I didn't find out why, for years, and Stew finally told me one day, at a hotel in New York, about his thing of not playing minor chords, and I thought "thank god" man [laughs]. But for that, I would have no 'claim to fame.'
Actually, my 'true claim to fame' with The Rolling Stones comes with a line in "Brown Sugar." It was the first night, when he was doin' the vocals, he was singing the line "...just about midnight" - the second night, when he was overdubbing it, he was leaving it out and I told him to put it back in [laughing] and I think that's my true 'claim to fame'!
Q: How did you get on with them?
Real well, it was - I think - from talking to other musicians, pretty unique. 'Cause, y'know, especially Wyman and Keith didn't get along, but they were forced together. There was nobody else there but us and their bag man, a black guy named Tony, and although it was the forced camaraderie of the studio, everybody got along real great. They were real nice to me and always have been. In subsequent years, I guess I hear from Charlie the most but I'm one of the only people I know who has been friends with all of them. Jagger tells me I should lose weight but he was saying that back in '69, when I wasn't particularly fat! [Laughs] Now, it's certainly true!
Q: Did they influence your style in any way?
It's funny to say this now, 'cause my career has been the way it's been, but in 1969 I was basically an R&B session player and I was just starting to get successful. The thing that I learned that I was on the verge of getting too 'slick,' which is now ridiculous to say 'cause I'm known for my stuff being ragged and barely hangin' together, and I learned that from The 'Stones. The way they made records, certainly that record, they just came in like people off the street. I mean, there was no knowledge of recording - they didn't defer to the rules of the studio in any way - they just did what they fuckin' believed in. I thought "wait a minute, who's right and who's wrong here?", y'know, obviously what they were doing was working. The best example I can give - I'm not saying that the songs were first takes, 'cause they played the songs over and over, but the first time they could get thru the song without a major mistake, that was the take. They played it back, listened to it and nobody said "should we do it again?", "should we do this, should we do that?" - none of that second-guessing that I was used to y'know?
Q: Rumour always had it that the Stones do endless takes - which Keith is never happy with...
Oh, they do now and [chuckles] the records have suffered, unquestionably. They haven't made a record as good as Sticky Fingers - they've cut some singles that were pretty good but mostly overproduced. That [in Muscle Shoals] was one of the last times - as far as I can tell - when they actually played together as a band, without the issue of "who's gonna do the bass part?" and all that other crap.
I took my kids to see their last American tour, 'cause they'd never seen 'em, but it wasn't a real 'Stones show - the kick drum was so loud, it sounded like a fuckin' disco band and I don't care who that bass player is, he's not playing the parts. The keyboard parts, don't get me started on them - as far as I'm concerned, the parts are compositional and they should be fuckin' played. That no-talent, lounge-playing motherfucker they've got playing keyboards is not even coming close.
full link, with Dylan commentary and more!
http://www.furious.com/perfect/jimdickinson.html |
|
|
| stonedinaustralia |
thanks nasty!!
and for all of you out there follow the link 'cos our nasty friend has omitted the sting in the tail
but i guess that makes it official, chuck is another lounge lizard and keith and bill didn't get on...why didn't keith just sack him??? i suppose there was no else who would fit the bill (ha ha!!)...just goes to show how far you can go wih technology on your side
nice to be reminded of that story about stu and the minor chords...god stu was a hard ass type in a way... just as pig headed as the rest of them
j.d. is the real thing...plays on WH, can see through alex chilton at any distance and he "got" the sex pistols...
nasty, your posts are always valuable not to mention minty fresh...
SIA - there goes my baby...walkin' on down the line
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |
|
|
| FPM C10 |
Thanks a bunch, Nasty - that was the best read I've had all week.
|
|
|
| Nasty Habits |
My genuine pleasure FPM -- If you didn't do it, you should read the whole interview -- it's chock full of information about peoples that you dig.
If you haven't checked out Jim Dickinson's solo albums, Dixie Fried and Free Beer Tomorrow I am sure you would like them -- they mine similar territory to Tom Waits and Nick Cave and other minstrels of the dark river that runs through all our hearts.
|
|
|
| FPM C10 |
quote:
Nasty Habits wrote:
My genuine pleasure FPM -- If you didn't do it, you should read the whole interview -- it's chock full of information about peoples that you dig.
Oh yes, I read the whole thing - the part about him TELLING Chuck that he was a "no-talent lounge-playing motherfucker" was my favorite part. Can't agree with his opinion of Darryl or Charlie's bass drum, but certainly wouldn't tell HIM that.
Never knew that Stew had a "thing" about minor chords! THAT is pretty hilarious. |
|
CHAT
ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
RESTROOMS]