the matt clark wrote:worth all the bullshit for the riff in 'can't you hear me knockin' alone.

That's the thing; Richards had enough good riffs (or was the Mick Taylor?) that I can't write the band off, no matter how much I despise Jagger, or how subpar Watts is. Tunes like the above, Sway (discounting the Santana-esque jam at the end), and the shit that's all over Exile are great. Plus the earlier singles with Brian Jones often had some nice pop touches on 'em (like She's a Rainbow). I think of the Stones as the guilitest of pleasures, and they're not THAT pleasurable. -E

>>I forget which song they're playing - some bluesy thing I think. There's this very long scene where the camera shows nothing but Mick Jagger in profile, in slow motion. It's stunning.

"love in vain"

persuasive

and the blues, i suppose, so forget i said they weren't very good at it

Charlie Watts!

justinc wrote:Charlie Watts!

In concert, he's just there to make sure Mick and Keith know which part of the song to butcher next.

everyone thinks they're crap now, i assume. as for their glory years, it's hard to say.. do you like soul and blues brewed together like that? it's a subjective thing. i know, i know it's all subjective, but it terms of whether the stones in the 60's and 70's were crap, no way. i never liked their brand of rock, but they weren't crap - just not nearly as good as they're made out to be.

Exile on Main Street is the most inexplicably vaunted album in history. It is major key utterly soulless music. SO many people whose tastes I’m otherwise sympathetic to alienate me with their affinity for that record. It’s a muzak version of the Rolling Stones.

Beggars Banquet is so much more subtle, terrifying, and transcendental that it is offensive to say that the same band that made it also made Exile On Main Street. If Beggars Banquet is Masala Dosa Exile On Main Street is mashed potatoes. Keith Richard isn’t a genius, his riffs are easy and intuitive (a mild compliment). Mick Jagger is an expendable simulacrum and was frequently a liability when they managed to be good. Brian Jones was the George Harrison of the Rolling Stones, the only thing that kept them from being shlock. After Brian Jones died they should have dropped the “Rolling Stones” moniker.

It was funny though when Mick Jagger played Keith Richard in that Saturday Night Live skit. It just proves that parody is their essence.

Rolling Stones=not crap
Beggar's Banquet, Sticky Fingers and Exile are all great. I love the way Keith plays and I don't think it matters that "the parts are easy" as somebody said. The period when they were playing with Mick Taylor they made some incredible records. Charlie Watts is a great drummer.
not crap

I'm going to boldly declare Not Crap, and I'm not even going to explain myself.

Charlie Watts - not crap, due more to being the best part of the band.

Let It Bleed - top of the not crap recordings - Beggars through Exile

but

1980's forward - crap crap crappamundo.

23 years of crap versus 12 mediocre years and 4 great ones = the craps have it by a mile

Charlie Watts - not crap, due more to being the best part of the band.

Let It Bleed - top of the not crap recordings - Beggars through Exile

but

1980's forward - crap crap crappamundo.

23 years of crap versus 12 mediocre years and 4 great ones = the craps have it by a mile