CW50 - The Bands Edition - No. 2

[GIMH]

2. The Rolling Stones



Points: 303
Nominations: 19
3rd Place: 0
2nd Place: 1
1st Place: 2

Mick Jagger is one of the highest profile MCC members and afficiandos of Test cricket on the planet. Bill Wyman (or is it Charlie Watts?) is no less keen and by all accounts has within his most treasured possessions one of the best sets of the 148 editions of Wisden known to mankind. It is therefore entirely fitting that the grand old men of rock have done as well as they have in CricketWeb's plebiscite to establish the 50 greatest bands of all time.

It is all a far cry from the early 1960's when, after years of domination by artists who originated on the other side of the pond, what became known as "British Beat" began and started to dominate the charts, first in the UK and then in the US. At the beginning the dominant forces were a clean cut group of Liverpudlians who, as the Beatles, went on to enjoy a modicum of world-wide success and, on the other side of respectability, a bunch of wild, long-haired n'er do wells from London who called themselves the Rolling Stones.

The band were originally formed by Brian Jones, a hugely talented and versatile musician, but the leading members quickly became Jagger and Keith Richard, the pairing responsible for writing the rich legacy of classic rock music that is the Stones' back catalogue. There were consideable tensions between Jones and the other band members that gradually came to dominate Jones' drug-fuelled life, and culminated in his death in 1969, three weeks after he had left the band.

Like the Beatles the Stones had a string of bestselling singles and albums on both sides of the Atlantic. There are far too many releases to start to analyse each and every one but "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is probably the best known single. My personal favourite is the much covered "Paint it Black". Album wise the Stones could do no wrong in the 1970s each of their seven albums from that decade reaching the top of the US charts. My personal favourite however is "Beggar's Banquet" from 1968, from which came the singles "Street Fighting Man" and "Sympathy for the Devil".

What sets the Stones apart from their contemporaries is their longevity. As the years passed their productivity began to decline, but there has never been a break up, and the band's personnel always centred around the same individuals. The Stones also bucked the trend by still producing the goods long past the age where most rock 'n' rollers are well past it. As late as 1983, with the member of the band entering their fifth decade, the album "Undercover" was still well worth releasing and even the subsequent albums, the last of new material having been released as late as 2005, have their highlights.

While interest in their new material and recordings may have dwindled slightly with the advancing years, the popularity of the Stones' live act has never wavered. The prospect of a band whose lead singer is approaching 70 prancing around a stage much as he did in his twenties is a tad incongruous, but Jagger manages to carry it off effortlessly.

In the 21st Century the Stones are very much part of rock's aristocracy. It seems somewhat bizarre that Jagger, imprisoned for three months in 1967 for possession of drugs (although he only spent one night in HMP Brixton before being released on appeal) should have been offered a knighthood in 2003, and perhaps equally strange, given his anti-establishment credentials, that he should accept. But he did, and the one time enfant terrible of his generation moves in rather different social circles nowadays.

The Rolling Stones : Sympathy For The Devil (live) HQ - YouTube

Members

Mick Jagger: Vocals, 1962-present
Keith Richards: Lead and Rhythm Guitars, 1962-present
Brian Jones: Lead and Rhythm Guitars, 1962-69
Dick Taylor: Bass Guitar, 1962
Tony Chapman: Drums, 1962
Bill Wyman: Bass Guitar, 1963-93
Charlie Watts: Drums, 1963-present
Mick Taylor: Lead and Rhythm Guitars, 1969-75
Ronnie Wood: Lead and Rhythm Guitars 1975-present

Ian Stewart, Chuck Leavell and Daryl Jones have all played with the band for long periods without being official members

Discography

NB – UK discography is being used, US releases ignored.

The Rolling Stones (1964)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
Out Of Our Heads (1965)
December’s Children (And Everybody’s) (1965)
Aftermath (1966)
Between The Buttons (1967)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Let It Bleed (1969)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Exile On Main St. (1972)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (1974)
Black and Blue (1976)
Some Girls (1978)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Tattoo You (1981)
Undercover (1983)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
A Bigger Bang (2005)

Also

12 live albums, 30 compilation albums

Download these songs:
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction; Let's Spend the Night Together; Paint it Black; Sympathy for the Devil; Mother's Little Helper; 19th Nervous Breakdown; As Tears Go By; Get Off of My Cloud

Write-up by fredfertang

[Teja.]

Great Write-up

I must mention that my favourite album of all-time with small competition from OK Computer and DSOTM, is Sticky Fingers and Mick Taylor who by all accounts was responsible for the bluesy touch to the guitar music of the album is my personal favourite guitarist. I absolutely worship that album and it would have been wonderful if Mick Taylor stayed for longer with the band.


The three year streak when they released Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile is the greatest peak of any band, in my opinion, as much as I hate to bring in such CC models here.

I had them at #6, could have been #2 another day.

They would be worthy of top 25 status if they just released Sister Morphine as a single and nothing else tbh.

[chasingthedon]

Nice write-up Martin.

Ian Stewart, Chuck Leavell and Daryl Jones have all played with the band for long periods without being official members

Must admit I was under the impression Stu was a member early on and that Andrew Oldham decided he din't look the part so relegated him to roadie.

Totally agree with Teja - Taylor was a fantastic guitarist and virtually all of their best work was done with him (though see below) - still consider Ron Wood as the newbie ITBT.

How could you not mention the best rock song ever written, Jumping Jack Flash, the instantly recognisable intro to which is my ring tone?

[GIMH]

Originally Posted by chasingthedon

Ian Stewart, Chuck Leavell and Daryl Jones have all played with the band for long periods without being official members

Must admit I was under the impression Stu was a member early on and that Andrew Oldham decided he din't look the part so relegated him to roadie.

Could have been. Compiling the line-ups for both these and The Kinks was a bloody nightmare.

[chasingthedon]

Originally Posted by GIMH

Could have been. Compiling the line-ups for both these and The Kinks was a bloody nightmare.

Ha-ha, I'll bet - you are to be applauded nonetheless for your efforts!

[chasingthedon]

Did you include the "hidden" guitarists they used to employ off-stage (and possibly still do)?

[GIMH]

No - I would assume they are 'touring members' in the same vein as the keyboardists from Oasis etc?

[chasingthedon]

Originally Posted by GIMH

No - I would assume they are 'touring members' in the same vein as the keyboardists from Oasis etc?

Well not quite the same as they hide them out of sight behind the amp stacks - was being a bit facetious TBH mate.

[GIMH]

Muse do the same actually or at least did when I saw them in 02. seems a tad harsh but I guess the money makes up for it

[KiWiNiNjA]

One of my tutors spent 5 months on the road with these fellas cooking them food.

Apparently they're pretty good.