I didn't see a thread for them in this section so I thought I'd start one. We don't talk about them much here it seems. I've been listening to them a lot lately. I think they're probably the second greatest band of all time. But I'm really into them at the moment, so that opinion could change in a few months.


I found this interview with Mick Jagger. He sounds like a COMPLETELY different person. This must be his real accent. No bad grammer or slurring words here. He sounds very stuffy! But he looks GORGEOUS!! He's a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, boy.


This is how I'm used to him talking. I can maybe understand about half of what he's saying. This one's creepy though. He looks way to feminine or something. Ick.


One of the greatest songs ever:

Mick at about 1:16 gives me chills. When he goes woooo! At that point I think I would be willing to do anything he wanted. Like some mindless groupie. I'm so ashamed!  

I will always remember the Stones during the late 60's/early 70's when their music was ballsy & their image was the baddest. I have been a dedicated RS fan for a long time with Get Yer Ya Yas Out being one of my all time favorite live albums.  I plan on seeing them next time live, if there is a next time, but I'm not expecting anymore tours afterward.  

Yes, The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest bands of all time, no doubt about that... their stage presence, attitude and music are great...and yes, Gimme Shelter is definitely one of their strongest songs...it's got a "hauting" vibe to it..love it...
They just rock...no wonder they still sell out shows 40 years later...

I didn't use to like them (their fans turned me off mostly) but I've really gotten into their music over the past two years. I love some of their slower songs, especially Wild Horses, but I think they are best when they are in their blues/rock mode.

And Mick is the eternal hotness <3333 i just love the way he moves on stage.

Angie rules too. God I love that song! I can't stop listening to that this month. That and Tumbling Dice and Sympathy for the Devil and Rip This Joint and Beast of Burden and You Can't Always Get What You Want and Respectable and Shattered and so on!! But I'd still chuck it all if I had to choose between their entire catalogue and the song Let It Be.

Okay. One last YouTube video. Mairi you have to look at this one and tell me what you think. I'm dying to know your opinion. It's from their 1978 Saturday Night Live performance. I've seen that episode, but amazingly enough I don't remember this moment. You'd think that this image would have been burned into my brain or something, but no. The Shattered performance where he rips up his shirt left a greater impact. Strange what sticks in your head and what doesn't.

Quoted from lennon-legend

Yes, The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest bands of all time, no doubt about that... their stage presence, attitude and music are great...and yes, Gimme Shelter is definitely one of their strongest songs...it's got a "hauting" vibe to it..love it...
They just rock...no wonder they still sell out shows 40 years later...

They didn't sell out over here this year. Fans are getting tired of the announcement that it is their last tour. They have said that for at least ten years.

I wan't Stones fan for a long time, but recently I started to listen to their music more. Well, OK, my favourite songs are still Angie, Wild Horses and Out of Tears. I assume their earlier stuff is something I'd like a lot, so I'll have to find their albums. I had to write a review of the DVD in Rio and that was amazing, so now I'm going to see them in Belgrade in two weeks.

Bobber, you're lucky you can get tired of such a thing. They have never been and will never come to Bulgaria so it's a huge opportunity for many people here to go and see them in the nearby countries (Romania, Serbia). I'm glad their last show wasn't ten years ago, when I didn't like them - I would have missed the show  

You're very right, nousha. In a way we are spoiled.

I think that during the Mick Taylor years their music was more vital and relevant than The Beatles (just).
I'd rather have sympathy for the devil than letting it be any day.

As much as I love Sympathy for the Devil, I think that if I listened to it a hundred times I'd be completely sick of it. With Let It Be, I KNOW I have listened to it at LEAST a hundred times and I'm nowhere near sick of it. It still gives me shivers. But only the album version. I need that distorted guitar solo and loud drums.

I'm not sure I know what you mean about their music being more relevant at that time. As in how?

Quoted from Sandra

I'm not sure I know what you mean about their music being more relevant at that time. As in how?

To me The Beatles 'sound' was beginning to sound a little out of date by 1969. Don't get me wrong, I love Let It Be, and Abbey Road, but The Stones at that time sounded just a bit more hip to me. A bit more 'current', if you see what I mean.

Sorry if I'm not explaining myself very well!

Quoted from Sandra

I'm not sure I know what you mean about their music being more relevant at that time. As in how?

Late sixties had Kent State, Paris riots, anti-Vietnam protests - the summer of love was getting a bit darker, and as BM said the Stones seemed to have tuned into the mood more - they caught the feeling of the time. They had an aura of danger, risk and a hint of violence that was in the air at the time.
I think they were "a bit more hip."

I get what you mean. The Stone's music is not as original though. They're blues/rock or whatever is such a traditional form of music. They borrowed so much and it's apparent always. I think the Beatles were on a different level. I think their music was probably ahead of its time in some way. Some of it anyway. Even the late stuff. Songs like Get Back, Come Together, Something, Don't Let Me Down, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Because, Let It Be, etc. don't sound dated to me at all even in 2007.

Personally I'm not sure if I'd call Let It Be, Don't Let Me Down, Get Back or Something as cutting edge. The Beatles had big debts as well.
Agree the Stones had very deep roots - but they did it so damn well.
And The Stones in 68/69 onwards took blues rock, threw in some pop, added a dash of darkness and produced a great original sound.

Quoted from Sandra

I get what you mean. The Stone's music is not as original though. They're blues/rock or whatever is such a traditional form of music. They borrowed so much and it's apparent always. I think the Beatles were on a different level. I think their music was probably ahead of its time in some way. Some of it anyway. Even the late stuff. Songs like Get Back, Come Together, Something, Don't Let Me Down, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Because, Let It Be, etc. don't sound dated to me at all even in 2007.

They don't actually sound dated to me now either. But set against what other musicians were doing at the time, they may have back then.

Does that sound stupid?

I think Abbey Road as an album was a look at the future - at least until 76 when punk blew prog rock and AOR out the window.
I think the Stones sound of the time is probably more enduring. To me modern rock albums sound more like Exile On Main street than Abbey Road.
(I might need to think about that a bit more, but it's my immediarte feeling)

Quoted from Kevin

Personally I'm not sure if I'd call Let It Be, Don't Let Me Down, Get Back or Something as cutting edge. The Beatles had big debts as well.
Agree the Stones had very deep roots - but they did it so damn well.
And The Stones in 68/69 onwards took blues rock, threw in some pop, added a dash of darkness and produced a great original sound.

I meant those songs don't sound dated to me. I don't find them to be cutting edge. They had other stuff and did other things which we all know about that was innovative and all. They did have their influences too, but they took it and did something completely original. Beatles songs don't really sound like anybody else where I think the Stone's fit more in a box. I mean, I love the Rolling Stones and they are the best at what they do. They write amazing hooks and riffs or whatever. Again, I think they are probably the second greatest band of all time. Music wise. They weren't great innovators or anything, but not every band has to be to be great.

Quoted from Kevin

I think Abbey Road as an album was a look at the future - at least until 76 when punk blew prog rock and AOR out the window.
I think the Stones sound of the time is probably more enduring. To me modern rock albums sound more like Exile On Main street than Abbey Road.
(I might need to think about that a bit more, but it's my immediarte feeling)

Yeah, for a while they were out, but nowadays bands steal from them constantly. Or borrow or are inspired by and so on. I read one article where a musician played Tomorrow Never Knows for his friends who didn't know much about the Beatles and they thought it was a new band because it sounded so original and like something bands are trying to do now. So that was pretty ahead of it's time that song. Among others. Happiness is a Warm Gun I'd say is still pretty original.

I think Jimmy Miller deserves alot of credit for the classic Stones sound.  He knew how to mike drums and he and Keith got a great guitar sound (Keith played a Gibson ES 335, Les Paul custom, and sometimes a Telecaster to get those fat choppy chords--in the open tuning he'd learned from Ry Cooder).

Every rock-and-roll band since then has been trying to reproduce that sound--that's why it sounds so "current."   Les Paul's sold alot of guitars.  

By comparison the Beatles never became locked in a sound the way the Stones did--Mick Taylor tried to broaden their musical horizons but got sick of getting stiffed on writer credits so they hired Keith imitator Ron Wood to play riffy simpler stuff.  

I think the Beatles sound lives on in a lot of bands from Oasis to Smashing Pumpkins that experimented with sounds rather than having one defining "sound."  The idea of each record sounding "different" is a legacy of the Beatles--that many serious artists are still copying.  

I think the two-guitars rock band the Stones created is deader than dead--at least in terms of creativity, there's no end to the supply of imitators.  

Yeah - I agree The Beatles circa 65-66-67 are much more influential than anything The Stones ever did at anytime.

Personally I've never seen the Stones as an influential band. Inspiring, I'm sure, but influential in the way of: Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Hendrix?

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Personally I've never seen the Stones as an influential band. Inspiring, I'm sure, but influential in the way of: Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Hendrix?

Could you trace a line from their black magic - voodoo thing to Black Sabbath/Zepplin  and on to heavy metal?

Quoted from Kevin

Could you trace a line from their black magic - voodoo thing to Black Sabbath/Zepplin  and on to heavy metal?

Apparently Ozzy was quite taken with Arthur Brown. And Zep were heavily influenced by the delta blues and all the connotations there. So I don't really think The Stones had anything to do with that.

Ozzy Osborne is also a huge Beatle fan and the record that inspired him into music was She Loves You!

Quoted from Sandra

Okay. One last YouTube video. Mairi you have to look at this one and tell me what you think. I'm dying to know your opinion. It's from their 1978 Saturday Night Live performance. I've seen that episode, but amazingly enough I don't remember this moment. You'd think that this image would have been burned into my brain or something, but no. The Shattered performance where he rips up his shirt left a greater impact. Strange what sticks in your head and what doesn't.

1978??? I can't believe they got away with that. Amazing... thanks for posting that, I'll be replaying it several times over gain, I'm sure...  

One of my students is going to the Paul Green School of Rock Music and he's in a Rolling Stone's cover band. It's so funny. His band is playing the Roxy next weekend! It's so cute. He's Mick Jagger. I'm excited. I love the school's motto: Saving Rock and Roll One Kid at a Time! If I had a kid I'd so send him or her to this school!

Quoted from Mairi

1978??? I can't believe they got away with that. Amazing... thanks for posting that, I'll be replaying it several times over gain, I'm sure...  

Mick's all about the tongue. I had to block out Ron Wood's face though. There's absolutely nothing appealing about that man. I didn't understand Mick's motivation. It's just so random. I think people got away with way more in the seventies because political correctness had yet to disease people's minds and hedonism was the call of the day.

Mick's great. It's funny, you know, about political correctness. People were up in arms about Britney and Madonna kissing a couple of years ago, and yet I never hear people talking about this.

And like anybody should even give Madonna and Britney two seconds of their time. They're so not worth the effort. They could full on make out and I couldn't care less. Like this thing with Paris. Anyone who watched her on Larry King the other night should just be taken out back to have some sense beaten into them. He bumped fucking Michael Moore for her!! Moore had to wait a day to talk about an actual issue that plagues this fucking country so we could get an update on fucking Paris Hilton's bullshit enlightenment. Fucking media whores. Excuse the language. I'm in a bad mood.

Anyway, back to the Stones. Here's John talking about them. Mainly Mick and what a joke he thought he was. This was during John's bitter phase. Obviously:

John gives a brilliant quote about Mick also. I forget which interview it's in, but one of those on YouTube. John's in his mid-thirties.

Anyway, John is asked how long he'll keep doing this rock 'n' roll thing, and he gives what is (to me, as an old lady ) a funny answer, about how he doesn't expect to be out there singing when he's old and asthmatic and fifty!!   And then he's asked about Mick, and John says with perfect composure and sincerity, "Oh, he'll be out there jumping around and doing the exact same thing when he's 60" and my jaw just dropped. You called it, Johnny baby! Brilliant comment, that.

LOL! Good call John! My friends and I all agree that Mick will tour forever, until he dies, which will probably be onstage in the middle of a strut.

Or with some 20 year model...

i love Gimme Shelter

I hate the Stones. Simple as that.

It wasn't until recently that I even knew that Gimme Shelter was an anti-war song. Probably because I can't understand half of what he sings, but still I feel like I should have known that. Anyway, Are there any other Stone's songs that have some sort of significance or story? I always just looked at their music as sort of meaningless rock and roll. I mean, I know the Angie/Anita thing, and the Sister Morphine thing as well as Mick getting the 'wild horsed couldn't drag me away' from Marianne Faithfull after she woke up from her overdose, but other than that is there anything else interesting going on in Stones songs? Certainly not to the level of the Beatles I would imagine, but something?

I followed Mick & company as closely as I did The Fab.

Eight GREATEST Stones songs and/or singles  ?  in order of GREATNESS (according to personal taste, that is) : 1) Satisfaction 2) Sympathy For The Devil 3) Brown Sugar 4) Honky Tonk Woman 5) Ruby Tuesday 6)Street Fighting Man 7) Jumpin' Jack Flash Let It Bleed.

Fave Stones Albums : 25x5, Let It Bleed, Satanic Majestie's Request, Beggar's Banquet, Aftermath, Flowers.

fave FORGOTTEN Stones gems : Oh Carol!, Route 66 (damn, I love this one), Happy, Rip This Joint, It's Only Rock and Roll (but I like it), Star, Star.

..and Bill Wyman's "Monkey Grip Glue" album!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!