Stones – Part 4

Among the Stones’ many secret weapons was Ian Stewart- the so-called “Sixth Stone”- who in addition to being a founding member of the group also played piano on many of their albums. Stewart, who died in 1985, rarely appeared in public with the Stones- his looks reportedly just didn’t fit their image- but he continued working behind the scenes as the band’s road manager for years (and while the other Stones enjoyed burning their candles at both ends, Ian much preferred golf). In his 2010 autobiography Life, Keith Richards wrote of Stewart: “Ian Stewart. I’m still working for him. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organization... we’d be nowhere.” When the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 1989 they made damn sure Ian’s name was also included.

Ian Stewart (far left) with the Stones in their early days

The Complete Singles Collection: The London Years was one of the first Stones’ compilations I ever owned- just before I joined the Peace Corps- but at three discs it was way too much music for me to digest and so for early Stones music I preferred their briefer but jam packed debut, England’s Newest Hitmakers. As for later albums, Let It Bleed and Exile on Main Street were always high on my list but it’s been years since I listened to either one. Recently I’ve become much more interested in the Stones’ early blues recordings from the Brian Jones years as these songs still sound both fresh and timeless and if you allow them to keep playing, build up, and hit their groove- well, it’s pretty hard to beat. Maybe the eccentric Brian Jones- who wanted the Stones to play only blues music- was onto something.

Brian Jones

When you claim to be the world’s greatest rock band then you better deliver the goods and the Stones have continued to deliver- and then some. For 30 years the Rolling Stones had the coolest rhythm section in rock with Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums (Wyman retired in ‘93) and whether it’s Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, or Ronnie Wood, that dueling and interweaving of the second guitar with Keith’s has always been the spark that sets the Stones on fire. Not every Stones song has aged gracefully and some of their tunes have been so overplayed as to become annoying yet whether it’s cruising down the road on a warm summer’s day with the car windows rolled down or trimming the hedges few rock bands sound better than the Stones. Here are some more of my favorites. Enjoy!

01. The Rolling Stones – “Around and Around” (1964)

02. The Rolling Stones – “My Obsession” (1967)
03. The Rolling Stones – “Confessin’ the Blues” (1964)
04. The Rolling Stones – “Connection” (1967)
05. The Rolling Stones – “She Was Hot” (1983)
06. The Rolling Stones – “Sad Sad Sad” (1989)
07. The Rolling Stones – “New Faces” (1994)
08. The Rolling Stones – “All About You” (1980)
09. The Rolling Stones – “Rough Justice” (2005)
10. The Rolling Stones – “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) (Live)” (2006)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on the Blues