Thursday 30 September 2010

The Forgotten Stone



His six year tenure (1969-1975) as guitarist for the Rolling Stones came at a time which saw the band release their two defining masterpieces; Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, yet despite this Mick Taylor's contribution to the "greatest rock and roll band in the world" is criminally underlooked – by both fans and his former band mates.

Following the untimely (yet ultimately inevitable) departure and death of Brian Jones, Taylor was picked as the founding member's replacement despite his initial expectations of only being a session musician. His onstage debut came at Jones' Hyde Park tribute concert in front of a crowd estimated at a quarter of a million.

Despite adding overdubs on two tracks from Let It Bleed, Taylor's virtuoso guitarplay only really began to show its full force on the epic follow up – Sticky Fingers. While he contributed arguably two of the finest songs on the album in "Sway" and "Moonlight Mile", it was with his techical brilliance on lead guitar where Taylor's presence was felt fully. The extended coda of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" can be attributed entirely to Taylor while he single handedly out performs all of the other band members on the Stone's live release, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!

Why then, you may well ask, has Taylor never received the recognition he deserves?

There are many reasons for this. While Taylor outclassed every guitarist the Stones had before and have had since, and in doing so helped elevate them from a blues-rock outfit to a band that could contend with the musicianship of the likes of Cream and Led Zeppelin, there remains precious little to remember him by.

Sure, he left behind an arsenal of great guitar licks yet most of these are wrongly cited as Richards' efforts. Mick had the swagger, Richards had the image and Jones had the rockstar's death. What did Taylor have? He lacked stage presence and never really fitted in with the Stones on a personal note.

Taylor has since said that he felt a failure to leave the band would have resulted in his own death but it's hard to believe that there wasn't an element of jealousy from other members – especially Richards – which played a part in his departure. Taylor can easily be described as the glue which held the band together during its golden age. Richards had already given himself over to drugs and a life of excess and Jagger was soon to become nothing more than a cariacture of himself.

Is it any real surprise that Taylor's arrival coincided with the band's greatest output and his depature led to their worst?

I'd hazard a guess at saying no.

It's a sad state of affairs to see that this great guitarist hasn't been paid any royalties from his former band mates since 1982, but is it really a shock? While Jagger and co have sold their souls down the drain for monetary gain, Taylor now makes do with life in a Suffolk semi. Life's a bitch, eh?

Photos were taken from The Selvedge Yard.

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