Saturday, July 30, 2011

Taylor's so good, even the bad chores seem good

There's no chore more despicable, I think, than cleaning out the refrigerator and tossing out the remnants of food that -- through the miracle of bacterial growth and the power of mold -- has been rendered unrecognizable from its original guise.
I just completed that task, with a smile on my face, thanks to the brilliance of MICK TAYLOR.
Recently I put together of a list of Taylor's greatest solos with THE ROLLING STONES. Taylor played lead guitar for the Stones from 1969-74, more than merely bridging the gap between the Brian Jones original period and the present-day era of Ronnie Wood.
"Hide Your Love," "Sway" and "Winter" open the 10-song playlist, followed by what I consider to be Taylor's career highlight: The virtuoso solo jam that closes the song "CAN'T YOU HEAR ME KNOCKING," off the "STICKY FINGERS" album.
I'm not going to gush about this track, I am going to let the Stones themselves gush about the track, courtesy of quotes from the wonderful TIME IS ON OUR SIDE Rolling Stones website.
Take it away, Stones:
"(From the Mick Taylor period,) I love 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking.'"
-- Keith Richards, 2002
"'Can't You Hear Me Knocking'... is one of my favorites... (The jam at the end) just happened by accident; that was never planned. Towards the end of the song I just felt like carrying on playing. Everybody was putting their instruments down, but the tape was still rolling and it sounded good, so everybody quickly picked up their instruments again and carried on playing. It just happened, and it was a one-take thing. A lot of people seem to really like that part."
-- Mick Taylor, 1979
"As a lead, virtuoso guitar, Mick (Taylor) was so lyrical on songs like 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking,' which was an amazing track because that was a complete jam, one take at the end. He had such a good ear, and I would help push him along."
-- Charlie Watts, 2003

It's such a good track, I might add, that not even the dregs of the refrigerator can bring it down.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home