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24FPS
Brian got the same Darwinian logic applied to him that was applied to Stu, and attempted on Bill. Stu wasn't good looking enough, goodbye. Bill wasn't quite right, so, me, Brian, I'll just try and learn the bass and we'll be rid of 'Ernie'.

Flash forward to 1969, Brian can't perform up to snuff. Looks like hell. Can't get his shit together. Bye. Nevermind the personal animosities built up since 1962 between Brian and every member of the band, this was plain and simple. Brian Jones couldn't cut it anymore.

I believe this above is more or less uncontested in the final time with the Stones, however it is Bill Wyman who describes Brian Jones in good spirits and planning for the future musically after being fired.

While I can easily imagine this "optimism" on Brian's part being quite thin, and perhaps just manic behavior while in denial, or perhaps after a brief interlude from quite as many drugs, Wyman's recounting of Jones listening to Credence Clearwater Revival all day long is very interesting!!!!!!

For a guy that seemed to be becoming musically incompatible with the Stones, by some accounts drifting into avant-garde electronic music, I found myself wondering if he might not have, suddenly, become just as interested in doing a 180% turn musically (if he could pull it off in his health is another matter) as Mick and Keith. Surely Brian knew Jumping Jack Flash was a brilliant song, even if he had little to nothing to do with writing it.

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SweetThing

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24FPS
Brian got the same Darwinian logic applied to him that was applied to Stu, and attempted on Bill. Stu wasn't good looking enough, goodbye. Bill wasn't quite right, so, me, Brian, I'll just try and learn the bass and we'll be rid of 'Ernie'.

Flash forward to 1969, Brian can't perform up to snuff. Looks like hell. Can't get his shit together. Bye. Nevermind the personal animosities built up since 1962 between Brian and every member of the band, this was plain and simple. Brian Jones couldn't cut it anymore.

I believe this above is more or less uncontested in the final time with the Stones, however it is Bill Wyman who describes Brian Jones in good spirits and planning for the future musically after being fired.

While I can easily imagine this "optimism" on Brian's part being quite thin, and perhaps just manic behavior while in denial, or perhaps after a brief interlude from quite as many drugs, Wyman's recounting of Jones listening to Credence Clearwater Revival all day long is very interesting!!!!!!

For a guy that seemed to be becoming musically incompatible with the Stones, by some accounts drifting into avant-garde electronic music, I found myself wondering if he might not have, suddenly, become just as interested in doing a 180% turn musically (if he could pull it off in his health is another matter) as Mick and Keith. Surely Brian knew Jumping Jack Flash was a brilliant song, even if he had little to nothing to do with writing it.

It appears that no matter how 'Briancentric' the new music the Stones were making was, Brian could no longer handle the fact that he was a sideman to Mick and Keith's songs. Even if those new compositions were perfect for Brian's interests. Which makes Brian even more maddening. Here, Brian, we're playing blues, country rock, some rhythm and blues, like the old days, buddy. Just pick up that guitar and play. Something inside Brian prevented him from doing that, except for his sad farewell on No Expectations, proving, maddingly again, that he still had the magic, the talent, but he refused to share it with the band. Goodbye. We'll find someone less passive aggressive, and we'll conquer the world.

>>Brian ceased to be productive in mid 68 when the shit hit the fan with the second bust.

As far as Brian being productive til mid 68, there is a lot of evidence that contradicts that. From early on, he was unreliable about turning up for recording sessions and even concerts, often due to his health issues (according to Keith). Additionally, by the time they did Aftermath, he had lost interest in the guitar, and wanted to play other instruments. He gave them a hard time about Satanic Majesties.

And on a personal level, he was directly responsible for the Redlands bust which had such devastating consequences for Mick, Keith, Marianne and Robert Fraser.

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Redhotcarpet
Brian didnt make any pragmatic choices from 1967 other than take something to numb out life and now and then he made choices to try to find a place in the band. If you read between the lines you get the real picture imo. Korner and Watts both say he had nothing left when he was sacked. Brian himself said the same thing. Brians father says the obvious thing: once he lost Anita it was over more or less. Sure the busts made him real paranoid for good reasons but the real damage was Anita and the total loss of any kind of power in the band. Noone seems to really believe he would form any band after the Stones. Korner said Brian died at the "right time" when he still could try to believe there was a future. Korner didnt want to start a band with Brian because of the state he was in. The man cried when he was sacked. Suicide is no farfetched theory its the most obvious answer. Keith thought he drowned himself but yes, that Frank T. might have "done him in".

My conclusion when I read what people who were there said is that Brian had one thing left and that was being a Rolling Stone no matter how hard that was.

What most people say is that Brian became another person after he was out of the band. He became happier, cut down his drinking and seem relieved that he was "free". Several people say he was very much into the idea of getting a new act together and there are musicians who claim that they met or talked with Brian during this time. Korner claim that Brian felt a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders after he was out of the Stones. He was working hard and was in good spirit. Brian's dad and the people in the household at Cotchford say the same thing.
I have never read anyone comment Brian's chances to form a new band. The question is if those who have comment that met Brian during this time at all?
Yes, he cried after that meeting and also sent out a sad note to the Perrins (and maybe more). Janie Perrin phoned him shortly after being worried but found Brian to be calm and happy and Brian wasn't exacty hiding his feelings in front of her if he felt down as they talked a lot. When they talked she got the feeling that Brian was sad in the way that a phase of his life had ended. But he was full of plans and energy.

Reading the last interview with him he shows some anger about the situation ("To hell with the Rolling Stones") and that is understandable.

I think you give Anita too much credit. My guess is that Keith's utter betrayal was a bigger hit towards him than loosing Anita.

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mickschix
Brian had become an albatross around the bands' neck with all of his drug convictions...they wouldn't be able to tour with Brian in the band! End of story...he had to be fred. Watching Goddards' film " One Plus One-Sympathy For The Devil" can be boring but it's also very telling...Brian slumped in a corner of the studio, unable to move, let alone play...He was a liability by then, useless to them.

True. But the problem to bring Brian on tour was just an excuse. Even without that problem they would still have had to replace him as it just didn't work anymore.

I wonder if we have watched the same version of Godards film? The Brian I see can both move and play but he looks very bored and probably was as they treated him like shit during that time.

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24FPS
It appears that no matter how 'Briancentric' the new music the Stones were making was, Brian could no longer handle the fact that he was a sideman to Mick and Keith's songs. Even if those new compositions were perfect for Brian's interests. Which makes Brian even more maddening. Here, Brian, we're playing blues, country rock, some rhythm and blues, like the old days, buddy. Just pick up that guitar and play. Something inside Brian prevented him from doing that, except for his sad farewell on No Expectations, proving, maddingly again, that he still had the magic, the talent, but he refused to share it with the band. Goodbye. We'll find someone less passive aggressive, and we'll conquer the world.

But Beggars seem to be the last album before musical input from the other members was cut and I think that was also a reason why Brian got fed up. He didn't want to be the second guitarist. He wanted to express himself and experiment. But there was no room anymore.

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Bliss
>>Brian ceased to be productive in mid 68 when the shit hit the fan with the second bust.

As far as Brian being productive til mid 68, there is a lot of evidence that contradicts that. From early on, he was unreliable about turning up for recording sessions and even concerts, often due to his health issues (according to Keith). Additionally, by the time they did Aftermath, he had lost interest in the guitar, and wanted to play other instruments. He gave them a hard time about Satanic Majesties.

And on a personal level, he was directly responsible for the Redlands bust which had such devastating consequences for Mick, Keith, Marianne and Robert Fraser.

Give me the evidence. He is present on almost every song and went through hell with depression during that time. If he showed up they ignored him or asked Miller to tell him to @#$%& off and if he didn't show up he was unreliable.
I would love to see some hard facts about exactly how many tours and sessions he actually missed. Keith is not exactly a great source for facts if you want to know anything about Brian.

While what went on during 66-67 isn't really of interest here. Brian had lost interest in instruments before so ditching the guitar and turn to other instruments was bound to happen. He still played guitar live so he did his work and the songs show that he did the right thing musically. Yes, he disliked Satanic and ironically it's his addings that often saves the album from being blend and boring.
As Mick said in 67 - "Brian is the best musician"

What makes you blame Brian for the Redlands bust? Norman Pilcher had a war going with the rock n roll rebels of that time to set examples. Even if Brian had been clean as a whistle Norman would have tried the get them all in one way or another.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-16 10:58 by tonterapi.

It seems funny that one suspect would confess to the other suspect and no-one else heard it, and what the hell was Keylock burning, evidence, I say.

From Wikipedia:
'A (News of the World) reporter who contributed to the story spent an evening at the exclusive London club Blaise’s, where a member of the Stones allegedly took several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a piece of hashish and invited his companions back to his flat for a “smoke”. The article claimed that this was Mick Jagger, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity—the reporter had in fact been eavesdropping on Brian Jones. On the night the article was published Jagger appeared on the Eamonn Andrews chat show and announced that he was filing a writ for libel against the paper.

A week later on Sunday 12 February, Sussex police, tipped off by the News of the World, who in turn were tipped off by Richards’ chauffeur, raided a party at Keith Richards’ home, Redlands. No arrests were made at the time but Jagger, Richards and their friend Robert Fraser (an art dealer) were subsequently charged with drugs offences. '



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-16 11:50 by Bliss.

I'd say that he was directly, but not solely, responsible for the Redlands bust. Lots of other people's actions and decisions also contributed to that, and I don't recall seeing anywhere that other members of the band blamed him in particular.

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Bliss
From Wikipedia:
'A (News of the World) reporter who contributed to the story spent an evening at the exclusive London club Blaise’s, where a member of the Stones allegedly took several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a piece of hashish and invited his companions back to his flat for a “smoke”. The article claimed that this was Mick Jagger, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity—the reporter had in fact been eavesdropping on Brian Jones. On the night the article was published Jagger appeared on the Eamonn Andrews chat show and announced that he was filing a writ for libel against the paper.

A week later on Sunday 12 February, Sussex police, tipped off by the News of the World, who in turn were tipped off by Richards’ chauffeur, raided a party at Keith Richards’ home, Redlands. No arrests were made at the time but Jagger, Richards and their friend Robert Fraser (an art dealer) were subsequently charged with drugs offences. '

Ah yes. The "sampled LSD" incident. What an idiot.
But Brian never said he was Mick Jagger. That was a mistake by News of the World.

The thing is if Mick and Keith agreed with you that Brian was solely responsible for that bust we would have heard that multiple times already.
I haven't heard Frazer or Marianne blame Brian either.

and to quote Rob Chapman in Mojo 1999:

"Jones, of course, was the real butterfly broken on a wheel. After unsuccessfully pursuing Mick and Keith, the police turned their attention to Brian. Jagger and Richards seemed to add a further armadillo layer to their rebel armour after their bust; Brian visibly diminished after his"

If the glimmers had thought he was the one to blame they wouldn't have showed up at his trials.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-16 12:30 by tonterapi.

Tonterapi, you have no idea what Mick, Keith, Marianne or Robert Fraser thought. Mick was angry enough at being falsely accused to publicly declare his intention to clear his name in court. Robert Fraser went to prison as a result of the raid.

But it is plain that Brian's indiscretion set off the chain of events which led to the Redlands bust. It's possible that anything else could have been a catalyst for a similar raid. The police were clearly at war with the RS and their illegal drug use was the means for the police to get to them. However, even if nothing were found, they were still vulnerable; it was not unknown for the police to plant evidence to achieve their ends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-16 14:14 by Bliss.

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Bliss
Tonterapi, you have no idea what Mick, Keith, Marianne or Robert Fraser thought. Mick was angry enough at being falsely accused to publicly declare his intention to clear his name in court. Robert Fraser went to prison as a result of the raid.

No, I don't. But I do know that the glimmers or mainly Keith takes every chance he gets nowadays to swing shit at Brian. If they share your thoughts then I'm pretty sure we would have heard something about it. At least they didn't seem to hold any grudge against him back then since Mick showed up at both of Brian's trials and Keith at the first.

Mick was right being angry and the way they all (including Brian) was treated by the police was shitty in every sense.

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Bliss
But it is plain that Brian's indiscretion set off the chain of events which led to the Redlands bust. It's possible that anything else could have been a catalyst for a similar raid. The police were clearly at war with the RS and their illegal drug use was the means for the police to get to them. However, even if nothing were found, they were still vulnerable; it was not unknown for the police to plant evidence to achieve their ends.

Totally agree. Brian made a huge mistake. But I do believe that the busts would have happend anyway sooner or later since the moral conservative part of England didn't like the rock n roll bands. Norman Pilcher was a nightmare for both the fab four and the RS. I'm glad he got what he deserved.

Oh, forgot to mention - Marianne must surely have some lasting bitterness about the Redlands bust, because literally to this very day, that vile Mars bar story follows her:

[www.dailymail.co.uk]

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tonterapi

What most people say is that Brian became another person after he was out of the band. He became happier, cut down his drinking and seem relieved that he was "free". Several people say he was very much into the idea of getting a new act together and there are musicians who claim that they met or talked with Brian during this time. Korner claim that Brian felt a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders after he was out of the Stones. He was working hard and was in good spirit. Brian's dad and the people in the household at Cotchford say the same thing.
I have never read anyone comment Brian's chances to form a new band. The question is if those who have comment that met Brian during this time at all?

Yes exactly, free from having to make it to the studio, make excuses for not turning up, feel from having to feel hated for not turning up, feel from his past and image and devasting last three years and free from having to deal with a horrible reality. Whats next then. Forming a new band? Korner's point was that he was glad Brian died on an "up" when he might have dreamed of forming a new band. Korner implied that this was just a dream, a thought during those few weeks before he died. Brian Jones also told Janet (I think it was) that he felt he was in hell and wanted to be in heaven (or something like that). Reading the bible, crying then suddenly forming a band making plans, then doing drugs, then stopping, then drinking. And this is the three weeks after they fired him. Sounds like the typical main spiral a suicidal person often have.

There is just no way Brian Jones could have coped with reality once the Stones went touring, Anita had her baby, they released Let it bleed, toured the States again in 1972 got richer and richer and more and more powerful and famous etc. Think about it for a moment. He would never have formed that band and he would never have made it anywhere with any kind of band and he would never have achieved any kind of success near the monumental success story the Stones became.

Not putting him down just saying that the whole idea of "forming a band" is very likely to be just a shield. An excuse.

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Redhotcarpet
Think about it for a moment. He would never have formed that band and he would never have made it anywhere with any kind of band and he would never have achieved any kind of success near the monumental success story the Stones became.

This is interesting because it's the opposite of what I think really. Always refreshing to see other angles.

I think that Brian could very well have formed a band but I totally agree that it wouldn't have been a band as successful as the Rolling Stones became. No chance. My vision is that Brian's band would have released one or two albums and that's that. After that I think Brian would have been a producer and composing a few more soundtracks and being bitter about the Stones success in the papers every five years or so.

Well, Brian's mood changed from day to day and it did that a long before being sacked. "He was a nice bunch of people" as Keith once put it. So I don't find it strange that he cried or read the bible talking about going to heaven. Heck, Brian had treated to kill himself many times before. So that kind of doom talk wasn't new and I honestly believe that he was too much of a coward to kill himself.
To me that sort of behaviour could fit someone with a personality disorder as well.

Yes, he was free from the things you said and wanted a fresh start with a band that would let him experiment and (most important) be in charge. Brian was a musician's soul and I don't think he could see himself not being in a band - but that band didn't need to be the Rolling Stones. As for Anita. I don't think it was that devastating for him to know that she was pregnant.

I really wish that we had more insight from Aleksis about Brian during his last time in life. I have never read anything more into Aleksis quote than what he said. If he really implied what you say then he contradict himself and that just make it weird...

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mickschix
Brian had become an albatross around the bands' neck with all of his drug convictions...they wouldn't be able to tour with Brian in the band! End of story...he had to be fred. Watching Goddards' film " One Plus One-Sympathy For The Devil" can be boring but it's also very telling...Brian slumped in a corner of the studio, unable to move, let alone play...He was a liability by then, useless to them.

With all due respect I have to call B.S. on that one. When I watch that film I see alot of great acoustic guitar playing by Brian that never got credited (maybe not used?) on the Sympathy song. He looks to be playing fine, watch his right hand, it's working some nice rhythms! .. peace

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Redhotcarpet

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tonterapi

What most people say is that Brian became another person after he was out of the band. He became happier, cut down his drinking and seem relieved that he was "free". Several people say he was very much into the idea of getting a new act together and there are musicians who claim that they met or talked with Brian during this time. Korner claim that Brian felt a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders after he was out of the Stones. He was working hard and was in good spirit. Brian's dad and the people in the household at Cotchford say the same thing.
I have never read anyone comment Brian's chances to form a new band. The question is if those who have comment that met Brian during this time at all?

Yes exactly, free from having to make it to the studio, make excuses for not turning up, feel from having to feel hated for not turning up, feel from his past and image and devasting last three years and free from having to deal with a horrible reality. Whats next then. Forming a new band? Korner's point was that he was glad Brian died on an "up" when he might have dreamed of forming a new band. Korner implied that this was just a dream, a thought during those few weeks before he died. Brian Jones also told Janet (I think it was) that he felt he was in hell and wanted to be in heaven (or something like that). Reading the bible, crying then suddenly forming a band making plans, then doing drugs, then stopping, then drinking. And this is the three weeks after they fired him. Sounds like the typical main spiral a suicidal person often have.

There is just no way Brian Jones could have coped with reality once the Stones went touring, Anita had her baby, they released Let it bleed, toured the States again in 1972 got richer and richer and more and more powerful and famous etc. Think about it for a moment. He would never have formed that band and he would never have made it anywhere with any kind of band and he would never have achieved any kind of success near the monumental success story the Stones became.

Well, not achieving RS-level success does not necessarily mean failure! Brian was a highly intelligent, articulate, creative and musically-gifted man before his life spiraled downward due to drinking, drugs, legal nightmares, and devastating betrayals. It's not impossible that he might have recovered his earlier passion and productivity, perhaps in the sphere of producing world music.

I'm not sure " ALL OF THOSE BUSTS" would have happened if Brian hadn't been so careless. ( well, Keith too for that matter. I'm not sure what you saw as productive in Brian during " One Plus One", the parts I recall clearly show a wastd Brian...so ok, not 100% of the time, but a lot of the time in the studio.

For what it's worth, I think a personality disorder was the root cause of Brian's problems.
His narcissism was clearly evident way before the drink, drugs, etc. took on.

It wouldn't matter if Brian was a gifted artist or a successful businessman, he would not have survived without recognizing his problem and taking action to correct it.

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mickschix
I'm not sure " ALL OF THOSE BUSTS" would have happened if Brian hadn't been so careless. ( well, Keith too for that matter. I'm not sure what you saw as productive in Brian during " One Plus One", the parts I recall clearly show a wastd Brian...so ok, not 100% of the time, but a lot of the time in the studio.

Not one part of the film shows Brian wasted.

All it shows of Brian is him playing acoustic guitar, being part of the backing vocal ensemble, nearly feeling Marianne's fine bum. It also shows he was absent from the session where they play some unknown song, atleast during the parts they included in the film.

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Bliss

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Redhotcarpet

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tonterapi

What most people say is that Brian became another person after he was out of the band. He became happier, cut down his drinking and seem relieved that he was "free". Several people say he was very much into the idea of getting a new act together and there are musicians who claim that they met or talked with Brian during this time. Korner claim that Brian felt a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders after he was out of the Stones. He was working hard and was in good spirit. Brian's dad and the people in the household at Cotchford say the same thing.
I have never read anyone comment Brian's chances to form a new band. The question is if those who have comment that met Brian during this time at all?

Yes exactly, free from having to make it to the studio, make excuses for not turning up, feel from having to feel hated for not turning up, feel from his past and image and devasting last three years and free from having to deal with a horrible reality. Whats next then. Forming a new band? Korner's point was that he was glad Brian died on an "up" when he might have dreamed of forming a new band. Korner implied that this was just a dream, a thought during those few weeks before he died. Brian Jones also told Janet (I think it was) that he felt he was in hell and wanted to be in heaven (or something like that). Reading the bible, crying then suddenly forming a band making plans, then doing drugs, then stopping, then drinking. And this is the three weeks after they fired him. Sounds like the typical main spiral a suicidal person often have.

There is just no way Brian Jones could have coped with reality once the Stones went touring, Anita had her baby, they released Let it bleed, toured the States again in 1972 got richer and richer and more and more powerful and famous etc. Think about it for a moment. He would never have formed that band and he would never have made it anywhere with any kind of band and he would never have achieved any kind of success near the monumental success story the Stones became.

Well, not achieving RS-level success does not necessarily mean failure! Brian was a highly intelligent, articulate, creative and musically-gifted man before his life spiraled downward due to drinking, drugs, legal nightmares, and devastating betrayals. It's not impossible that he might have recovered his earlier passion and productivity, perhaps in the sphere of producing world music.

I hope to God he would not have fallen into some world music crap and I doubt very much he would have done that. I dont see any proof of that at all. Whatever he did outside the band or within the stones to make him stand out doesnt mean he owuld have continued with that or taken it seriously. Filmscores yes, but my point is reality. Reality in 1969 meant Brian would be constatnly reminded of the Stones, their success and wealth and Anita for years and years and years. I think he knew this and thats why he could barely handle staying alive three weeks. Maybe he didnt drown himself but I dont think he would have lived much longer had he not died that day in July. Noone who was there and knew him seems to believe anything else. Brian Jones himself didnt think he would make it to 30. That's how he was and that lifestyle and personality is what created the Stones and the Stones way of life.

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Redhotcarpet
That's how he was and that lifestyle and personality is what created the Stones and the Stones way of life.

.

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mickschix
I'm not sure " ALL OF THOSE BUSTS" would have happened if Brian hadn't been so careless. ( well, Keith too for that matter. I'm not sure what you saw as productive in Brian during " One Plus One", the parts I recall clearly show a wastd Brian...so ok, not 100% of the time, but a lot of the time in the studio.

I think that you're refering to the edited clip they included in the 25x5 documentary. While they talk about Brian's problems in 68 they show clips from Godards movie and added pictures of Brian from the We Love You promo where he clearly is out of his head on mandrax (or something like it).

I hope to God he would not have fallen into some world music crap and I doubt very much he would have done that. - RedHotCarpet

What's wrong with world music? George Harrison and Brian are among the first proponents of world music in the Western pop world. History sees that as a fantastic good. Like looking beyond our tiny little world and tiny little slice of music called rock and roll. Did something change?

>>I hope to God he would not have fallen into some world music crap and I doubt very much he would have done that. - RedHotCarpet

RHC, why would you say that? Clearly he had a lot of enjoyment and pride from producing the master musicians of Joujouka and as 24FPS pointed out, world music is a valuable cultural contribution. It would be a reasonable alternative, if he didn't form or join another band after leaving the RS. And yes, film scores would be another good possibility. But I tend to agree with you - despite his youth, connections, talent and the nurturing creative environment of the times, his personal demons were too powerful for him to overcome. Depression-induced self-medication resulting in death by overdose would be the most likely scenario, in my opinion.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-17 11:05 by Bliss.

Well I like the Joujouka and the recording fits Brian and Stones perfectly. But there is a fine line as far as world music goes and I believe Brian was aware of that. The Joujouka is just a hazy recording, it's cool and a good thing but I doubt he had any real interest in world music. Besides theres another problem: money. His lifestyle, the house etc would not have lasted long outside the band. He was worried about money at the time of his death. (I know he was relieved about the settlement but that sounds like a short hasty promise of a pay-off that was never delivered)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-17 11:29 by Redhotcarpet.

I like this because its what Brian Jones heard and recorded and it's an important piece of music. Nothing worng with that but something he did that one time during those circumstances and when he needed to do something outside the band he was felt wanted to get rid of him. That's the context.

George Harrisson wrote and recorded typical (and suddenly amazingly good) pop songs that sold gold and he was garanteed lots of money form the Beatles forever. He was also sucked into a Hare cult.

Maybe Brian leaving the band was a threat to Mick in 1967 come to think of it. What happened to Brian - after Anita, the busts and the rehearsals with studio musicians to replace Brian - tends to drag down Brian's powerful image and persoanlity and musical output in 1966.

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Redhotcarpet
Well I like the Joujouka and the recording fits Brian and Stones perfectly. But there is a fine line as far as world music goes and I believe Brian was aware of that. The Joujouka is just a hazy recording, it's cool and a good thing but I doubt he had any real interest in world music. Besides theres another problem: money. His lifestyle, the house etc would not have lasted long outside the band. He was worried about money at the time of his death. (I know he was relieved about the settlement but that sounds like a short hasty promise of a pay-off that was never delivered)

I also think that Brian knew that what later would be called as "world music" is an exciting and refreshing side project for a pop musician, but it would not make one's day time job. Actually what George Harrison did a bit later with Indian stuff, Hara Khrisna and all that, was making it pop - something he had done earlier with the Beatles and the Stones in their own way: translating exciting sounds from a different vocabulary to a familiar one.

Besides, I think that since Brian didn't have yet the concept of world music, he didn't actually saw the authentic music from, say, the JouJouka guys as much different than the stuff he once had studied from the imported records from guys such as Robert Johnson. American blues music was almost as odd to English mainstream ears as the Joujouka stuff. Probably just another form of 'authenticity' (something loosely in opposition to commercial pop music). This is something Brian seemed to love and have an ear for (and later Keith Richards, with his trips to Jamaica, adopted the stance as well). Since the blues is nowadays such a recognized piece of Western cultural tradition, and an established musical genre, with its relation to rock and roll (pop music, that is) being so obvious, is a bit difficult to visualize anymore how 'exciting' and 'odd' it was once for mainstream listeners. And also the concept of "world music" is so familiar notion that we seem to divide the music scene so easily with that. Things (musical world) looked still quite different in the days of Brian Jones.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-17 12:43 by Doxa.

"A Story Of Our Time - Brian Jones The Rolling Stone" by Michael Wale.

BBC, 2nd March 1971:
Incl.:
- interview with Michael Aldred
- interview with Lewis Jones (BJ's father)
- interview with Alexis Korner
- interview with Cliff Richard
- interview with Les Perrin
- interview with Mick Jagger







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-06-19 01:22 by Redhotcarpet.

Thank you, RedHotCarpet for posting the BBC audio doc. I'd never heard his father speak. It's a rather whitewashed story, with no mention of Brian's manipulations, women beating propensities, etc. Still, it does have the immediacy of coming closer to the time of his death. It reminds me of how terribly young 27 can be.