After getting so many interesting thoughts on my post about Taylor's EOMS contributions I thought I would ask a few questions about Sticky Finger. It is an easier album to hear the what guitars are doing but I still would like to know WHO plays what on the songs I love! I find it interesting that after Taylor's clear role in so many memorable guitar p[arts on SF his role was so curtailed, often in the mixing stage, on the follow up EOMS, only to blossom again on GHS. On GHS it has be attributed to Keith's lack of presence at the sessions but he is firing on all cylinders on SF and gives Taylor much more space than on EOMS.

Brown Sugar
For a long time I thought Taylor plays the little lead riff on the right in the intro but live it always looks like Richards plays this. It sounds like a Strat and according to this excellent article by engineer Jimmy Johnson Taylor played a Stratocaster at the session at Muscle Shoals.

[www.prosoundweb.com]

However all the twangy lead on the right feels like it is in Keith's style. To start there is the famous riff on the left by Keith I presume, the lead solo phrase joins on the right. Then an acoustic comes in the middle for texture with the lead guitar then starting to play electric Rhythm part on the right as the song goes into the verse. It is fairly straight forward riffing until the end with a rhythmic solo part at the end which I again feel is Keith. I know various outtakes have Taylor playing slide and a cool counter melody on the chorus which he played in various ways live. However does Taylor play on the released album version? If he does what does which guitar part is his?


Sway
I have heard many times how this is a Jagger/Taylor collaboration and I have been told the churning rhythm electric guitar on the right is Jagger while Taylor plays all the slide and the epic end solo. One of the songs Taylor grumbles about not getting credit for and Keith is only on backing vocals. I am interested how this would have worked? Did Keith write the chords and as he was not about Jagger learned them for the session or is it a Jagger song with the Jagger/Richards credit rather like the standard Lennon–McCartney credit on Beatles records even when only one of the pair wrote the actual song? If it is a Jagger song how much did Taylor contribute to the composition (as opposed to the arrangement)? One bone of contention always seemed to be that Taylor viewed "changing a few chords" (as Jagger said) as worth a credit, however for royalties it is the writer of the words and top line melody who get the credit (and money).

IMO this is the purest example of Taylor with the Stones, a great song and just the right balance of supportive melody and a great solo. Songs like 100 Year Ago have great solos but I don't think that it is as good a tune as Sway.


Wild Horses
I heard Taylor said he plays "Nashville Tuning" so this means the ringing acoustic on the right is him while the acoustic on the left is Richards? The electric lead in the middle which runs through the song is Richards according to Taylor in the interview below.

[jasobrecht.com]


Can't You Hear Me Knocking
Again in the interview above Taylor says Richards plays the famous opening riff on the right which seems quite obvious, although it is possible it has been double tracked by Taylor at some point as it is so fat! On the left there is another simpler rhythm part which I presume is Taylor but could also be Richards. This stays until the famous jam section. Taylor says that he simply kept playing when they came to the end of the song section and everyone else joined in, which means that the jazzy rhythm part that starts the jam at 2.43 on the right is Taylor? However it feels more like Richards with the elegant fills on the left under the sax solo being Taylor unless both parts are Taylor? The fills turn into the solo which is definitely Taylor. The solo is great IMO but I think Lester Bangs said he hoped the "boring solo" wasn't Richards when he reviewed the album! The final catchy riff at the end is started ion the lead guitar but doubled up by the rhythm part so could be a precomposed part by Richards, which suggests the jam was a planned thing rather than a spontaneous bit of luck.

You Got To Move
Taylor plays the searing electric lead on the left while Keith and possibly Jagger play the other slide parts?

Bitch
In the interview above Taylor says he plays the leads on this but I have heard many times that it is Richards and the stinging tone sound like him. The rhythm part on the right is also quite neat and tidy so again this feels more like Taylor although it is Keith's riff. It is a shame there was not more of this swapping of leads between songs on an album such as on Bitch and Dead Flowers, also a shame Richards did not play this sort of soloing again. Compared to his later horrible solo on Ain't Too Proud to Beg" it is astoundingly good!


I Got The Blues
Lovely interplay between the guitars playing beautiful soul guitar like Curtis Mayfield. Reminds me a bit of Let It Loose on EOMS. I am keen to know who plays which part on this. I always thought the part on the left is Richards while the tremelo part on the right is Taylor, but maybe it is all Richards? If it is Taylor it is a fine example of weaving between the guitarists, something that is more associated with the Ron Wood years and showed they could manage it when they wanted with Taylor, to arguable greater effect than Wood.


Sister Morphine
jagger and Ry Cooder play on this one. Great slide!


Dead Flowers
One of my all time favourite Stones songs although it was criticised in the original review by "Rolling Stone" magazine (I think) as being a travesty of country music. I think the finest example of the twin lead style that was never really followed up on. The acoustic is Keith but I always thought that the lead guitar on the left was a pedal steel by a guest player. Now I think it is Taylor playing this lick with lots of reverb to get the steel sound but with Keith playing the twangy lead fills on the right and the guitar solo?

Moonlight Mile
Again like Sway a source of Taylor moans about not getting credit in the composition. I head it was developed from a Richards acoustic doodle called "Japanese thing" which was then turned into a song by Jagger and Taylor? Taylor plays very concise slide and lead over Jagger's acoustic on the right. Considering how much Taylor ended up (IMO) over playing live and seemingly pissing off Richards by over soloing in the studio this song is a great example of understated supportive playing. Maybe with out Richards brooding presence Taylor could relax and just play? Taylor had the idea doe the strings as well I think. Oddly another Richards doodle was the basis for Time Waits for No One and I had an idea this to was called something like Chinese riff, but I maybe wrong. Great song either way!

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FP

Sister Morphine
jagger and Ry Cooder play on this one. Great slide!

Is that Jagger on the acoustic? Wow, never knew that.

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LuxuryStones

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FP

Sister Morphine
jagger and Ry Cooder play on this one. Great slide!

Is that Jagger on the acoustic? Wow, never knew that.

No it's not, it's Richards.

Mathijs

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FP


Sway
Did Keith write the chords and as he was not about Jagger learned them for the session or is it a Jagger song with Jagger/Richards credit

Would say its a Jagger song with a shared credit.

I guess Keith helped form the chorus (and the verses, seemingly, after hearing the Hopkins tapes) vocally, at least.

Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

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Mathijs

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LuxuryStones

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FP

Sister Morphine
jagger and Ry Cooder play on this one. Great slide!

Is that Jagger on the acoustic? Wow, never knew that.

No it's not, it's Richards.

Mathijs

Is it not Jagger on acoustic at least on Marianne Faithfull's version?

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Richards plays all guitars. Taylor's original part as can be heard on the outtakes, have been removed completely for the released track. What you hear is about five Keith parts. Left is the original open G track from Muscle Shoals, right is a rhtyhm track by Richards that is composed from three or 4 tracks. There's 2 guitars doing little one-string runs, a stanard tuned guitar doing a Berry-like rhythm, and during the verses (woo!) there's an overdub of an open G tuned guitar. And Richards does the acoustic. But basically, Taylor doesn't play on the released version of BS.

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.

There's about 6 or 7 outtakes of BS, and it is very interesting to hear how the production continued, with Richards first taking bits out of Taylor's track and overdubbing onto it, then replacing it altogether. Version III even has an overdubbed solo that sounds like Taylor, later removed again.

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Richards plays all guitars. Taylor's original part as can be heard on the outtakes, have been removed completely for the released track. What you hear is about five Keith parts. Left is the original open G track from Muscle Shoals, right is a rhtyhm track by Richards that is composed from three or 4 tracks. There's 2 guitars doing little one-string runs, a stanard tuned guitar doing a Berry-like rhythm, and during the verses (woo!) there's an overdub of an open G tuned guitar. And Richards does the acoustic. But basically, Taylor doesn't play on the released version of BS.

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.

There's about 6 or 7 outtakes of BS, and it is very interesting to hear how the production continued, with Richards first taking bits out of Taylor's track and overdubbing onto it, then replacing it altogether. Version III even has an overdubbed solo that sounds like Taylor, later removed again.

Mathijs

Good stuff, thanks.. That's kind of what I always heard and thought.... Wasn't this song used for auditions for guitarists. If so it seems no one passed...

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DandelionPowderman
I guess Keith helped form the chorus (and the verses, seemingly, after hearing the Hopkins tapes) vocally, at least.

Are you talking about "Sway"? If so, how those Hopkins tapes from EXILE sessions affect on determining who wrote and what in "Sway"? An honest question, I feel like missing some logical link.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-01-21 17:18 by Doxa.

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wanderingspirit66

Is it not Jagger on acoustic at least on Marianne Faithfull's version?

Supposedly so, but I don't think that info has come from anyone involved.

It keeps getting said anyway.

I've always seen Sticky Fingers (and Goats Head Soup) as a Jagger/Taylor album; while Let it bleed and Exile being Keith's.

As for I Got The Blues, who plays which guitar? I think Taylor on the right, Richards on the left. What do you think, Dandie?

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RobberBride

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FP


Sway
Did Keith write the chords and as he was not about Jagger learned them for the session or is it a Jagger song with Jagger/Richards credit

Would say its a Jagger song with a shared credit.

It's easy, all songs are shared between mick and keith! I am talking about the royalties, work is shared with everybody.

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DiscoVolante
I've always seen Sticky Fingers (and Goats Head Soup) as a Jagger/Taylor album; while Let it bleed and Exile being Keith's.

Brown Sugar
Wild Horses
CYHMK
YGM
Bitch
IGTB
SM
DF

Sway and MM are probably the only songs that somewhat fit your description.

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Richards plays all guitars. Taylor's original part as can be heard on the outtakes, have been removed completely for the released track. What you hear is about five Keith parts. Left is the original open G track from Muscle Shoals, right is a rhtyhm track by Richards that is composed from three or 4 tracks. There's 2 guitars doing little one-string runs, a stanard tuned guitar doing a Berry-like rhythm, and during the verses (woo!) there's an overdub of an open G tuned guitar. And Richards does the acoustic. But basically, Taylor doesn't play on the released version of BS.

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.

There's about 6 or 7 outtakes of BS, and it is very interesting to hear how the production continued, with Richards first taking bits out of Taylor's track and overdubbing onto it, then replacing it altogether. Version III even has an overdubbed solo that sounds like Taylor, later removed again.

Mathijs

Great info thanks!

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FP
The final catchy riff at the end [of CYHMK] is started ion the lead guitar but doubled up by the rhythm part so could be a precomposed part by Richards, which suggests the jam was a planned thing rather than a spontaneous bit of luck.

If my memory serves, there's a tape from the Sticky Fingers sessions which is just them rehearsing the coda jam about forty times over. Perhaps someone around here has a copy?

Most if not all of the band members have suggested that it was a spontaneous, one-take thing at some point or another, presumably to feed the song's undeniable mystique. It obviously isn't: the changes are far too carefully worked out, and that isn't how the Stones played anyway.

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Stoneburst
Most if not all of the band members have suggested that it was a spontaneous, one-take thing at some point or another, presumably to feed the song's undeniable mystique. It obviously isn't: the changes are far too carefully worked out, and that isn't how the Stones played anyway.

Concur. It sounds way too worked out.I have never ever believed it being spontaneous, except, perhaps the first time they stumbled upon jamming on it. But thats not the take on the album.

Haven´t heard the 40 takes on the CYHMK coda Stoneburst...It would be cool if these threads starts to include links directly to the in-work versions and demos of the songs or links to the HotStuff section where we can find these versions. I presume somebody have collected different versions/boots of work in preogress tracks over the years and categorized it as "albums" ?

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.
Mathijs

Rather than the "I hear it"/"I hear it not" thing, you can see in both CS Blues and the Dick Cavett Show during the third verse, Taylor appears to be playing a "Berry-like rhythm" with his left hand and strumming (not tremolo picking) with his right.

By '73, was doing something different with the slide.

(In BS, I'd call what he used to do quavers, starting with the version at Altamont. I hear him tremolo picking in SV and during CYHMK in 2013.)

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RobberBride

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Stoneburst
Most if not all of the band members have suggested that it was a spontaneous, one-take thing at some point or another, presumably to feed the song's undeniable mystique. It obviously isn't: the changes are far too carefully worked out, and that isn't how the Stones played anyway.

Concur. It sounds way too worked out.I have never ever believed it being spontaneous, except, perhaps the first time they stumbled upon jamming on it. But thats not the take on the album.

Haven´t heard the 40 takes on the CYHMK coda Stoneburst...It would be cool if these threads starts to include links directly to the in-work versions and demos of the songs or links to the HotStuff section where we can find these versions. I presume somebody have collected different versions/boots of work in preogress tracks over the years and categorized it as "albums" ?

I have also have my doubts about the 'spontaneousy' of it, even though I also recall quite many of the principals claiming so. It sounds a bit too well-structured and thought-through one... I also recall someone claiming - probably here at IORR - that Taylor had played the 'jam part' motif earlier before the Stones recordings (which doesn't mean it wasn't spontaneus at the time they recorded "Knocking" - he could have just applied this idea improvisingly then.)

But if it was spontaneuos, seemingly they couldn't get that spontaneous feeling again when they tried the song during British Tour '71, as it - according to Bobby Keyes - collapsed totally...

- Doxa

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RobberBride

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Stoneburst
Most if not all of the band members have suggested that it was a spontaneous, one-take thing at some point or another, presumably to feed the song's undeniable mystique. It obviously isn't: the changes are far too carefully worked out, and that isn't how the Stones played anyway.

Concur. It sounds way too worked out.I have never ever believed it being spontaneous, except, perhaps the first time they stumbled upon jamming on it. But thats not the take on the album.

Haven´t heard the 40 takes on the CYHMK coda Stoneburst...It would be cool if these threads starts to include links directly to the in-work versions and demos of the songs or links to the HotStuff section where we can find these versions. I presume somebody have collected different versions/boots of work in preogress tracks over the years and categorized it as "albums" ?

AFAIK, there is no circulating outtake of any portion of CYHMK.
As for it sounding too worked out, that may be the work of Miller and Johns. Since Taylor has said the others laid down their instruments while he continued playing, there presumably were bits left on the editing floor. And Taylor himself has indicated certain parts were something he played before the Stones.

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kleermaker
As for I Got The Blues, who plays which guitar? I think Taylor on the right, Richards on the left. What do you think, Dandie?

This song is, together with Shake Your Hips, an example of beautiful weaving by Taylor and Keith.

On I Got The Blues, Taylor starts the song and he is in the left channel (in my headphones anyway), while Keith's guitar is in the right.

It's kinda hard to tell who's who in this, because Taylor is playing lots of licks that Keith normally would do (1:47, for instance). His precision reveals him, though







Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-01-22 12:54 by DandelionPowderman.

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smokeydusky

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.
Mathijs

Rather than the "I hear it"/"I hear it not" thing, you can see in both CS Blues and the Dick Cavett Show during the third verse, Taylor appears to be playing a "Berry-like rhythm" with his left hand and strumming (not tremolo picking) with his right.

By '73, was doing something different with the slide.

(In BS, I'd call what he used to do quavers, starting with the version at Altamont. I hear him tremolo picking in SV and during CYHMK in 2013.)

Absolutely correct. The tremelo picked guitar is during the Eflat/C/Aflat/Bflat portion, which live he also sometimes played with slide. During the verses Taylor normally plays a Berry-style rhythm live.

Mathijs

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DandelionPowderman

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kleermaker
As for I Got The Blues, who plays which guitar? I think Taylor on the right, Richards on the left. What do you think, Dandie?

This song is, together with Shake Your Hips, an example of beautiful weaving by Taylor and Keith.

On I Got The Blues, Taylor starts the song in the left channel (in my headphones anyway), while Keith's guitar is in the right.

It's kinda hard to tell who's who in this, because Taylor is playing lots of licks that Keith normally would do (1:47, for instance). His precision reveals him, though

Taylor on left, Richards right. Taylor is the dry clean tone, Richards the guitar with the tremelo effect.

Mathijs

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smokeydusky

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.
Mathijs

Rather than the "I hear it"/"I hear it not" thing, you can see in both CS Blues and the Dick Cavett Show during the third verse, Taylor appears to be playing a "Berry-like rhythm" with his left hand and strumming (not tremolo picking) with his right.

By '73, was doing something different with the slide.

(In BS, I'd call what he used to do quavers, starting with the version at Altamont. I hear him tremolo picking in SV and during CYHMK in 2013.)

I am not sure what you mean by "tremelo"? Do you mean the guitar effect produced by a peddle, which I would say the right hand guitar on "I Got The Blues" has applied or do you mean "arpeggio" as in picking the notes of a chord rather than strumming he chord? From what I can see of the live performances Taylor plays some arpeggios of the chords and then basically doubles up Richards guitar chords with the same "Chuck Berry" groove but in standard tuning rather than open G. While on the alternate take below he does the same and adds a brief solo. It is interesting that the counter melody he developed over the chorus in live performance happened later than the recording, showing how working a song in live can bring up cool ideas. I prefer the live versions of many of their songs simply because the LP version is over familiar and Taylor (when not over playing) adds some nice extra melodies. I actually feel like something is missing when I hear the studio version of BS now when I listen to it!





There is also this one from 1969 with some slide by Taylor I presume?







Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-01-22 14:29 by FP.

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FP

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smokeydusky

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Mathijs

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FP
Any idea who plays what on Brown Sugar?

Live in 1972 and 1973 Taylor would play very close to his original rhythm track, which is a tremelo picked guitar.
Mathijs

Rather than the "I hear it"/"I hear it not" thing, you can see in both CS Blues and the Dick Cavett Show during the third verse, Taylor appears to be playing a "Berry-like rhythm" with his left hand and strumming (not tremolo picking) with his right.

By '73, was doing something different with the slide.

(In BS, I'd call what he used to do quavers, starting with the version at Altamont. I hear him tremolo picking in SV and during CYHMK in 2013.)

I am not sure what you mean by "tremelo"? Do you mean the guitar effect produced by a peddle, which I would say the right hand guitar on "I Got The Blues" has applied or do you mean "arpeggio" as in picking the notes of a chord rather than strumming he chord? From what I can see of the live performances Taylor plays some arpeggios of the chords and then basically doubles up Richards guitar chords with the same "Chuck Berry" groove but in standard tuning rather than open G. While on the alternate take below he does the same and adds a brief solo. It is interesting that the counter melody he developed over the chorus in live performance happened later than the recording, showing how working a song in live can bring up cool ideas. I prefer the live versions of many of their songs simply because the LP version is over familiar and Taylor (when not over playing) adds some nice extra melodies. I actually feel like something is missing when I hear the studio version of BS now when I listen to it!





There is also this one from 1969 with some slide by Taylor I presume?

Finally someone who agrees with me, someone with common sense.

Thanks for the videos, I'll have a listen to them.

What about the guitar parts on Dead Flowers and Bitch? On Dead Flowers I always assumed the left hand soloing that sounds like a peddle steel was Al Perkins but when I got the CD the credits say Taylor as lead guitar? If this is so Does Keith do the main solo? And on Bitch is it Richards or Taylor on lead as Taylor says it's him while everyone else thinks Keith!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-01-22 14:32 by FP.

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Mathijs

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DandelionPowderman

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kleermaker
As for I Got The Blues, who plays which guitar? I think Taylor on the right, Richards on the left. What do you think, Dandie?

This song is, together with Shake Your Hips, an example of beautiful weaving by Taylor and Keith.

On I Got The Blues, Taylor starts the song in the left channel (in my headphones anyway), while Keith's guitar is in the right.

It's kinda hard to tell who's who in this, because Taylor is playing lots of licks that Keith normally would do (1:47, for instance). His precision reveals him, though

Taylor on left, Richards right. Taylor is the dry clean tone, Richards the guitar with the tremelo effect.

Mathijs

I doubted it, and thought he would be on the right, so I said that (because they can fool us, those guys, you know). But the main reason is that the left guitar starts the song and normally Richards is the first one can hear. But the bluesy sound of the left guitar resembles Taylor on IGTB during the Marquee 'show' in 71. So now I also think Taylor is on the left.

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kleermaker

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Mathijs

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DandelionPowderman

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kleermaker
As for I Got The Blues, who plays which guitar? I think Taylor on the right, Richards on the left. What do you think, Dandie?

This song is, together with Shake Your Hips, an example of beautiful weaving by Taylor and Keith.

On I Got The Blues, Taylor starts the song in the left channel (in my headphones anyway), while Keith's guitar is in the right.

It's kinda hard to tell who's who in this, because Taylor is playing lots of licks that Keith normally would do (1:47, for instance). His precision reveals him, though

Taylor on left, Richards right. Taylor is the dry clean tone, Richards the guitar with the tremelo effect.

Mathijs

I doubted it, and thought he would be on the right, so I said that (because they can fool us, those guys, you know). But the main reason is that the left guitar starts the song and normally Richards is the first one can hear. But the bluesy sound of the left guitar resembles Taylor on IGTB during the Marquee 'show' in 71. So now I also think Taylor is on the left.

He is on the left, and he is indeed starting the song, just as he does on Bitch

FP, tremolo picking is what he is refering to.

It is just fast alternate picking.
[en.wikipedia.org]