Always wondered why The Stones did allow Billy to have his own set in the middle of the show? I mean he was a nice session and back-up musician for the Stones, but why did they gave him a special part? BTW really do like 'that's life'

So Mick could do more coke for the finale.

Billy's songs killed the momentum of those shows and were totally out of place, IMO

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StonesFanatic
Billy's songs killed the momentum of those shows and were totally out of place, IMO

Not at Seattle '75. It was a welcome break for some fun. Keith & Ronnie really enjoyed playing those two songs.

anyone?

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keeffriffhard
anyone?

I am not sure to get what you mean .
"own set " ??


Billy Preston made his "own "set in 1976 as you already know .



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

they pushed billy´s career. nice point of these normally @#$%&. same witth stevie wonder in 1972

I saw this at Les Abbatoirs and it was actually quite good, very funky and even though the sound in that place ws abysml the crowd loved it. It was the 70's and the height of disco so it fitted well then.

X



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-07 20:40 by UrbanSteel.

yeah it was a disgrace! But remember the 75 shows were about 150 minutes when an average 73 gig was 70. I guess MJ made this up to rest his vocal chords for 10 minutes.

thanks Urban!

I saw them in MSG during that tour . Now from what I have heard from other people and from some postings they probably didn't have there best tour . But I can tell you the show I saw in New York that night was nothing but great. I had never heard a band that tight as I did that night. When they got to Billy's songs they just got into a serious groove like only the Stones can get into and it was just magic. At the end when they were plaing JJF everyone and I mean everyone in that place was one there feet screaming and dancing and clapping. I won't ever forget it. So while I may understand people not caring to much for his coupld of songs at least for that night they worked and worked well

I think besides the break for Jagger, it was also written in
Preston's contract to do two songs.

Preston played those songs during both 1975 shows at Baton Rouge and the audience loved his performance. I saw Preston with George Harrison at LSU in November 1974 and Preston played Outta Space which had the entire arena rocking.

One more thing, when Preston finished Outta Space during the 1st Baton Rouge show in 1975, Keith strapped on Micawber and ripped into Brown Sugar. The entire arena went wild! I can still hear Keith's intro to Brown Sugar like it was yesterday.

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StonesFanatic
Billy's songs killed the momentum of those shows and were totally out of place, IMO

Don't you mean Outa Space?

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StonesFanatic
Billy's songs killed the momentum of those shows and were totally out of place, IMO

imo too.

also billy, with the exception of good boogie piano occasionally, was, imo, also a drag on a lot of the Stones material while backing them...hard steely inappropriate organ lines etc...

been listening a LOT LOT to seattle and l.a. '75. thanks unendingly to Erik Snow who really took the time to make me listen...as i had been to the msg show and found it less than inspiring....but these shows are sterling stones...mick on the verge of out of control all the time...thought it was a mess at first but it's super hot and i dig it...version of rtj from seattle, i think...TEARS ME DOWN...bill wyman is THE billy boy of these shows...
personally think wyman is just so consistently incredible at these shows...

btw personally i skip billy's mini-set each and everytime it comes up on the player.

I'm a big fan of the song That's Life but can't find it anywhere... any ideas? I already got Outtaspace on a Best Of CD...

Thanks

I forgot which gigs they did this but Keith would throws in the riff from Monkey Man while playing That's Life. Great stuff that was. Since Billy was given a two song slot it makes me think it would have been great to have given Stu a segment. Say, at least a 1 minute of boogie woogie piano and then launch into a Berryesque number. Ah, what could have been....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-14 03:04 by ChrisM.

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Beelyboy

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StonesFanatic
Billy's songs killed the momentum of those shows and were totally out of place, IMO

imo too.

also billy, with the exception of good boogie piano occasionally, was, imo, also a drag on a lot of the Stones material while backing them...hard steely inappropriate organ lines etc...

been listening a LOT LOT to seattle and l.a. '75. thanks unendingly to Erik Snow who really took the time to make me listen...as i had been to the msg show and found it less than inspiring....but these shows are sterling stones...mick on the verge of out of control all the time...thought it was a mess at first but it's super hot and i dig it...version of rtj from seattle, i think...TEARS ME DOWN...bill wyman is THE billy boy of these shows...
personally think wyman is just so consistently incredible at these shows...

btw personally i skip billy's mini-set each and everytime it comes up on the player.

I agree with you on Billy's inappropriate keyboard playing, too...I know he's a good musician (or was one as he's sadly no longer with us) but for instance, the squibbly synth parts during the intro to Gimme Shelter? Completely inappropriate...

the squibbly synth parts during the intro to Gimme Shelter? Completely inappropriate...

he also soiled BS iirc...

The only thing I like about the Philly sound is the clavinet. In this case, if put into a rock surrounding it's great. Remember it was meant to be the showdown for Mick as Tarzan.

Well, I was at two '75 shows and enjoyed Billy's bit, as did most of the rest of the audience.

As to why they let it happen, it's not accurate that he was only a studio musician -- he had hit songs in the mid 70s, as many of you remember.

Also, as noted above, the band played those songs as though they enjoyed it -- maybe they did (love the Monkey Man reference by Keith).

Having said all of that -- I often skip the Preston segment these days when playing a show, and I agree that some of his keyboard parts were ...um...inappropriate, i.e. -- the synth on gimme shelter and brown sugar and the clav on rambler.

Finally, yeah Beely. those are great shows and a LOT of us owe Erik for that...I'm with you.

I think as entertainers it was just what they felt like doing. they were having a good time and wanted to put on a good show. A lot of it probably had to do with Billy's personality and style. Its his pleasure to entertain (as long as the people want to be entertained) and so It just seemed like a good idea to them. Some people Dug it some didn't . I Think it worked but Then After that tour it was time to take things in a different direction, which they did for sure in 78.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-14 04:53 by ryanpow.

piss break time...

DCBA - If Mick was resting his voice while Billy sang it never showed!!

I will say in response to headly123 I've never been to a show and disliked it I'm talking a Stones show. I have gone back and listened to a couple of shows I went to and they played poorly and the 1975 tour I have not heard many shows that I can sit down and listen to. MJ's vocals are not good for me anyways.

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crumbling_mice
I saw this at Les Abbatoirs and it was actually quite good, very funky and even though the sound in that place ws abysml the crowd loved it. It was the 70's and the height of disco so it fitted well then.

Saw this in Lyon but I can hardly remember if I liked it or not.I was more focused on Jagger and I founded "weird " the way they danced togeter ...
Now the sound of the clavinet gets a bit on my nerves...



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

Billy Preston's two-song "mini-set" during the Stones' 75/'76 tours is perhaps the concert segment that has garnered more misconception and has aged the most badly in the Stones' long concert history. The "mini-set" is a perfect example of how some performances - taken out of the context of their times - seem incomprehensible and just plain wrong, though within the context of their time they seem(ed) quite appropriate and even considered a highlight of sorts.

I saw the Stones two times in New York's MSG in '75, and though that tour's reputation has somehow suffered in retrospect at the time it was a freaking monster and annihilated everything in its path. The Stones returned to America (inexplicably without a new album, that was the crushing disappointment that everyone was dealing with, though ostensibly they were touring behind the previous autumn's It's Only Rock and Roll...but shit, couldn't they have released a new single from their Munich sessions?) and ripped the joint up, but good. Simultaneously, the Zeitgeist had radically changed since their last jaunt 3 years prior. The classic, guitar-dominated blues-rock that was at its apogee in the early 70's had given way to Glam and Soft Rock and Funk and now in the mid-70's also to disco. The Stoned adapted their live sound to the Zeitgeist and in the context of the times it all seemed very cool and current and very with it.

Even the Ron Wood replacement was at the time thought to be (in some circles) a fantastic coup because he gave the Stones a livelier, more party-ready stage presence. The days of the 'demonic' and 'dark' Stones were over...these were your new user-friendly, party-hardy Stones...ready to rock you, funk you, and shake your boots off! Yeah...! And during the actual concert the people were really into it and up dancing and Keef and Ronnie and Charlie and Billy and Ollie laid down a groove so thick that it wouldn't have mattered if, instead of Billy, the Pope was onstage humming Ave Marias...the place was jammin'! So that's a long-winded way of saying that at the time Billy's mini-set was awright and in sync with the vibe.

Also...not to forget..Billy Preston was in this period considered a legitimate star performer. He was the premier "sideman" of his era as well as a star in his own right. And the fact is he had more hit singles than the Stones in the 74-76 period. So it was kinda like a two-for-the-price-of-one deal...that is easy to overlook today...

So what today seems a cheesy and pointless interlude was, in the context of its time, somewhat of a gas...

One last comment...what I loved about the Stones in the 70's is that they changed their skin and look and sound constantly from album to album, tour to tour...and always remained, indestructibly...the Stones.

And what about that clavinet (or what is it?) during JJF? Is that also Billy? Mmmmm I don't like that at all

Excellent post turd!
Otoh you cannot help but think that quite often clever plots in their day are often considered atrocious ("wtf were they thinking" ) , decades later...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-14 15:11 by dcba.

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Turd On The Run
Even the Ron Wood replacement was at the time thought to be (in some circles) a fantastic coup because he gave the Stones a livelier, more party-ready stage presence. The days of the 'demonic' and 'dark' Stones were over...these were your new user-friendly, party-hardy Stones...ready to rock you, funk you, and shake your boots off!

I think in most circles it was Ronnie who ?
Fans don't like change and I for one didn't take Ron Wood on board as a Stone until way after the 81/82 Tour.

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Turd On The Run
Also...not to forget..Billy Preston was in this period considered a legitimate star performer. He was the premier "sideman" of his era as well as a star in his own right. And the fact is he had more hit singles than the Stones in the 74-76 period. So it was kinda like a two-for-the-price-of-one deal...that is easy to overlook today...

You serious?
Why didn't the band hire another silly sideman and do the same thing in later tours?
I think Mick wised up after this Tour and gave it the flick.

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Turd On The Run
So what today seems a cheesy and pointless interlude was, in the context of its time, somewhat of a gas...

yep a gas coming out my backside in the toilet while this was going on...