Bill Wyman or Keith Richards on bass

[Jeff K]

First, a statement. I love Ron Wood's playing (both guitar and bass), and love his work on bass with Jeff Beck. But some time in the '90s, I remember reading a story in Bass Player that I thought was quite amusing.

Apparently, Wyman was running late for a practice or studio session. When he got there, Ron Wood said something like, "Hey Bill, while we were waiting for you, I laid down some bass tracks. Whaddaya' think?" (Remember, Ron is a very "busy" bassist compared to Bill's well-placed spaces and tastefulness.)

Bill listened a bit, then says, "Bloody 'orrible. Where's the BASS?!!"

 

[JimK]

Not a Wyman fan...at all. But, do prefer The Stones with him over anyone.

FWIW, always liked Wood's bassin' on "Maggie May".
Just one of those tunes I heard as a youngster that stuck.

 

[grenadilla]

I prefer Bill's fat tone, with no fret buzz or amp distortion. On the other hand, the first Stone song I heard after taking up bass [1968] was the studio version of Jumping Jack Flash. Notice that high note that sustains so long... Years later I learned that was Keith on bass. " Jack" was keith's gardener.

 

[fenderbassman40]

I love Wood's bass playing with the Jeff Beck group. I emulated that style and tone for many years and still fall back on it. Nice to see some recognition for his bass playing.

 

[bigswifty1]

In his book,Keith says the only reason they invited bill into the band in the first place was because Bill owned a Vox amp

I don't recall him saying anything positive about Bills playing.

 

[Noot]

Listen LONG and HARD to that isolated track of Gimme Shelter- That is what it is all about! Great playing.

I like how he hangs on the one note at the beginning even while the chords change, that kind of move takes guts and adds quite a bit to the music.

This is something to be said for getting a good line/groove going and then only altering it slightly with fills as you go through the song.

Whoever played bass on stray-cat blues is one of my absolute favorite Stone lines as well. was that KEEF or Mick?

If you mean this:

it's great! Any idea what kind of bass is that? Sounds like short scale ..

 

[ElectroVibe]

Ron Wood? I listened to some of his playing with the Jeff Beck Group. It sounds just like what I would expect: a guitarist trying to play the bass. I remember hearing one song the first time, before I knew who was playing, and thought that some of the lines sounded kind of strange. I don't see how anyone could like him more than Bill Wyman.

 

[Wwolof]

I heard Maggie May in the supermarket the other day. Listening to the bass part made my shopping a lot more enjoyable. Sloppy and shambling in an extremely good way.

 

[dougjwray]

In his book,Keith says the only reason they invited bill into the band in the first place was because Bill owned a Vox amp

I don't recall him saying anything positive about Bills playing.

That's exactly right. If you check the index, Wyman is on about two pages of the entire book.
Keith liked Bill's big amp, and he also appreciated him for the one time he helped Keith by scoring some smack for him.

 

[Alkali Ike]

If you mean this:

it's great! Any idea what kind of bass is that? Sounds like short scale ..

Love that Gimme Shelter isolated track.

 

[Jaco D]

I don't know if we are allowed to post youtube links here, but check out Bill Wyman's Isolated bass clip for "Gimme Shelter." I love it!

I don't know if we're referring to the same Gimme Shelter clip but I recall listening to a Gimme Shelter clip on YT which had a more pronounced bass line with a bit more fill than what became the released version. Loved that alternative version.

 

[JimmyM]

If you mean this:

 

[zfunkman]

Big Wyman fan. While Keef and Mick Taylor were able to track some cool parts and get the job done on some tracks, Bill had a feel and groove they couldn't touch. I think Keith would be the first to admit it too!

+1!

Keith only played bass because Bill wasn't available "right now." Kieth just put way more time into the studio than any of the other members and often went forward without them.

 

[hennessybass]

Im not sure why everyone loves exile on main st so much. To me its the start of there downfall.

I don't even know what to say about this

Start of there downfall? Followed up with Goats Head Soup,, It's Only Rock 'n Roll,, Black and Blue,, Some Girls... The list goes on. They are still selling out stadiums!

I think Exile is maybe one of the greatest rock-n-roll albums ever made. If I had to pick one stones album it would either be Exile or Sticky Fingers. That one two punch in 1971 and '72

 

[loendmaestro]

Mick Taylor play Bass on Fingerprint File too.

Fingerprint File is the jam!

 

[mcm]

Dude exile is the shiz!!! It's raunchy as hell. It's what they should be doing now but won't or can't. Killer album

 

[Roscoe East]

I think Exile is maybe one of the greatest rock-n-roll albums ever made. If I had to pick one stones album it would either be Exile or Sticky Fingers.

We can hang.

 

[JimmyM]

Exile got really bad reviews when it first came out. They got raked over the coals for trying too hard to be a blues band. Me, I thought a lot of it was stellar and a lot of it was crap.

 

[KramerBassFan]

In regards to Exile - I like to think its best listened/taken as a whole.

Sum of its parts, blah blah blah.

 

[ElectroVibe]

Bill Wyman is a big part of why I originally liked the Stones. Later on I got more into Keith Richards, but before I was a musician I can remember liking the solid beat and bass notes that he played. I saw a clip of a guy demonstrating his style once, and it took me back in time to my first memory of hearing them.