After the terrific beating Taylor got last night from certain quarters, I feel compelled to add this last post, a link to a great appreciation of a terrific musician and his contributions to the Stones from Let It Bleed through It's Only Rock n Roll:
http://users.skynet.be/stones/taylor.htm
As a preview, I'll quote from the piece:
"Many people feel that the Stones made their best music during the time Mick Taylor was in the band. Indeed, he is considered one of the best blues/slide guitarists in the world. During his years with the Stones, Mick made many songwriting contributions for which he never got credit - simply beautiful and creative songs like
Moonlight Mile from
Sticky Fingers (his is the only guitar on this song, and Jagger's vocals follow his lead); the hauntingly beautiful
Time Waits for No One; Can't You Hear Me Knocking (that's his extended jam at the end); and
Sway (no Keith to be found here -- check out his lead on this one!). (The very best version of
Sway, by the way, can be found on Mick and Carla Olson's Too Hot For Snakes release, done live at the Roxy in Los Angeles in 1990. Mick says this is his favorite version, and he has an extended wah wah solo at the end that is unbelievable and really must be heard by all Mick Taylor fans!)
"During this period, Mick and Keith were a fantastic combination. Mick says, '
Playing with Keith was a very intuitive thing. It was like no other working relationship I ever had. It was a 24-hour-a-day . . . thing. It was a whole life style, a whole way of living, playing and recording." And "
Keith and I had a very unconscious, instinctive relationship. We didn't work anything out, even in the studio, and on stage we really inspired each other. In fact the whole band was inspired. That side of things was great.'
"Mick Taylor was, by far, the youngest member of the Rolling Stones at the time. After the problems the Stones had had with Brian Jones, Mick's affable nature was a welcome relief. Musically, he was a huge asset. He was quiet, shy, soft-spoken and not one to grab the spotlight. Perhaps this is why he remained in the background and was, for a while, happy to simply play his guitar."