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Part Two: The "Top Five" Rolling Stones Albums (with Steve Durant) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:07
Okay, hello and welcome to Hanging Out with Bob,
0:11
podcast hosted by me, Bob Edholm. Thanks for
0:17
joining us and let's get started. Maybe what
0:21
I should say is welcome back to Hanging Out with
0:23
Bob because this episode is part two of our podcast
0:27
with my guest and friend Steve Durant and his
0:29
top five Rolling Stones albums. In part one,
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we covered three of those five albums, Beggar's
0:35
Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Get Your Yah -Yahs
0:37
Out. Here in part two, we'll be covering the
0:40
other two in Steve's top five Stones albums,
0:43
Sticky Fingers, and Exile, and Main Street. And
0:46
here with me once again is Steve Durant. Stevie,
0:48
welcome back to Hanging On With Bob. Thanks,
0:50
Bobby. And now that we are back, let's get to
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part two of our podcast with Steve Durant and
0:59
his top five Rolling Stones albums. Well, the
1:04
fourth of Steve Durant's top five Stones albums
1:06
is called Sticky Fingers, the band's ninth studio
1:10
album. It was released in late April, 1971. It
1:14
was also the first album released on their new
1:16
label, Rolling Stones Records. And for the record,
1:20
Sticky Fingers is widely regarded as one of the
1:22
Rolling Stones best albums. With ten songs on
1:25
it, Sticky Fingers was the band's first album
1:27
to reach number one on both the UK and US albums
1:31
charts, and it has since achieved triple platinum
1:34
certification, or three million units sold in
1:38
the US. The song Brown Sugar topped a Billboard
1:41
Hot 100 in 1971. Sticky Fingers was voted the
1:45
second best album of the year in the Village
1:47
Voice's annual Paz and Jop Critics poll for 1971,
1:51
based on American critics' votes. and the album
1:54
was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and
1:57
included in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest
1:59
albums of all time. On sticky fingers, Mick Taylor
2:03
made his second full -length appearance on a
2:06
Rolling Stones album after the live album Get
2:08
Your Ya Ya's Out, which Steve had talked about.
2:11
But it was the first studio album without Brian
2:13
Jones entirely, who had died two years earlier.
2:17
The original Grammy nominated cover artwork conceived
2:21
and photographed by some guy named Andy Warhol
2:24
has shown a picture of a man in tight jeans.
2:27
That wasn't you, was it, Steve? That was not
2:31
me. With a working zipper that opened to reveal
2:35
underwear fabric, tighty whities, as I remember
2:39
reading about. And listeners, you can, of course,
2:41
Google it to see it. Do you remember seeing that
2:44
original cover or did you see the? I didn't own.
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the zipper cover. They got rid of that at some
2:51
point. I think it was ruining the vinyl. Well,
2:53
it was wrecking the vinyl. Yeah. And it was expensive.
2:56
But I did have the vinyl, but again, without
3:01
the zipper. I seem to remember, because I'm an
3:04
old fart, but I can remember either Musicland
3:07
or Target or wherever they had racks of records.
3:09
I thought I remember seeing that album with the
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zipper on it. And I know eventually they just
3:13
used it. picture. I've got just a photo of the
3:17
guy in tight jeans. That's what I had. Yeah,
3:19
that's just crazy. The cover. But yeah, Andy
3:24
Warhol. Yeah. And then the back cover is basically
3:27
the guy from the rear, right? It's just the same
3:29
guy just turned around. So, okay. Well, that's
3:33
background on the album. Steve, why don't we,
3:36
again, I'll sit back and let you just talk about
3:39
this album, you know, the first time you heard
3:41
it and what songs just blew you away when you
3:43
heard it and what you love about it. Well, I
3:46
think it's their greatest album, not named Exile
3:50
on Main Street, and I think they are in full
3:54
bloom here. I mean, they've got their best lineup
3:59
with Mick Taylor and obviously Bobby Keys. Great
4:04
songs and by this time Keith is completely into
4:08
open G tuning mode. I mean Brown Sugar is open
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G, Sway, Wild Horses, Can't You Hear Me Knocking,
4:17
all great open G. It's their signature sound
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and I think that they finally really hit their
4:28
stride with with this album and then obviously
4:31
on to Exile on Main Street and great songs. Yeah,
4:36
I mean, you know you listen to brown sugar and
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you can definitely hear that open G from the
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you know the beginning chords of the of the song
4:46
and Sway, which sounds exactly like you know
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half of the black crows Records, I mean, I really
4:55
like the black crows, but they got their inspiration
4:58
from oh, they definitely did They do a lot of
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a lot of open G stuff and then you know You've
5:03
got wild horses with its open G, but it's an
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acoustic 12 string, which is which is just a
5:10
beautiful sound Yeah, but they have you know,
5:13
wonderful songs Great playing their best lineup
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Yep. Hard to beat. And I promised I'd let you
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talk about this guy, Bobby Keys, who is an American
5:25
sax player. Obviously a great one because the
5:28
Stones used him a lot. Tell us a little bit about
5:31
him and your own... Personal involvement with
5:34
him. Well Bobby's an interesting guy grew up
5:36
in Texas and I think quit school at 15 and went
5:40
on the road with Buddy Holly Wow, I mean he played
5:44
with Elvis. He played with all four of the Beatles
5:47
He played with the who I mean if you think of
5:51
John Lennon, you know, whatever gets you through
5:53
the night That's him. That's him. What a beautiful.
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Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. And then I think one
6:00
of the other real iconic leads is him playing
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the sax in Brown Sugar. I mean, that might be
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at the very, very top of the list. But I know
6:10
that you you read Keith's book, Life, and probably
6:14
found out that Bobby was Keith's best friend
6:17
and that they were born on exactly the same day.
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He was from Texas, right? Texas. Wow. Exactly
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the same age. He played with Joe Cocker. I mean,
6:27
I think of other great leads like the sax on
6:30
Sweet Virginia. I know he played with Joe Ely
6:34
and then the iconic lead on Can't You Hear Me
6:38
Knockin'. I don't think there's any dispute.
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He is the greatest rock and roll sax player of
6:45
all time. He's certainly passed away, I think,
6:49
what, maybe 10 years ago, something like that.
6:52
But I did have an opportunity to meet him once
6:56
and I know I've told you the story. Yeah, when
6:58
was this? The Parkway Theatre in South Minneapolis
7:02
near where I live was doing a Rolling Stones
7:07
retrospective and they were playing a bunch of
7:10
Rolling Stones concert videos and I think you
7:14
talked about Gimme Shelter that was certainly
7:16
one of them. Ladies and gentlemen the Rolling
7:19
Stones and there was a few others I forget what.
7:22
The Parkway Theater at that time was owned by
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a fellow named Joe Mengeres, and Joe just passed
7:30
away a few weeks ago, and he was a great guy.
7:33
In addition to owning the Parkway Theater, he
7:35
was the longtime owner of Pepitos, a Mexican
7:39
restaurant right next door. Really, that's kind
7:43
of the heart and soul. of my neighborhood over
7:46
on 48th and Chicago and Joe owned it since the
7:50
70s. So yeah, I've been around a long time, but
7:53
Joe knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy.
7:58
that knew Bobby Keys. So Joe contacted Bobby
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and agreed to, Bobby agreed to come up and give
8:05
a little talk before they showed the movies and
8:09
then they would do a meet and greet, sign some
8:12
merchandise and pepitos afterwards. think Bobby
8:16
probably got paid and plus he was probably sensing
8:19
a good time up in Minneapolis. So he decided
8:22
to make the trip up. Yeah. So I go down to see
8:26
the the movies and when I get there I run into
8:30
Joe. and he was with Bobby Keys so I knew Joe
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a little bit so he made the introduction and
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I'm thinking cool I just met Bobby Keys a member
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of the Rolling Stones the greatest rock and roll
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sax player of all time and a great character
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so before the show Bobby went up there and he
8:48
already had a few drinks in him and so he's got
8:50
a drink in one hand and he was telling really
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funny stories and he was you know profane and
8:57
he was everything that you'd want from a member
9:00
of the Rolling Stones and then they showed the
9:03
the movies and then afterwards everybody retired
9:07
to the Pepitos bar as did I so I went in there
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and I saw Joe, and he invited me up to his table,
9:15
and I got to sit right next to Bobby. And Bobby
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was, you know, we're having a million beers,
9:21
having a lot of fun, and he's signing all of
9:23
this merch. And when he's finally done with the
9:26
signing, we just started talking, and I told
9:28
him, I just read the, you know, Keith's book,
9:31
and Bobby is certainly prominent in that book,
9:34
and he's all over it. And I said, you know, I'm
9:37
a huge... Keith Richards fan. I'm a guitar player
9:42
and I bought a Telecaster just like Keith's.
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I took off the low E string. It lives in open
9:50
G tuning and is kind of an ode to Keith. Bobby
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said, well where do you live? I said, I just
9:56
live a few blocks away. He said, well go get
9:58
it man. So, I did. I went home, got the guitar,
10:03
brought it in the bar, gave it to Bobby and Bobby
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grabbed it and he's standing up and he's doing
10:09
a bunch of rock star stuff with it and he's strumming
10:13
it, although I don't really think he knows how
10:14
to play it. Are you getting pictures of this
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while he's doing that? No, I don't. But, I mean,
10:19
he's having a lot of fun and anyway, he signed
10:22
it and I have it today. He still got it, yeah.
10:25
Yeah, he just wanted to have some beers, and
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he loved talking about the stones, and I was
10:32
able to ask him lots of questions. It was a lot
10:35
of fun. Yeah, absolutely. Crazy. Especially if
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you get somebody that is willing to talk. You
10:40
didn't have to drag it on him. He just wanted
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to talk. Actually, there's a great documentary.
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I think you can find it on YouTube, and I think
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it's like... I think it's always Saturday night
10:50
or something like that. But it's about Bobby
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Keys. And they have members of the Stones talking
10:55
about him. They've got Bobby being interviewed.
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And it's probably 45 minutes or an hour long.
11:03
But yeah, it's something. Yeah, it's always Saturday
11:06
night or something like that. But it's great.
11:09
I mean, he's one of the few characters. He's
11:12
quit. probably junior high to go on the road
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with Buddy Hawley. I mean, you know, who does
11:18
that other than Tommy Stinson? I wonder how,
11:21
yeah, I wonder how he learned to play sax. I
11:23
mean, did you take like sax lessons as a kid
11:26
and then he just kept doing or he just pick it
11:28
up and start playing? I always wondered, was
11:30
there ever a book written on him? Or? Oh, I don't
11:34
know. Curious, because they said he's the greatest
11:36
sax player you ever heard. And I said, how did
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you get so good? Who did you learn from? I know
11:41
Charlie. in part of the his interview he just
11:46
said you know he's not the greatest saxophone
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player he's the greatest rock and roll saxophone
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oh right right and you know everybody wanted
11:53
him on yeah yeah so anyway he was he was a great
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character and yeah I'm glad I had a chance to
12:00
meet him again you know it's funny and we haven't
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talked about on the other albums but I know so
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many Rolling Stones songs become popular And
12:09
just the overall culture like I can remember
12:12
like Brown Sugar I remember seeing a movie back
12:14
in the early 80s Sylvester Stallone was in it
12:17
was called the Nighthawks in Billy Dee Williams
12:20
and Rector Howard, you know, he was sure he played
12:22
a bad guy Yeah, but I remembered the opening
12:24
or one of the beginning scenes in the movie.
12:26
It's like this nightclub in New York and people
12:30
are dancing, they're playing Brown Sugar. This
12:32
is about 81, but it's a perfect use of that song,
12:34
you know, so and a lot of wild horses has been
12:37
a lot of different movies and documentaries and
12:40
just, you know, great songs. I think a lot of
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the songs of this album, especially are used
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in TV shows. I think Sopranos has used Moonlight
12:48
Mile. Dead Flowers is in the Big Lebowski. You
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know, it just they use it because it's great.
12:55
I remember a show called Ozark. I watched that.
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It was on Netflix. series that has Can't You
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Hear Me Knock and they're playing it there. It's
13:04
such a big part of the culture of the songs,
13:05
especially off this album. But what a record.
13:08
I mean, it starts off with Brown Sugar, Sway.
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It's just the evil that's got you in its sway.
13:15
Very cool song. And then Wild Horses. And then
13:18
I think maybe my favorite Stone song of all time,
13:22
Can't You Hear Me Knock. I mean, if there was
13:25
one... Riff that is you know iconic Keith that
13:31
I had to point to it would definitely be that
13:33
song can't you hear me? Okay, and it's it's such
13:37
a cool song because at the at the end of the
13:40
main part of the song you've got the the outro
13:45
and they just turned that little outro into about
13:49
a five -minute jam. Yes, yes. It was completely
13:52
unplanned. It was just a happy accident in Bobby
13:56
Key's saxophone. is just incredible with it and
14:00
Keith's got the guitar going and Charlie still
14:02
plays the drums and they just kind of kept it
14:05
going and none of them had any idea that it was
14:08
being recorded but somebody had the wherewithal
14:10
to keep it going and it is... Maybe their greatest
14:16
piece of music Wow. Yeah, I mentioned that one
14:19
of their incident one of their musicians that
14:21
got used a lot He was from Ghana. I think his
14:23
name is Rocky Dijon Hmm, but he's playing the
14:26
car. He's playing the congas. I can I remember
14:28
watching That rock and roll circus show where
14:31
he's playing during sympathy for the devil He's
14:34
playing the congas and he was used a lot Even
14:36
in this one can't you hear me knock and he gets
14:38
credit on that. Okay, cuz that's part of that
14:41
Improv toward the it is it definitely is rocky.
14:43
Yeah so and then you you gotta move it's kind
14:48
of a traditional blues song and there's some
14:50
really cool you know open G slide in it and then
14:54
you know bitch is another great song with a you
14:58
know wonderful Bobby Keys solo You know, I Got
15:02
the Blues featuring, you talked about earlier,
15:05
Billy Preston. If somebody ever wants to understand
15:08
what a Hammond B3 organ sounds like, listen to
15:11
I Got the Blues. That is, it's amazingly beautiful.
15:17
And then Dead Flowers, which is another great
15:21
song and another tip of the cap to country music.
15:25
Ian Stewart's on that one, too. He's showing
15:27
my notes. He plays the piano in that song. And
15:30
then finishes with Moonlit Mile. you know what
15:34
a great album yeah yeah and it you know it it
15:37
might be there might be their greatest yeah i
15:39
mean exile's got a lot more a lot more songs
15:42
yeah it's a double album virtually but i know
15:44
i've i've read a lot of when i was listening
15:47
to it and looking up a lot of critics were saying
15:48
this might have been one of their most complete
15:51
i mean of all the great albums this might might
15:53
be the best so other than exile it's their best
15:56
best record for sure yeah Okay, on to the final
16:02
album of Steve's top five of Favorite Stones
16:04
albums and it's called Exile in Main Street.
16:07
This is their 10th studio album and it's a double
16:10
album. Two vinyl discs, four sides, 18 songs.
16:14
It was released on May 12th, 1972. Exile in Main
16:19
Street is viewed as a culmination of a string
16:21
of the band's most critically successful studio
16:24
albums following Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky
16:27
Fingers, and it's known for its wide stylistic
16:30
range and strong influence of Delta blues, gospel
16:34
music, and country rock. And I was surprised
16:37
to read this, Steve, but they said the album
16:38
was originally met with mixed reviews before
16:41
it started receiving strong reassessments by
16:44
the end of the 70s. It's like once you started
16:45
hearing it again, you go, wait, there's something
16:47
here. So I was surprised at first it came out.
16:50
It wasn't quite as warm as they thought, but
16:53
right now it's definitely a classic. And then
16:55
the backstory, if you want to talk about this,
16:57
but I heard that most of this stuff. Most of
16:59
the recorded material was in France. Keith had
17:03
rented a villa or something. It's called Nelkote.
17:07
Nelkote. And they were basically there because
17:10
they owed taxes back in Britain. So they had
17:13
to kind of hide out. Well, they wanted to escape
17:14
the tax rate. So they went to France. They lived
17:17
in France. That must have been wild though. I
17:20
mean, all the music and there must have been
17:22
a few drugs and alcohol going. Lots of drugs.
17:25
I mean, it was a real problem. Keith was, you
17:28
know... He talks about that in life, doesn't
17:30
he? Full -blown heroin addict by this time. And
17:33
Graham Parsons was hanging out, and he was a
17:36
full -blown heroin addict. William S. Burroughs
17:40
was living with them for a while. I think John
17:44
Lennon lived there for a little while. I mean,
17:46
it was truly the den of inequity. But I think
17:52
Keith... Yeah, I was living in the villa and
17:56
then they had this mobile recording studio and
17:59
that's what they used to record the whole album.
18:01
They recorded all that stuff and then they came
18:03
back and then mixed it, probably overdubbed.
18:05
They did. Because not all the musicians you hear
18:07
on the record were in France, right? So they
18:09
must have added those parts. I think that's true.
18:12
Yeah, but it's a phenomenal album and so many
18:16
songs. My god, there's 18 songs. Yeah, I can't
18:21
imagine what it would have been. like living
18:23
there. I mean, I mentioned Graham Parsons. He
18:26
was, he was so bad that they had to ask him to
18:30
leave. Can you imagine Keith Richards, you know,
18:33
asking? Because they were tight, weren't they?
18:35
Oh, they were very tight. But yeah, he was. Yeah,
18:38
he was such a horrible influence that Keith asked
18:40
him. Yeah, you gotta go. When Keith tells you,
18:43
you gotta go, you must really be. Yeah, that's
18:46
that's kind of like the replacements firing Bob
18:48
Stinson. So good analogy. But yeah, Graham Parsons.
18:53
And I think shortly after that, he he died. So
18:56
he was another of the 27 club. Oh, wow. Wow.
19:00
And it's his demise is kind of interesting. He'd
19:03
always told his friends that when he died, he
19:06
wanted be cremated in Joshua Tree National Park.
19:10
He loved Joshua Tree National Park. So he dies
19:14
at 27. Some of his friends stole his body in
19:20
the casket, put it in a hearse, stole the hearse,
19:24
drove to Joshua Tree. doused it with gasoline.
19:28
Oh my gosh. And lit them on fire. Oh, I had never
19:31
heard that. Wow. Wow. So. Oh, man. Amazing. You
19:34
can't make it up. No, you can't. You can't. Oh,
19:37
gosh. I remember this album especially was 1972
19:40
when it came out because I think that was the
19:42
year the Stones were touring the US. And I remember
19:44
they played at Met Center, you know, and it was
19:46
sold out and that stuff. And they even had Like
19:50
mini riots there too. I mean it was it was wild
19:52
because people are trying to break in This is
19:54
during the height of the anti -war movement and
19:55
all this stuff But I remember reading a review
19:58
and the Met Center at that time didn't have air
20:02
conditioning And they played there like in June
20:04
or July of 1972. And I remember Jaguar saying
20:07
that was one of the most uncomfortable concerts
20:10
he's ever performed at, because there was no
20:12
way it was so stuffy. And I thought, oh, God,
20:14
that must have been something. But I remember
20:16
Tumbling Dice, obviously, and Happy. I mean,
20:19
those are two songs that I always remembered
20:20
from that album. But I'm sure you've got your
20:23
own list of notes. the tremendous variety of
20:26
songs and so many guest musicians on that one
20:29
as well. Well, I think there's 18 songs. And
20:33
even if you throw out the weakest four or five
20:36
or six, you've got an incredible powerhouse album.
20:40
I mean, look at how it starts. You know, I mean.
20:43
rocks off, rip this joint, shake your hips which
20:47
is an old slim harpo, casino boogie with Bobby
20:52
Key's great sax on it, tumbling dice which might
20:57
be... might be their signature song. It's got
21:01
everything that makes them great. Country elements,
21:04
rocks, blues, the whole thing. Sweet Virginia,
21:08
and then you've got Torn and Frayed, which is
21:11
not one of their best songs, but then Sweet Black
21:15
Angel and Loving Cup. That's how the record starts.
21:19
I mean, just amazing. I think maybe people have
21:25
been critical because there are a few weaker
21:27
songs on it because there's 18 songs. That's
21:29
a lot of songs. It's kind of like the white album.
21:31
There's got to be 16 or 17 songs. I hear people
21:35
talk about what's the best Beatles album. Some
21:40
people think Sergeant Pepper's, which I don't
21:42
believe at all, but I think it's the white album.
21:44
I mean, if you strip off the weakest three or
21:47
four or five songs, I mean, clearly it's the
21:50
best record. I hear Sgt. Pepper's all the time,
21:55
but Revolver is better. The White Album is way
21:58
better. I think Abbey Road is better, but yeah.
22:03
What would you say, what is your favorite song
22:05
off Exile on Main Street? I mean, if you were
22:07
just going to turn on Spotify and say, I want
22:10
to hear something from Exile, what would you
22:11
go with first probably? Wow, that is very difficult.
22:17
Maybe Sweet Virginia, because I've been personally
22:20
playing that song for most of my long life. But
22:28
I love so many songs. All Down the Line is just
22:32
one of their all -time great rockers. So is Rip
22:37
This Joint, Rocks Off. tumbling dice. I mean,
22:41
I've just got so many, I would have a hard time
22:44
picking one. It's just with 18 songs, it might
22:46
take a while. It takes an hour to hear them all.
22:49
Playing Sweet Virginia for all of these years.
22:52
And it's a cool song about drinking wine, taking
22:58
illicit drugs. What else do you want? And looking
23:04
at Sweet Black Angel, also a really cool song.
23:07
And I guess it's a tip of the cap to Angela Davis,
23:11
the activist. And so I think that's what it's
23:15
about. And it's got that cool West African rhythm.
23:19
So I'm not sure where Keith came up with that,
23:22
but it's a departure from almost. Everything
23:26
that they had black angel. Yeah, sweet black
23:28
angel. I didn't realize that was Angela Davis
23:31
was the inspiration for that song. I think that's
23:33
true. I wonder how Angela Davis felt about that.
23:35
I don't know. She were? Interesting, interesting.
23:39
But yeah, Love and Cop. That's, you know, another
23:42
great, great song. Yeah, and happy. I mean, you
23:45
referenced that earlier. And you're talking about
23:48
Keith's signature songs. I mean, that's the top
23:51
of the list. And I think I remember reading that
23:54
that was recorded in the middle of the night.
23:58
And Jimmy Miller was on drums. Keith did the
24:02
guitar work. And Bobby Keith, just the three
24:05
of them did it. And then I think they added to
24:07
it later. But the three of them in the middle
24:11
of the night. Yeah, recorded happy. Well, and
24:14
it's a real upbeat song. I mean, it's a fun song
24:16
to listen to. Isn't it? inspired by something
24:19
that happened in his life? Was it the birth of
24:21
a daughter? I don't know. Okay, I thought there
24:23
was a story behind that, how he came up with
24:25
that. But yeah, it's a great song. And that's
24:27
the first song I remember him being the lead
24:30
on. I relied on Top 40 Music Stations until I
24:34
was in my 20s. And I remember that was the first
24:36
Rolling Stone song I remember where he was the
24:38
lead singer. It was always Mick. And I thought,
24:41
oh, Keith. Yeah, and another Open G jam. So very
24:46
cool song. All righty and then we'll just wrap
24:49
this up like I did the other albums that the
24:51
reason this is on your top five I think similar
24:54
to Sticky fingers. It's you know, all the all
24:59
the pieces are in place but this is I think unique
25:03
and I love the album so much because it sounds
25:07
so loose and improvisational. I mean it it does
25:11
sound like it's you know recorded in the basement
25:14
of a villa and I don't think they had air conditioning
25:17
it was it was you know real hot and you had a
25:21
cast of characters coming in and out and I think
25:24
Keith would stay up for like three or four days,
25:28
you know, recording this album, working on it,
25:31
and then he would sleep for three or four days.
25:34
And everybody was really unreliable that, you
25:37
know, just because you showed up to work doesn't
25:39
mean that everybody is available. Or they might
25:42
be there, but they might be dead drunk. So I
25:44
think it took a long time to record the album,
25:46
but it's definitely got that real loose, just
25:50
let it rip kind of a jam feel to it. Did I read
25:54
some words? I hope I'm not getting my albums
25:56
confused, but I thought that Mick Jagger was
25:59
kind of frustrated with the whole process I mean
26:00
he was he's involved obviously in the songs But
26:03
maybe because it was sort of disorganized at
26:05
times where it was just kind of frustrating Yeah,
26:08
I can imagine trying to work with Keith. Yeah
26:10
being a you know a heroin guy That had to be
26:14
difficult and then all the the stragglers the
26:17
hanger on that that must have been difficult
26:19
and you know, I think Keith had his fun with
26:24
recreational drugs, but he was never a, you know,
26:27
a heroin addict. So that would be difficult,
26:30
I would imagine. Yeah, sure, sure. And I didn't
26:32
mention it yet on this one, but again, all of
26:35
the album covers are very interesting, very unique.
26:37
And on this one, the next on the Main Street,
26:40
I guess you just call it a photo montage. It's
26:42
so busy. There's so many things. It's hard to
26:44
pick out what it was, but I would encourage listeners
26:47
to Google it just to see it. It's sort of chaotic,
26:51
I guess, because I don't know what to look at.
26:54
There's too many things to look at. But you definitely
26:57
won't forget it when you see it. You'll know
26:58
it's Exile on Main Street. Yeah, that's for sure.
27:02
You know, Bob, it seems like, you know, I talk
27:05
about these five albums again, because 68 to
27:08
72, I think that's when they were at their greatest.
27:11
But, you know, Some Girls is another wonderful
27:13
album. I think that was 78. And I think that
27:16
was clearly you know the the next greatest album
27:20
and you know that was so good that it could supplant
27:24
you know a number of these possibly yep yep no
27:28
good point in fact i'm glad you brought that
27:30
up i was going to kind of transition from that
27:32
uh the five that we just talked about Do you
27:35
have a favorite of the five? Would you go with
27:38
get your yasas out? If you were to say if you
27:39
want to set exile to a deserted island, but somehow
27:43
I had electricity in the internet and you can
27:45
listen to one of these five the rest of your
27:47
life, which one would you listen to? Probably
27:49
the live album. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's
27:52
a lot. Thanks. Yeah, it may not be their best,
27:54
but that's probably what I would have. Yeah.
27:57
Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Steve, let's call this the
28:01
big picture segment of this podcast. You've done
28:04
a great job of analyzing your top five albums
28:07
by The Stones, and I'm just going to listen to
28:09
them again in chronological order. We've listened
28:11
to you talk about Beggar's Banquet, which came
28:13
out in December of 68, Let It Bleed, released
28:17
in November of 1969, Get Your Yah -Yahs Out,
28:21
the live album, that was released in September
28:23
of 1970, Sticky Fingers, released in April of
28:27
1971, and Exile on Main Street, the double album,
28:30
which came out in May of 72. Now, obviously a
28:34
lot of time has passed since these albums were
28:36
released over half a century, and yet the Stones
28:39
amazingly have continued to record and tour since
28:42
then. That's the other thing, their longevity
28:44
is just amazing. They've been definitely a dominant
28:47
force in rock music and influenced a lot of people
28:50
and have millions and millions of fans. Needless
28:53
to say, they're in the rock and roll out of fame.
28:56
That was like 36 years ago, they've been in the
28:58
out of fame. And a couple stats that I just found
29:02
fascinating we talked about five of your of your
29:05
albums you like by them They've released 31 studio
29:08
albums over 60 plus years 39 live albums including
29:14
get your yas out 28 compilation albums, you know
29:18
greatest hits best of type stuff 77 music videos.
29:22
I didn't realize they've had that many and then
29:24
all those singles. They talked about it. I saw
29:27
something was like a hundred and twenty two 45s
29:30
or whatever they call them now and they've sold
29:32
over 250 million Albums worldwide all that time.
29:37
I think only the Beatles may have sold more on
29:39
that sure But it's just amazing and all the top
29:41
ten albums, you know 38 of those and eight number
29:44
one hits overall and just Just amazing now. Have
29:49
you ever seen them live? You never had when you
29:52
see them in the 80s and the 90s and civic center
29:56
and Or a Met Center? Met Center. Oh, okay. Okay.
30:00
Did you see him? And what did you think of when
30:02
you saw him then? Well, I actually saw him at
30:04
the Metronome as well. Oh, okay. You know, they
30:07
were about 300 yards from me, and it just...
30:11
Did he even have the giant TVs then where you
30:13
could see him, or were you just relying on the
30:15
guys? You know, it might have been before the
30:18
giant TVs. I was going to say, these days, that's
30:19
how they kind of conquered it. They got the giant
30:21
screens, but before you were just looking at
30:23
little ants. You know, it's like the guys on
30:26
the cake and let it... bleed. You're just looking
30:27
at little bodies there. I love the band, but
30:31
I really have no interest in going to see them
30:33
at this point. Same here, same here. I understand.
30:37
Yeah, actually they probably should have quit
30:39
about 50 years ago. They probably should have
30:43
quit after some girls in 78. I haven't been a
30:49
fan of their records too much since that point.
30:52
Why don't you, because I know you're an expert
30:54
on these guys, why don't you just tell the listeners,
30:56
tell us about the original Rolling Stones and
30:59
what happened to those five? Well, Billy Wyman,
31:03
he quit. probably 25 years ago. You know, I think
31:08
just wanted to get off the road. Sure. He was
31:10
older, too, wasn't he? He was older. Yeah. Mick
31:13
Taylor, he he left the band at the height of
31:17
their success because I think he thought he was
31:20
not going to not going to survive it. You know,
31:23
I mean, he's running in with rough company. So
31:26
he just to save himself, he had to quit. You
31:30
know, Mick is still, you know. Yeah, he's gonna
31:33
be 82, or he just turned 82 in July of 2025.
31:38
Keith's gonna be 82 this December. So, you know,
31:42
they put out that Hackney Diamonds, which is
31:45
a pretty good album. I mean, I gave it a couple
31:47
of listens and the title track is really a good
31:51
song. So, you know, they're they're still somewhat
31:54
vital. Obviously, Charlie Watts died. Yeah, you
31:57
know, some years ago. Twenty twenty one. Yeah,
31:59
Bobby Keys died. So, yeah. In in Nicky Hopkins.
32:04
In Stuart, I think most of the musicians that
32:07
have helped out have passed away, but they were
32:09
a lot of them were old anyway. So they were they
32:11
had health issues. You know, in Stuart, I read
32:14
died of a massive heart attack. He's only 47.
32:16
Wow. And then, you know, Bobby, he was 70, but
32:19
he had a cirrhosis i mean it was pretty advanced
32:23
well jimmy miller i think he died in his 50s
32:26
cirrhosis of the liver i mean he was a you know
32:28
a heavy hard drug user so yeah yeah it was it
32:31
was tough but you know i mean somehow keith and
32:35
mick survived i know but mick he might be the
32:37
most fit 82 year old on the planet. No fat on
32:41
him at all. And jumping around. Yeah. Yeah. It's
32:44
amazing. Good genes. Good genes. But yeah, those
32:48
guys. Yeah, they should probably hang it up.
32:52
I'm going to give you the last word, Steve. I
32:54
just want you to kind of we talked about all
32:56
five albums at great length. But tell me what
32:59
the the impact of these. Five Stones albums have
33:02
had in your life. I mean you play guitar and
33:05
I know that it's been fun to play along that
33:07
stuff but just this music what it's meant to
33:09
you in your life. Yeah I mean it's maybe the
33:13
soundtrack of all of our lives of a certain generation
33:17
and yeah just you know along with you know Neil
33:21
Young, Jimi Hendrix, a lot of people just really
33:23
wanted me or made me want to you know learn how
33:26
to play and I guess I would encourage anybody
33:30
to, you know, take a deeper dive on the Stones
33:33
or some of these albums for sure. I think we,
33:36
you know, growing up when we did, we we've heard
33:39
many of these songs on the radio, but many of
33:42
my favorite Stone songs I've never heard on the
33:45
radio. And if you don't. you know, give the the
33:49
albums a good listen. You're going to miss out
33:51
on really, really some amazing songs. So yeah,
33:55
I would I would encourage anybody to take a deeper
33:58
dive. It's probably worth the ride. Yep. No,
34:01
that's a good point. I'm glad you mentioned that,
34:04
because it happened for me. I mean, just preparing
34:08
for this podcast. You know, I you told me which
34:11
albums you really loved and I said, you know,
34:12
I I've heard songs from all of the albums But
34:15
I want to hear them all again and hear them in
34:18
the orders that they came out I mean, it's like
34:20
reading books I mean, I just wanted to really
34:22
get a feel for all of it and it helped me a lot
34:24
and then And we've talked about a little bit
34:26
throughout the podcast But I think anybody that
34:29
has any interest in music, especially the Rolling
34:31
Stones that memoir from Keith Richards is great.
34:34
It's long I mean, it's like 550 pages, but it's
34:38
like it's It's almost like reading transcripts
34:40
of interviews you did with the guys. Like you
34:42
said, you can almost hear him talking when you
34:44
read this stuff. And it's just a fascinating
34:46
book. It's exciting, wild, and you laugh at certain
34:50
parts. It's just a great... And what a generation.
34:53
I mean, you mentioned earlier that, I forget
34:56
which album, maybe Let It Bleed came out and
34:59
was on the charts with Abbey Road. Are you kidding
35:03
me? The musicianship that was in the UK at that
35:09
time, because I think Keith points out that his
35:12
generation post -World War II was the first generation
35:16
that didn't have to go into the army. Yeah, he
35:19
was planning on it and then he didn't have to
35:20
go. So a lot of the musicians and the artsier
35:25
folks went to art school. I mean, all the Beatles,
35:29
the Who, Eric Clapton, all those guys took that
35:32
path. And so I think you took some tests after
35:36
high school, and if you didn't do so well, they
35:38
made you a bricklayer. Right, right. Did he go
35:41
into trades, or did he go to art school? Where
35:43
would be the best place to put him? Where would
35:45
you benefit most? Yeah, so I think that was an
35:49
incubator for a lot of these musicians. It was
35:53
amazing what came out of that period in the UK.
35:56
Yep. Well, this has been a blast, Steve. I really
36:00
appreciate you coming together and talking about
36:03
these stones. I've learned a lot and hope our
36:05
listeners will get a lot out of this too. They're
36:07
an incredible band, incredible history, incredible
36:10
music. And the stuff is 50 years old, but it's
36:13
classic. It's some of the best music that was
36:16
ever made. So again, thanks so much for telling
36:19
us about it. Well Bobby, thanks for the opportunity
36:26
fun to hang out with you and I just wanted to
36:29
try to do half as good as Cooley The reference
36:34
to Ron Cooley's yes Another Columbia Heights
36:37
guy who who played for the Gophers and was gracious
36:40
enough to come in here and do a podcast It was
36:43
a lot of fun. So to our listeners again Thanks
36:46
for hanging out with me Bob at home and my guest
36:48
Steve Durant another great guy from who grew
36:51
up in Columbia Heights the Heights We hope you'll
36:54
join us for the next episode of Hanging Out with
36:56
Bob, wherever you listen to your podcasts. And
36:58
until then, bye!