There were times when Charlie Watts Watts had some problems with the Rolling Stones, and was taken aback when they played the beginning of ‘Ventilator Blues’.
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However, even before he became interested in rock and roll, Watts seemed interested in the technical side of drumming. Sure, he could lay down a decent beat whenever he wanted, but he was more interested in the jazz that was being played at the same time than in this revolutionary new music that would one day take over the world.
Although Watts was willing to do anything either. Watts, who generally relied on the background beat, had aunique of never playing his snare along with the hi-hat, which gave the rest of the band room to breathe, especially Richards, who often filled in the gaps with guitar.
Once the group entered its classic period, “Exile on Main St” was a strange detour when Watts had difficulty recording the songs correctly. I may not have understoodTumbling Dice’ to the point where producer Jimmy Miller intervened, but the unconventionality of ‘Ventilator Blues’ isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world, either. Or that, simply, as a Jaaz drummer, he was not interested in those styles at all. Jimmy Miller, the great and formidable producer, already took charge of Charlie in “You can’t always get what you want”
Since 95% of the Stones’ discography is based on the blues tradition, andThis should be a walk in the park until you get to the main beat. Anyway, Mick Jagger had always played guitar a little out of the ordinary, so hearing that, combined with the reggae influence that may have been emerging at the time, led to a pace that drove Watts crazy.
Even when he performed the song years later, Watts admitted that he was still wrong and commented in 2003 : “It’s a great song, but we never played it as well as the original. Something won’t be quite right; Either Keith will play it a little differently or I’ll do it wrong. It’s a fabulous number but a little complicated. Bobby Keys wrote the rhythm part, which is the smart part of the song. Bobby said, ‘Why don’t you do this?’, and I said, ‘I can’t play that,’ so Bobby stood next to me clapping and I just kept up with him.”
If you look at the dynamics of the band, it’s no surprise that Watts had some problems. Richards has always focused on the vibe of the piece rather than everything being completely on the beat, so it’s no surprise that every time he plays the song, it sounds a little different than before.
That never stopped Watts backs down from musical challenge. No one can be in one of the longest-running bands in rock history and not change it a little, and until the day they die.
Watts always found it interesting to try to spin his sound in a different direction, whether it was switching to playing bongos for a song or relying heavily on the backbeat of ‘Paint It Black.‘. Other drummers rely on being versatile, but during Watts’ time in the Stones, he practically had to be diverse on principle.
