Black Crowes founder and guitarist Rich Robinson revealed his thoughts on The Rolling Stones bassist Ronnie Wood.
In an interview with Guitar World, Robinson named 11 guitarists that helped shape his sound. The list included three musicians from the Stones, including Ronnie Wood. According to the guitarist, Wood did not stand out in the band. He stated:
“Beyond the compositional side of his, his slide abilities and his overall sonic approach were just so good. But to me, Ronnie hasn’t been able to shine in that same way with the Stones, which is a shame. Don’t get me wrong, he does his thing, and it’s amazing, but his shit with the Faces was on a whole other level. That was some seriously special shit. I wish he got to do more of that with the Stones.”
Earlier in the same interview, Robinson mentioned how memorable the bassist’s works were:
“Ronnie Wood is very underrated, especially when it comes to his compositional approach. How he played those songs and wrote them in the first place was really something else. He did things that were so interesting and wrote so many songs that are so memorable.”
He then named those ‘memorable’ works of Wood and continued:
“Writing stuff like ‘Gasoline Alley’ or ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ takes a lot of talent. We’re talking about some of the most stunning rock songs ever, and Ronnie Wood was a huge part of them.”
In the list, as mentioned before, Robinson mentioned two other names from The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards and Mick Taylor. About Richards, he said the following:
“I fucking love his acoustic playing. I mean, obviously, Keith is a brilliant guitar player, but to hear him play acoustic is a special thing. The way that he strummed was unique, percussive, and so far out. But then his tone is unbelievable. It’s so incredible that, honestly, no-one on this Earth can touch him.”
Similarly, for Taylor, he said:
“I loved how Mick’s approach complemented things because he’s often thought of as a blues guitar player and gets boxed in there. But with the Stones, his pacing and virtuosity bred such beauty that doesn’t necessarily exist in the blues.”
“There was so much yearning but also a harshness that was addicting to listen to. It was hard and heavy but also deeply emotional. I don’t know how else to describe the sound of Mick Taylor. His approach was fluid and beautiful, so it perfectly synced with Keith’s.”
Last year, Black Crowes released an EP for the 50th anniversary of the greatest records, including ‘Rocks Off’ by The Rolling Stones. You can listen to the cover below and listen to the whole EP here.
