The Legacy of Brian Jones: Unraveling the Myth of The Rolling Stones Guitarist
A Fresh Perspective on Brian Jones
Televisioarvio|Dokumentaristi Nick Broomfield reminds us that there is much more to guitarist Brian Jones than meets the eye.
The Rolling Stones and Brian Jones. Yle Areena. Teema on Thursday, November 14th at 9 PM.
★★★★★
One might think that everything possible has been said about The Rolling Stones. Not so. British documentarian Nick Broomfield reminds us that guitarist Brian Jones has been unfairly overshadowed.
Jones died in 1969 at the mythical age of 27. He drowned in a swimming pool after being dismissed from the band three weeks earlier. This is usually what people remember about him.
For Broomfield, Jones was a teenage idol whom he followed until his tragic end. Broomfield even coincidentally bumped into him on a train once. Now he sees that with Jones, his youth, the love generation, died. A personal perspective is Broomfield’s signature in his documentaries.
The Untold Story of Brian Jones
Jones maintained a strong connection to the blues roots, especially as the band’s popularity grew.
The documentary features an interview with bassist Bill Wyman, who still listens in awe to Jones’s slide guitar on the song Little Red Rooster.
Broomfield demonstrates how every image, line, quote, music, and even a sad spaniel in the documentary is a gem, a gift to the viewer.
Insights from Experts
Broomfield has previously directed documentaries on Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Leonard Cohen, and muse Marianne Ihlen.
He understands that women play a key role in men’s stories. When Linda Lawrence recalls meeting Brian and feeling a “new sensation,” it refers not only to falling in love but also to music and the era.
Interestingly, it is also relevant to hear that Jones was good in bed. He left behind several children.
The Demise of Brian Jones
Women saw firsthand how drugs took over Jones’s life. Only they can tell that Jones cried at night.
It’s refreshing to see screaming boys in the pictures – and look, the Finnish flag! The Stones performed in Yyteri, Pori in June 1965, and footage from that event has made its way to Broomfield.
The more familiar story is the band’s internal hierarchy. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards excluded Jones and even bullied him. Jones suffered from feelings of inferiority because he believed he couldn’t write songs.
Jones lost his grip on music and everything else, but Bill Wyman reminds us that even in his last years, he “embellished” the band’s hits like Paint It Black and Ruby Tuesday.
Thanks to women, the Stones entered cultural circles, another astute observation. Jones’s pace accelerated when he met a fellow wild spirit, Anita Pallenberg.
Conclusion
The documentary crescendos as relationships within the band shift. The film captures Jones’s final performance, where he is in a truly dire state.
Keith Richards’s melancholic words after Jones’s death linger: “We all know people who give the feeling they won’t live to be 70.”
FAQs
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