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[Gato Moteado]

36. yeah, the mick taylor years were my favorite years, for sure....,

.....never got to see the stones with taylor as i was only about 14 when he left the band. i did see taylor when he was touring with his own band in the late 80s....he played at some crappy rock bar in wisconsin, just north of chicago. small, dumpy venue (a few hundred people showed up), really, for a guy like that, i thought at the time...but he was just a shadow of his former self....he looked a bit bloated and coked up and the show was disappointing. it was hard to believe he was the same guy. he had just one minor hit (that i can remember) after leaving the stones....what a shame for a guy with all that amazing talent.

i've seen the stones at least 5 times....some girls tour (the last real stones album IMHO), tattoo you tour, and the steel wheels tour (had to drive to indianapolis for that unremarkable show). in my opinion, they never really were a live band, but they were an amazing studio band. still, i would trade all the times i saw them to just see one early 70s show.

in the late 80s, richards went on tour after his solo album came out and i went to see him at the aragon ball room in chicago (IIRC the neville bros opened).....that was an incredible show. it was a general admission show and my friend and i worked our way up to about the 10th row and got seats.