Fans of the legendary rock band The Rolling Stones are weighing up who the better guitarist is between Keith Richards and Brian Jones. Richards has been a longstanding member of the band and is a close friend of frontman Mick Jagger, while Jones would prove to be crucial for the band’s earliest years. Both guitarists were fundamental to the sound The Rolling Stones carved out, but fans believe one is more important than the other.
Listeners did not ask for a preference in personalities but which of the two guitarists fared better solely as instrumentalists. Richards and Jones both offered incredible work to The Rolling Stones and it seems fans are still a little up in the air on who is the best. Fans took to The Rolling Stones subreddit and shared their thoughts on who the better of the two was.
One fan wrote: “Brian was certainly a very versatile musician — he constantly showed himself willing and able to bring new instruments into the studio and actually play them. And maybe early on he was a better guitar player than Keith. But Keith grew as a guitarist, and I have never heard any evidence that Brian did; by the end, it seems like he hardly played guitar at all.”
Another agreed, adding: “Brian was so musically gifted that he could play whatever instrumental part was necessary. He taught Keith a lot early and started the ‘weaving’ that Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood continued. Richards had to really work to keep up, but the fact of the matter is he did, whereas Brian just always wanted to be a pop star and never bothered to practice or improve. It would’ve been fascinating to see or hear what would’ve happened had he actually cared.
“When I listen to the Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out! album, I can’t imagine Brian playing the other guitar, at least at that point. Early on, Brian basically taught them all how to be a band, but his greater love for fame and drugs quickly extinguished that. Upon reading a couple books on Brian and The Rolling Stones, he could write songs, but got intimidated by Mick and Keith’s dedication and early success.
“He basically structured a lot of the early hits, but was excluded for any credit. This just contributed to his spiral of ‘who the fuck cares.’ He really was an exceptional talent that the world never got to truly know or appreciate, because of his own apathy.”
A third added: “Even in the early days, Keith really nailed Chuck Berry-style playing. That’s not super technical, and Brian’s slide work was probably a bit more technical. But early Keith was a very solid lead guitarist. Later on, when Keith got into the open tunings, he really found his voice. Also, credit to Keith for playing almost all the guitar on Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. That forced him out of his comfort zone and I’d say he rose to the occasion quite well.”
Whether Jones was a better guitarist than Richards seems irrelevant to some fans as they point to the longevity of the latter man as proof of his brilliance. One fan wrote: “Brian was a great multi-instrumentalist and the better guitarist early on but had no songwriting ability. Drugs soon got the better of him, rendering him a burden. Keith came out on top and is still going strong!”
Another agreed, adding: “Brian early on, but it didn’t take long for Keith to surpass him, because of two main things: A) Brian lost interest – as The Rolling Stones drifted away from the blues, he became much more adventurous with other instruments, and B) Keith started writing songs, which is naturally going to make you a better player.”
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