The Rolling Stones‘ rawness was part of their attraction. The Stones were initially a simple blues group before making a conscious effort to resemble a more raucous and dangerous version of The Beatles with songs like “Tell Me.” With “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” the band’s first cross-continental number-one hit, Keith Richards became one of the fuzz pedal’s early adopters.
Richards was always proud of how much noise he produced on “Satisfaction.” In 1992, Richards stated to Guitar Player, “I was screaming for more distortion: ‘This riff’s really gotta really hang hard and long,’ and we burned the amps up and turned the shit up, and it still wasn’t right.” Ian Stewart then proceeded to [a music store] around the corner and suggested that people try a distortion box
Following that, Keith Richards never stopped searching for performers who embodied his proud lack of formality. His favorite singer was Bob Dylan, whose voice was the antithesis of a polished tenor. Richards found it difficult to appreciate Dylan’s longtime backing group, The Band, but he did love the raw edges that Dylan explored in his songs.
In 1969, Richards told Rolling Stone, “I saw them at the Dylan gig on the Isle of Wight, and I was disappointed.” “Dylan was stunning, particularly when performing the songs by himself. His distinct rhythm seems to come through only when he performs alone.
Dylan’s first significant performance in England following his 1966 motorcycle accident occurred at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969. The Band consented to support Dylan once more during the performance. They had already made a name for themselves apart from him. The Band didn’t impress Richards, but everyone who was anybody—from Eric Clapton to Paul McCartney and John Lennon—went to see Dylan take the stage again.
He claimed that the Band was simply too rigid. Their lack of spontaneity was something I couldn’t understand because they’d been playing together for a very long time. It was as if their records were playing right along with them. With crystal-clear sound and a relatively low volume, it sounded like they were just playing the records live. Personally, I enjoy distortion, particularly when it begins to happen live. However, it seemed that they were lifeless on their own. They basically seem like an accompanying band to me. A couple of times they did get off when they were supporting Dylan. However, I felt that they were a bit too ideal.
