UNCUT: The Stones were very tenacious early in their career, weren’t they?
RICHARDS: Yeah. But it was fastmoving. ’63 particularly –that was ayear of speed, man. Everything was happening all at once. We were in a maelstrom. People were saying to us, “You can do this, you can do that.” Brian was a great promoter.
I often think the early Stones get overshadowed by what came later in the ’60s. Do you think that’s true? The thing just got bigger and bigger, and obviously as we went on we got more experienced. By the time you get to Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, this band is in full flow. On the early stuff, there’s always this tentative feel to it. It took awhile to record the Stones properly. You know you can play it, but could they capture it?