The real gear used by group

Jun 9, 2014 | Review Beat

By Jim Stewart

If you are to devote 10 years of your life to researching and preparing a book, you need to know the final presentation is going to warrant the effort…

Rolling Stones Gear by Andy Babiuk & Greg Provost with Backbeat has done themselves proud with a publication that ‘literary’ blows you away: 672 pages, 13” x 10” apiece, packed with sumptuous colour pictures and photos that detail every aspect of stage and studio equipment the group has used over the past 50+ years, from £75 guitars to those that cost tens of thousands, speakers and sound desks, drum kits, microphones and keyboards never part of the original band set-up.

Nothing has been overlooked. Many of the photos are of the actual Stones instruments taken specifically for this book.

Each song is documented from the demo stage, with input from The Stones themselves, engineers, roadies, tour details including arena stage production arrangements, in fact as the sub-title states: ‘All The Stones’ Instruments From Stage To Studio’.

In 2001 Andy Babiuk wrote ‘Beatles Gear’ which covered just seven years seven months and is still regarded as the definitive work. For this publication, he enlisted the help of his friend, Greg Provost and, together they have produced something that needs to be seen, held, absorbed, a masterpiece in every sense, lavish, splendid. It is impossible to overstate the quality of this presentation.

A must-have for every Stones fan – and musicians everywhere.

The Rolling Stones Gear by Andy Babiuk & Greg Provost. Backbeat Books: isbn: 9781617130922

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