What instrument does Brian Jones play on The Rolling Stones song ‘Out of Time’?
“No Jones, no Stones”. That’s what some people like to say about Brian Jones, the man who founded and started The Rolling Stones. However, by 1969, he was kicked out of his own band as worsening drug addictions and increasingly bad behaviour meant the effort he was putting into the group dwindled. Despite starting out as their lead guitarist, the instruments he was playing on their tracks were often odd additions, especially on ‘Out Of Time’.
Jones started the band, yes. But arguably, The Rolling Stones is the brainchild of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, born the second they met and bonded over their mutual love for American blues records. That shared enthusiasm and musical education would inform the band. It coloured all their biggest hits as Jagger and Richards became one of music history’s most powerful songwriting duos, crafting the band’s songs together.
But when Jones was good, he was great. In the band’s early years, his multi-instrumental talent allowed the group to go above and beyond what the other rock and roll bands at the time were doing. He was bringing sounds like slide guitars, harmonica, sitars, saxophones and all sorts into the mix, as well as being an essential part of the rhythm section on the electric guitar.
However, pretty quickly, tension bubbling among the band members. From the mid-1960s, when they were beginning to get more attention and putting out more of their original compositions and fewer covers, leadership shifted to Jagger as the frontman and away from Jones as the founder. As the songwriters Jagger and Richards began leading the way. Meanwhile, Jones was starting to spiral out of control; he met Anita Pallenberg and began to be abusive to her. His hedonism with drugs was beginning to be more intense than his bandmates, and all of that was starting to make the group fall out with their leader. So, with less creative input to their music and generally being less close as friends, Jones’ musical contributions over time dwindled, moving him away from the guitars and onto more left-field additions.
So, what does he play on ‘Out Of Time’?
‘Out Of Time’ is a perfect example of this complex dichotomy. At once, Jones’ multi-instrumental talent and broad musical influences played a huge role in the group’s originality, but his essential role as a lead or rhythm guitarist was loosening.
On ‘Out Of Time’, Jones doesn’t even touch the guitar. Instead, that job is left fully up to Keith Richards, who plays both rhythm guitar and additional acoustic guitar details on the track. Meanwhile, Jones is busy playing the marimba and vibraphone, two unique percussion instruments, on the track.
When listening back to the song, it’s these instrumental details that catch the listener’s attention. The twinkling and distinctive sound of the marimba, which sounds a lot like a xylophone, is easy to hear in the mix and makes the song far more interesting than a typical rock and roll tune.
However, that interesting addition couldn’t make the track a hit. For the Stones, the song was nothing more than a nice enough album track on Aftermath. But it was a number-one hit for Chris Farlowe, who recorded a cover of the track in 1966, produced by the band’s own Jagger. Notably, that version doesn’t feature the marimba or vibraphone, as Jones’ musical contribution to the track is replaced by more traditional strings alongside a classic rock band set-up.
