Movie Review: "The Quiet One"

Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?

- Anonymous (1964)

"The Quiet One": B.  When the Rolling Stones first came to the U.S. in 1964, and for many years thereafter, Bill Wyman was their bass player. One of the band's founders, Wyman preferred to avoid the limelight, standing off to the side or in the back while Mick Jagger was shaking and baking in front. The Beatles and the Stones each had a member dubbed "The Quiet One." For the Beatles it was George Harrison; for the Stones it was Wyman.

The Stones first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show on October 25, 1964, eight and a-half months after the Beatles' first appearance on that all-important Sunday evening variety show.  We teenagers had been listening to Stones' music on the radio for months, but never got to see them until their national television debut.  When the time finally arrived, most fans were devoting their collective attention to lead singer Jagger and lead guitarist Keith Richards.  But I was more intrigued by rhythm guitarist Brian Jones, probably because he had the greatest hair in the rock world, and by bass player Wyman.  There was something about the latter's stoicism which set him apart.  He held the neck of his instrument cocked upward at an 80 degree angle instead of parallel to the floor like other guitarists.  He appeared aloof, even while performing in front of hundreds of screaming girls.  Was he being cool, or was he disinterested?

The Stones seemed darker with more of an edge than their fellow countrymen like the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits or Gerry & The Pacemakers.  Their first top ten hit in the States, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard charts, was Time Is On My Side, of which the band actually recorded two versions.  The version which got less airplay was my favorite because of its spooky falsetto fadeout.  Contributing to the eeriness was Wyman's Prince Valiant hair style, an accurate description for which I must credit Star Tribune critic Jon Bream.  Ed Sullivan made room for just two Stones' songs that memorable October night, a cover of Chuck Berry's Around And Around, a strange choice given the fact that the Stones never released that tune as a single, and Time Is On My Side to close the show.

The Quiet One is a documentary which relies almost exclusively on Wyman's comprehensive, invaluable and historic stockpile of Rolling Stones memorabilia which he has painstakingly curated over the last six decades.  Wyman explains that he felt an obligation to make a written record of events which transpired during his days with the Stones.  We are the beneficiaries of Wyman's sense of duty.  It ironically turns out that this quiet, almost reclusive performer has a lot to say, and a personality belied by his on-stage persona.  Some of his ideas are expressed through his photography.  Additionally, Wyman has amassed a huge collection of tape recordings and videos, complete with a variety of compatible devices on which to play them, plus posters, buttons, costumes, instruments, charts, set lists, and all things apropos to Rolling Stones.  This bounty is securely stored in a home library, with complete inventory lists on file.  It is a safe bet that an accounting of anything Stones-related since the band's 1963 formation is contained in Wyman's archives.  Undoubtedly referring to his days of heavy drug usage, Richards has said, "If I want to know what went on in those years, I have to ask Bill Wyman."

The documentary could use a little more -- in fact a lot more -- concert footage.  In spots it suffers from too many slow horizontal pans, reminiscent of most of Ken Burns' offerings.  One clever production gimmick is the use of shots from a camera positioned at a distance directly behind a man with a full head of gray hair.  The silent subject is sitting at a desk.  Sometimes the camera gets closer, but it isn't until the end of the movie that we see his face.  Is it Bill?

It is likely that The Quiet One will be appealing only to rock music fans and historians.  Still, for those of us who fall into one of those broad categories, it does furnish insight and behind-the-scenes snippets of the band which is in its seventh decade of existence.  What was once unofficially a sextet and officially a quintet is now a quartet.  From the original lineup, Jagger, Richards and drummer Charlie Watts are still touring.  Wyman, who is almost seven years older than Jagger and had a brief career in the British air force as a teenager, retired from the band in 1993.  Some of the documentary takes us up to the present day, as Wyman has kept busy with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.  But as one would expect, the main focus is on his days as a Stone.

Wyman tells filmmaker Oliver Murray that in his view, the job of the bassist is to complement the music without drawing attention to himself.  Wyman is the personification of this approach.  Wyman and drummer Watts, another understated musician, will go down in history as one of rock's best rhythm section duos.