Stones bassist Wyman still evasive in new doc
For most, The Rolling Stones are about Mick and Keith. But I’ve always been more intrigued by the group’s tight, underrated rhythm section of drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman, the “stone-faced” Stones who happily faded to the background anonymously making time keeping time as the lifeblood of “the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.” Don’t know about you, but I’m convinced the Stones haven’t been the Stones since Wyman walked away from his mates in 1993.
While watching “The Quiet One,” Oliver Murray’s dive into Wyman’s climb from an impoverished, war-torn youth to a well-funded blissful retirement, you get the feeling he has seen it all from the perspective of both a participant and an observer. And he has the photos and home movies to prove it — an entire room full. You wind up convinced he’s the Stones’ most ardent fan, having archived so much memorabilia he’s run out of space to store it all.
We’re made privy to much of it, as Wyman sits at his computer at the end of the room reminiscing with his back to the camera, much the same way he saw Mick and Keith over his 31 years as a Rolling Stone. It’s interesting from an aesthetic vantage, but what’s the point? I’m not sure even Murray knows. I suspect it’s merely a device to break up the succession of photos and clips accompanying Wyman’s voice-overs, as he takes a chronological trip through the years, beginning with the London Blitz and continuing through his present incarnation as a devoted husband, father and lover of American blues.
It’s all great stuff, especially if you’re a Stones fan. Yet, you’re left wanting. Part of it is because Wyman, like his stoic stage presence, isn’t nearly as colorful as his flamboyant bandmates. True to his blue-collar roots, he was there to do a job, not to be flashy. He’s immensely proud of that, too. And you respect him for it.