The Quiet One
I’ve never been a big Rolling Stones fan. That era of music has always been at arms length with me. I love it whenever I hear the Stones in a Martin Scorsese film, or just in general, but outside of soundtracks, there really is not an interest in rock music beyond what I gravitated towards growing up previous to becoming a soundtrack junkie. I found myself fascinated by the inside look at life for Bill Wyman as the longtime bassist of the Stones as he tells his story in Oliver Murray’s documentary. It’s quite a tale, even if you aren’t a huge fan of the band.
Murray is given complete access to Wyman’s archives of film and audio footage, and to Wyman himself, who tells the story of a blue-collar kid from England who found his path towards not just a love of music, but being part of one of the biggest bands in the world, and all the bumps along the way. We see footage of the rest of the band more than we hear from them; this is Wyman’s story, and it is a rich one, as he tells us about constructing his own bass guitar, his first experience meeting the band (and how they were not too keen on his musical tastes, as they were interested in being a Blues band, not Rock N’ Roll), and then the decades of domination, including a last tour in 1989 before he retired. All the while, we get a portrait of him as a man who never let fame go to his head, and someone who enjoyed life playing music, although also someone who came to realize the spotlight was not helping his personal life, and in particular, his ability to find love.
Murray uses archival footage, animation, as well as Wyman’s personal collection of film to give life and context to the words we’re hearing on the soundtrack, and it’s a full portrait of a musician I can’t help but be inspired by. I’m inspired not by the financial success he found, however, but the way he made his career happen, and came up with his own inspirations and influences, and brought them to his own work. Bass guitar is, typically, not an instrument that people think about much at all when it comes to rock bands, but Wyman, and the way he took to it, makes us take notice, and realize its importance. Wyman isn’t interested in self-aggrandizing his time with the Stones, however; he wants us to see the personal impact it had on him beyond stardom, and the way it was especially tough on his ability to maintain romantic relationships. That balance is tough regardless of who you are, and what you do, and that’s what I’m most struck by in “The Quiet One.” At the end, he is happy, and grateful for his life, what it gave him, and the lessons and experiences he had along the way. That is what inspires me most.
