Bill Wyman’s Monkey Grip vs. Stone Alone: How they sound different, and which track Bob Marley helped write

The most surprising thing about Bill Wyman’s 1974 solo debut Monkey Grip is that one of its tracks, “I Want You to Be with Me Tonight,” was co-written by a young Bob Marley, months before Catch a Fire blew up. Wyman had met Marley in Jamaica while the Stones were recording Goats Head Soup and invited him to contribute—so you get a loose, riddim‑driven feel that crosses Wyman’s bass‑heavy pop with early reggae. The rest of Monkey Grip is similarly exploratory: funky horns, wah‑wah guitar, and a jam‑band looseness that mirrors the Stones’ own mid‑’70s detour into soul and R&B.

Two years later, Stone Alone pulled back. Wyman wrote everything himself (except one cover), and the sound shifted toward tighter, more conventional rock and pop with Nashville‑tinged ballads and punchier piano. The reggae undercurrents disappeared. Where Monkey Grip sounds like a vacationing Stones sideman trying on island flavors, Stone Alone feels like a proper solo LP—polished, professional, and a little bit safe. Both are curiosities, but only one has a Marley co‑write.