He said he loves the Stones. The Headline is a lie.
He did not “slam” them. He stated that he thought they were a Blues Band.
Agreed, the title is rubbish. And I’ve always viewed the Stones as fundamentally a blues influenced band. Nothing controversial in that thought...it’s certainly not a slam. In fact, I think it’s a compliment.
They absolutely started as a blues cover band and to be recognized as a blues band was their greatest ambition. Paul knows this and is correct, it’s not a slam even in light of their pop career. Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SXM plays a lot of early Stones, all blues cover songs.
I bet the Stones would agree with his assessment.