When Keith Richard Was Actually Good

For me Keith is still absolutely great. I think A Bigger Bang is up there with ANY Stones album.

I always have been more interested in songwriting and singing though. And his singing on This Place Is Empty kicks ass.

Martha Washington said:

did you see this item about Keith Richards and drugs?
he doesn't take 'em anymore cause they just don't make 'em as good as they used to! LOL!
http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/35898819

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That was a hilarious lil' tidbit, Martha!!!...thanx, ...enjoyed that! hyeah:

Drummer Chris said:

That was a hilarious lil' tidbit, Martha!!!...thanx, ...enjoyed that! hyeah:

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Now that is funny.

Music Wench said:

I always thought Mick Taylor was the guitar player who made the Stones great at that point in their career.

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I completely disagree. Mick Taylor did not make the Stones great. They were already great prior to his joining in 1969. In fact, they recorded most of their biggest hits prior to him coming on board.

Moreover, the Stones were in an artistic decline during the latter part of his tenure. Both "Goat's Head Soup" and "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" were sub par albums for the Stones compared to their previous output. I can't say that Mick Taylor was among the factors that dragged them down, but the Stones did revitalize themselves after Ron Wood joined. "Some Girls", their second with Ronnie, was their best since "Sticky Fingers". Plus the Stones have stayed great without Mick Taylor.

Spike said:

IMHO, Beggars through Exile are all top quality -- one of the best four album runs in rock history. But I thought they went downhill fast with Goat's Head Soup.

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I agree that the Stones went downhill fast with "Goat's Head Soup" - but I'd add "Between the Buttons", "Flowers" and "Their Satanic Majesties Request" to the start of their great album run.

Drummer Chris said:

There's no doubt that Mick Taylor is a technically a better guitar player than Keith, Brian Or Ronnie lead and rythym-wise but it is Keith's rough-style rythym riffs that made the Stones huge.

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You've said it all in a nutshell.

I agree with just about everything you and Drummer Chris have said, FoxHound.

IMO the Stones peaked with Exile. By all the recent accounts about the making of Exile, it was a far more difficult period for the band than I ever realized. While I like Goat's Head and IORR quite a bit, they are definitely not as good as Exile - perhaps the Stones were still feeling burnt out when they started working on Goat's Head (the prolonged use of heroin and cocaine was no doubt taking its toll also).

I think a big part of the Stones rougher, heavier sound in the late 60s/early 70s was their producer Jimmy Miller. The first thing he produced was Jumping Jack Flash and his last album with the Stones was Goat's Head Soup. Supposedly he was a burnt out junkie by then. That could have something to do with the decline in quality of that overall album.

IORR was the first album that the Glimmer Twins produced themselves, and it was the last one with Mick Taylor. He quit in the middle of it, he only plays on 7 of the 10 tracks. That is one reason that this album isn't stronger.

I agree that the Stones had a great comeback with Some Girls - while not as technically proficient as Taylor, Woody was a good replacement.

Even though the Stones albums from the past 25 years or so haven't been as good as their earlier stuff, there are gems on every one, and I think all of them are worthwhile efforts. Some of them are great.

I hate to say it, but I think Woody has been carrying Keef when they play live for several years now. If you play close attention to the dvds Shine a Light or The Biggest Bang, Woody is often playing Keef's old rhythm parts while Keef noodles over it. Not on every song, but on a lot of them.

Word has it that Keith has arthritis pretty bad now and that's been hampering his playing (and some of his songs are a real workout for your left hand, particularly Brown Sugar..after 3-4 minutes of playing it, my hand always aches!)


I still think Keef is the riff-meister though, he is rock 'n' roll.

Where's Martha?

For that matter where are JackInBox, Big Generator, Reverend Rock, Music Wench, Drummer Chris and Spike?

FretBuzz said:

I hate to say it, but I think Woody has been carrying Keef when they play live for several years now. If you play close attention to the dvds Shine a Light or The Biggest Bang, Woody is often playing Keef's old rhythm parts while Keef noodles over it. Not on every song, but on a lot of them.

Word has it that Keith has arthritis pretty bad now and that's been hampering his playing (and some of his songs are a real workout for your left hand, particularly Brown Sugar..after 3-4 minutes of playing it, my hand always aches!)

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Sad. None of that makes me hopeful for a fiftieth anniversary tour.



They could stilll record an album or three though!

I think Keith is a good guitarist but he started getting lazy after he hit his peak around 1970 or so. The Rolling Stones had a lot of session musicians in the mid-70s, esp. on the Black And Blue album. And Ron Wood has evolved into the lead player over the last twenty years or so. So Keith hasn't had to keep his solo skills honed much. Check out his horrid solo on Sympathy For The Devil from the 2003 40 Licks video.

Foxhound said:

Sad. None of that makes me hopeful for a fiftieth anniversary tour.



They could stilll record an album or three though!

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I would be shocked if they don't do a 50th anniversary tour. Heck, Mick said recently that a 2011 tour is a strong possibility.

Flower said:

Keith always gives a good interview .. love to listen to him talk. I can't understand Charlie Watts when he talks, nor do I find him as interesting ...

I wonder when the arthritis started? That can be a factor ...

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I agree 100% about Keith's interviews...they're always entertaining and though-provoking (for me, anyhow).

I don't know much about arthritis. I'm starting to get it and I'm only 49...

wolfsblood said:

I think Keith is a good guitarist but he started getting lazy after he hit his peak around 1970 or so. The Rolling Stones had a lot of session musicians in the mid-70s, esp. on the Black And Blue album. And Ron Wood has evolved into the lead player over the last twenty years or so. So Keith hasn't had to keep his solo skills honed much. Check out his horrid solo on Sympathy For The Devil from the 2003 40 Licks video.

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As far as I know, the only album that they used studio guitarists on was Black and Blue. They were trying out guitarists to replace Taylor during those sessions. I agree that Keith's solos sometimes aren't so hot - but IMO he's the best rhythm guitarist there is.