Keith Richards - "Life"
If you’re a lifetime rock and roller like I am, the idea of reading Keith Richards’ autobiography is a no brainer. A no brainer that is if you can be convinced he actually wrote it. If it’s a hack job, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I mean, let’s face it, one of the big money brands suffering with the global economic downturn is The Rolling Stones. Who’s going to fork out $300+ for a Rolling Stones concert ticket nowadays? The question then is: Is Life just a way for Keith to bide his time until the next tour or a really good read?
I was really on the fence about this one. I wanted to read it but I don’t like heroes letting me down, which may be why I don’t read many life stories – auto or bio – anyway: they usually disappoint. But if Life really was writ by Keith then it’d be worth it. Luckily I good a pre-sale price on Amazon (46% off!) and took a chance and am I ever glad I did. From the opening pages describing Keith’s bust in Arkansas during The Rolling Stones American tour of 1975 - “… the tour of the giant inflatable cock.” is how Keith puts it on page 12 – it’s a fun read: sort of like hanging out one night in a dive with the most “elegantly wasted man in the world,” one of many phrases describing Keith’s unique lifestyle choices. And one he actually acknowledges.
Primarily I recommend Life to two camps: musicians and fans.
For musicians, this is “Keef’s Guitar Workshop” as he references the time-outs on his life story; giving guitarists the benefit of his almost 50 years in the business. Guitar teacher Keith will tell you about Scotty Moore’s “secret lick” (that he still hasn’t figured out the secret of), show you the Jimmy Reed 5 chord that Bobby Goldsboro showed him, discuss in depth 5 string open G tuning, and reveal the fact that he’s only used boxes on ‘Satisfaction’ and the Some Girls album. He also strongly advocates giving children an acoustic guitar as their first guitar. It’s better for learning finger coordination.
Of the album sessions discussed, Exile On Main Street and Some Girls seem to get the most pages. Turns out that ‘Miss You’ and ‘Start It Up’ derive from the same session. Keith’s right when he says ‘Miss You’ doesn’t really fit the Some Girls mold when the band was trying to outpunk punk rockers. In retrospect, ‘Miss You’ should’ve really just been an EP on its own. Imagine starting Some Girls with ‘Start Me Up’ and ‘When The Whip Comes Down’? I tried it. It’s breathtaking. Makes it a real rock album. It could never have happened though. Even in ’78 when the band did a single take of ‘Start Me Up’ as a rocker (and not the reggae number it had been at Black And Blue sessions in 1976), Keith didn’t like it. Told the engineer: “Wipe it!” As in: “Erase it.” The engineer never did and the rest is pop history.
For fans, you’ll hear “Ian Stewart. I’m still working for him.” I liked the way Keith stated that. Who is Ian Stewart you might ask? Ever hear of the Led Zeppelin track ‘Boogie With Stu’? That’s Ian Stewart. He founded The Rolling Stones. Not Brian Jones who often professed to be the leader. Not Mick Jagger. Not Keith Richards. Ian Stewart, a pianist, who was kept out of the group when The Rolling Stones signed with Decca Records and rock bands didn’t have six guys in the group back in the 1960s. He didn’t look very rock and roll either and knew it and so never objected. He became their roadie instead and wound playing piano on every Rolling Stones studio album up until his death in 1985 except for Beggars Banquet.
As for some insights to the other Stones you’ll find out Bill Wyman was just in the band at first for his amp; that Charlie Watts was the drummer they couldn’t afford because he was making real money at paying gigs; that after awhile Brian Jones was a starstruck, whining, pain-in-the-ass; that Mick Taylor was an enigma; and that Ron Woods has a rehab habit.
And according to Keith, Mick Jagger is an insecure, power hungry frontman who solely wrote some of the Stones’ best songs – e.g., ‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘When The Whip Comes Down’ – and could unexpectedly do something kind when least expected. Keith and Mick also don’t have a friendship so much as they have a business relationship, an arrangement that stems from hurt and resentment over Mick’s attempts to ditch The Rolling Stones in the 1980s. It’s disconcerting to learn Keith hasn’t visited Mick’s dressing room in over 20 years. Still, Keith says he’d defend Mick to the death and likens him to a family member.
As a fan you also find out a lot of interesting things about other songs and musicians like the fact that ‘Mystery Train’ has no drummer, that John Lennon critiqued Richards’ guitar solo in ‘It’s All Over Now’, that Don Everly was one of the best rhythm guitarists ever, that Mick Jagger resented Gram Parsons, that Billy Preston was gay.
It’s a wild ride with car crashes, houses burning down, overdosed musicians, a Russian Roulette recipient, dead babies. What is even more of a wonder than Keith Richards surviving to tell us about his life is how well he tells it. If you like rock and roll, you should read it.
