On the Shelf 161: Keith Richards
Apr. 9th, 2016 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23I was coming of age in 1988 and what a great time that was for me, and I do mean my and what I grew into- a middle aged white rock critic.
I loved Rolling Stone and let's face it, it was prime time.
Many of the great rockers of the 60s and 70s had weathered first disco and then new wave, often with less than stellar efforts, and now many were having their rebirth.
I am sure you remember- Dylan, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Springsteen, George Harrison, Robbie Robertson, Page and Plant, CSN (&Y and Neil Young solo) and probably most of all- Eric Clapton. The true Rock stars in the most Dave Marsh-est since of the world. Bowie was rocking. Stevie Winwood was rolling. Dire Straits seemed terribly important. Sting was singing not about red lights, but Reds.
And of course, the pinnacle of U2 at their Rattle and Hum moment the most grand stage rock of all grand stage rock moments sort of explained it all. In 1989, Rolling Stone named London Calling by the Clash the greatest album of the decade- which sums a bit of the time and the magazine- music that was intelligent, socially aware and inspired, but also white, male and major label.
It was '88 so hair metal was still around and Rolling Stone did like Guns N Roses and Bon Jovi. "College" rock was still on the ascent, but the rockest of those bands like REM, the Pixies or Don't Tell a Soul-era Replacements were still accessible enough.
Of course, it didn't last. Grunge hit and though Rolling Stone still tried to stay hip after awhile, it seemed to be the aging hipster where Spin was now the cool kid in town. Then at some point (1999) this happened and things were pretty much over.
Where I am going with this? Well, 1988 was a good year if you were a rock guy, and there's no Rocker guys more Rock than Keith Richards.
It makes sense than in 1989 that there would be no more typical rock album for the Rolling Stone magazine guys than Steel Wheels by the Stones.
But before that came out, Keith Richards had a solo disc called Talk is Cheap. Talk is very much a generic rock album in that it could be any 30 something with an affectation for Richards. Indeed, in 1992, Izzy Stradlin who owes much to Keef put together a pretty good "Keef" record. The Black Crowes at this same time was also doing something similar very successful to a market hungry for this kind of thing
Richards' side career only extended for one more album (the good but forgettable Main Offender and a live album). Although Talk is Cheap is very much an album that falls in line with a tradition of bar band rock and Keith obviously wasn't Mick (who is ?), Talk is Cheap is really a very good album.
Unexpectedly, Keef made an album in 1988 that at the time, and possible even now, has been the best album since Tattoo You. While I won't make any grandiose statements on Talk is Cheap, it is a standout for it's genre and year.
It's 23 years later, and Richards is back with his same band, the X-Pensive Winos (an allstar cast including Waddy Wachtell, Steve Jordan, Bobby Keys and Ivan Neville).
Crosseyed Heart is a different album than Talk. Okay, it's not a greatly different album- it's very much a blues-inspired rock album in the bar band style. It isn't a slickly produced album like Talk is Cheap, the kind made in the late 80s with big budgets and big labels, made for austerity and the most progressive of FM radio stations.
In many ways, it is the kind of album one hears in 2015- a rock legend given the intimate treatment, with Norah Jones guest spot and acoustic detours. Richards comes across as the wisened old rocker a la Cohen, and the album very much has that vibe, though certainly never losing that rock indention. I can't hear the album without thinking Cohen, but without the modern day Cohen kind of surroundings, the actual result is probably artistically closer to 21st Century Dylan.
I won't count it as good as Talk is Cheap, and given what it is, it is hardly would hardly call this work essential. However, for Keef fans, it's certainly worth a listen.
I loved Rolling Stone and let's face it, it was prime time.
Many of the great rockers of the 60s and 70s had weathered first disco and then new wave, often with less than stellar efforts, and now many were having their rebirth.
I am sure you remember- Dylan, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Springsteen, George Harrison, Robbie Robertson, Page and Plant, CSN (&Y and Neil Young solo) and probably most of all- Eric Clapton. The true Rock stars in the most Dave Marsh-est since of the world. Bowie was rocking. Stevie Winwood was rolling. Dire Straits seemed terribly important. Sting was singing not about red lights, but Reds.
And of course, the pinnacle of U2 at their Rattle and Hum moment the most grand stage rock of all grand stage rock moments sort of explained it all. In 1989, Rolling Stone named London Calling by the Clash the greatest album of the decade- which sums a bit of the time and the magazine- music that was intelligent, socially aware and inspired, but also white, male and major label.
It was '88 so hair metal was still around and Rolling Stone did like Guns N Roses and Bon Jovi. "College" rock was still on the ascent, but the rockest of those bands like REM, the Pixies or Don't Tell a Soul-era Replacements were still accessible enough.
Of course, it didn't last. Grunge hit and though Rolling Stone still tried to stay hip after awhile, it seemed to be the aging hipster where Spin was now the cool kid in town. Then at some point (1999) this happened and things were pretty much over.
Where I am going with this? Well, 1988 was a good year if you were a rock guy, and there's no Rocker guys more Rock than Keith Richards.
It makes sense than in 1989 that there would be no more typical rock album for the Rolling Stone magazine guys than Steel Wheels by the Stones.
But before that came out, Keith Richards had a solo disc called Talk is Cheap. Talk is very much a generic rock album in that it could be any 30 something with an affectation for Richards. Indeed, in 1992, Izzy Stradlin who owes much to Keef put together a pretty good "Keef" record. The Black Crowes at this same time was also doing something similar very successful to a market hungry for this kind of thing
Richards' side career only extended for one more album (the good but forgettable Main Offender and a live album). Although Talk is Cheap is very much an album that falls in line with a tradition of bar band rock and Keith obviously wasn't Mick (who is ?), Talk is Cheap is really a very good album.
Unexpectedly, Keef made an album in 1988 that at the time, and possible even now, has been the best album since Tattoo You. While I won't make any grandiose statements on Talk is Cheap, it is a standout for it's genre and year.
It's 23 years later, and Richards is back with his same band, the X-Pensive Winos (an allstar cast including Waddy Wachtell, Steve Jordan, Bobby Keys and Ivan Neville).
Crosseyed Heart is a different album than Talk. Okay, it's not a greatly different album- it's very much a blues-inspired rock album in the bar band style. It isn't a slickly produced album like Talk is Cheap, the kind made in the late 80s with big budgets and big labels, made for austerity and the most progressive of FM radio stations.
In many ways, it is the kind of album one hears in 2015- a rock legend given the intimate treatment, with Norah Jones guest spot and acoustic detours. Richards comes across as the wisened old rocker a la Cohen, and the album very much has that vibe, though certainly never losing that rock indention. I can't hear the album without thinking Cohen, but without the modern day Cohen kind of surroundings, the actual result is probably artistically closer to 21st Century Dylan.
I won't count it as good as Talk is Cheap, and given what it is, it is hardly would hardly call this work essential. However, for Keef fans, it's certainly worth a listen.
