So the question really is...Is Keith Richards capable of performing? Its a fact that he has cut some tracks with the hipercreative Jack White and played piano on Dirty Strangers record, and who knows what else he has recorded or done since that final nightmarish gig at O2 arena back in 2007. Some of you have written very certain (or so) posts of how the most elegantly wasted human being on earth is pretty much wasted, or has done what he wanted to do in the first place - "pass it on", hey even I admit to such comments. I guess the only thing left for us, the only hope to get a fix of this man's soul is his god damn autobiography. I really expect Keith to write a chapter on his fingers as he is probably going to write one on opiates, Chuck Berry and the infamous meeting with his childhood friend at the train station. I really will like to know how he has managed to play through the illness ( yes it is an illness), things like "since when did your playing became weird for you?". However, like I wrote in some thread, artists evolve regardless of their physical abilities. Keith the author? awesome. Keith the reborn piano player? Awesome. Keith the record producer? Awesome. Keith the actor? maybe, I bet he is better than Jagger, anything except for an Ozzy Osbourne ( The Richards) stint - although that could be fun hehehe (joke)... If the musician in the Winos is pulling my leg about a possible Winos reunion is not to be, I really wish Keith peace, and for him to enjoy the silence, with his books, his family, his dogs and his music. I know in my heart he tried some time ago to bring us fans the very essence of this music that we love - it's in my blood because of keef - and probably the corporate suits in Rolling Stones Inc cut his wings long ago. But if it is true and the Winos are going to do something until Ronnie gets his bladder together, or until Mick decides what ever he decides, I'll be there for Keith through the rough edges. After all am just a fan.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-07 07:10 by Loudei.

Nice post, Loudei.

Indeed Loudei- well put and very heart-felt.IMHO ,and although he can maybe play piano,it is hard to fathom that he cannot/ struggles with the guitar.Nearly every interview Ive read or saw on tv for the last 20 yrs- Keith says he will play till he drops.I do not know the full extent of his illness, or what he can or cannot do these days,but I wish for Keith that he can still express his music in some way, shape or form- Id buy his album if he was playing the spoons!!

alot easier to work in the studio than onstage. in the studio a person can try many takes and edit the best together. george jones classic "he stopped loving her today" was edited together from a bunch of vocal performances in the studio because of his heavy drinking and that was the early 80's but onstage you have to get it right the first time.

you're right on Loudei

Keith can still play, but he cant do it without help from another guitar

I was happy to see a healthy and happy Keith at the 2009 scream Awards. He looked a lot better than he did at Leah Wood's wedding. A long rest and taking care of himself seems to produce some results. For many years Keith has played with older musicians which is fine but he should try to team up with young blooded ones too; that could be beneficial for him, I think. When one gets older it's always good to keep in touch especially at a professional level with the next generation( jack white?). The "passage of the baton" in that sense is a dead-end street because once you pass it what do you do next?
Rock and Roll,
Mops

'since that final nightmarish gig at O2 arena back in 2007.'

Keith was not bad at that gig at all, I know he was awful during some of the 2007 shows but I thought he was fine at the o2.

Well, his playing on "You Got Me Rocking" was nightmarish indeed.

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rollmops
I was happy to see a healthy and happy Keith at the 2009 scream Awards. He looked a lot better than he did at Leah Wood's wedding. A long rest and taking care of himself seems to produce some results. For many years Keith has played with older musicians which is fine but he should try to team up with young blooded ones too; that could be beneficial for him, I think. When one gets older it's always good to keep in touch especially at a professional level with the next generation( jack white?). The "passage of the baton" in that sense is a dead-end street because once you pass it what do you do next?
Rock and Roll,
Mops

doesn't answer the question - can he play? i'm not convinced he can...i'd love to be proven otherwise. anyone hear a note this man has played in the past two years?

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T&A

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rollmops
I was happy to see a healthy and happy Keith at the 2009 scream Awards. He looked a lot better than he did at Leah Wood's wedding. A long rest and taking care of himself seems to produce some results. For many years Keith has played with older musicians which is fine but he should try to team up with young blooded ones too; that could be beneficial for him, I think. When one gets older it's always good to keep in touch especially at a professional level with the next generation( jack white?). The "passage of the baton" in that sense is a dead-end street because once you pass it what do you do next?
Rock and Roll,
Mops

doesn't answer the question - can he play? i'm not convinced he can...i'd love to be proven otherwise. anyone hear a note this man has played in the past two years?

i think this is one of the REAL reasons that there will be no stones tour this year .i think keith told mick NO.ronnie is just the goat about all of this ,and lets not forget the global economy .ya know how the london school of economics graduate knows all about finances !

i would much prefer it and respect them more if the stones went out on a humble note. no more tours on gigantic stages with massive fireballs and other crap behind them. just make it about the music and music alone.

Bit of a myth, that one.

He wasnt a graduate - he dropped out early (after only about a year) to pursue his music career.

Not even sure that he specifically studied economics at the LSE either. Despite the name, I think there's a bit more to the place than that.

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Gazza
Bit of a myth, that one.

He wasnt a graduate - he dropped out early (after only about a year) to pursue his music career.

Not even sure that he specifically studied economics at the LSE either. Despite the name, I think there's a bit more to the place than that.

Too right, more likely LSD!

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Gazza
Bit of a myth, that one.

He wasnt a graduate - he dropped out early (after only about a year) to pursue his music career.

Not even sure that he specifically studied economics at the LSE either. Despite the name, I think there's a bit more to the place than that.

do they have cool frat parties? kind of the "Faber College" of London?

he was NEVER Django Rienhardt......

T&A says:

doesn't answer the question - can he play? i'm not convinced he can...i'd love to be proven otherwise. anyone hear a note this man has played in the past two years?

I don't know if "he can play". I assume he can and because he looks healthier lately I hope he will play better.
Rock and Roll,
Mops

T&A, there were a few snippets of playing with the Crickets -- that's all I've seen, and he was keeping a low profile.

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texas fan
T&A, there were a few snippets of playing with the Crickets -- that's all I've seen, and he was keeping a low profile.

oh, right - i forgot about that - ummm...and,as i recall his "playing" there raised an eyebrow or two....

As my mom, a longtime arthritis suffer, has commented, "That's the thing about arthritis. Everybody tells you how well you're looking but you can't hold on to your coffee cup!"

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From4tilLate
As my mom, a longtime arthritis suffer, has commented, "That's the thing about arthritis. Everybody tells you how well you're looking but you can't hold on to your coffee cup!"

sure - but no problem holding onto a tiny guitar pick, right? ;-)

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From4tilLate
As my mom, a longtime arthritis suffer, has commented, "That's the thing about arthritis. Everybody tells you how well you're looking but you can't hold on to your coffee cup!"

As said elsewhere history isn't without some sense of irony. Remember Brian who started the band and made it big (before Andrew started putting the Glimmers in the front seat)? Keith didn't even mention him in the Hall of Fame. Brian got kicked out for not being able to play anymore, ......well Mick you know what to do (a case of the chickens coming home to roost)

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Silver Dagger

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Gazza
Bit of a myth, that one.

He wasnt a graduate - he dropped out early (after only about a year) to pursue his music career.

Not even sure that he specifically studied economics at the LSE either. Despite the name, I think there's a bit more to the place than that.

Too right, more likely LSD!

or,according to some, KGB.....!

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Ket

Keith was not bad at that gig at all, I know he was awful during some of the 2007 shows but I thought he was fine at the o2.

AT the o2, I thought he was bad the first show, great the second show and OK the thrid show.

Where's that video of him wandering around during Jumpin' Jack Flash? Was it that show?

Very nice post Loudei, my sentiments exactly althoug I sincerely hope we haven't seen/heard the last of Keith yet.

Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind...

some excellent posts here...I'll add my bit;

As a guitar player for some 30 years I can sympathise with Keith's predicament. He has played a million more hours than I'll ever play and I suffer with painful arthritis in my left hand fingers especially. Some days are worse than others depending on factors such as the cold and how much I've played. Magnify this by x30 and add a few more decades of playing and you get to the state keith is in, with severley deformed fingers. It wont stop him being able to play, but will reduce his ability to play night after night like a world tour demands. This is most likely why some of us saw him on the last tour and he seemed to coast some nights or @#$%& up more than usual. Rest assured he will have the best pain killers available to man! Lets cut him some slack if any of us had done the amount of playing he has we'd call it a day! If they tour at some point and he coasts so be it, these days Stones gigs are about the event more than the intracies of keith's guitar playing. I for one am 'happy' to listen to his recordings. It's unlikely the Stones will ever record anything worth listening to again anyway...the last serious music they made apart from Stripped was Tattoo You or even Some Girls.

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crumbling_mice
It's unlikely the Stones will ever record anything worth listening to again anyway.

Not necessarely. Change the line-up for a last mindblowing album with PROMOTION tour. And go out with a real Big Bang instead of like a candle

Do you play guitar, behroez? Just curious if there's a reason you keep posting for Keith to be axed in thread after thread. I think if what you wanted came to pass, you'd be looking at Mick as a solo artist instead of trying to sell the Stones without Keith at this late date. It isn't 1978 anymore. I'm not sure it would have worked then, but it certainly would prove a commercial disaster now.

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Rocky Dijon
Do you play guitar, behroez? Just curious if there's a reason you keep posting for Keith to be axed in thread after thread. I think if what you wanted came to pass, you'd be looking at Mick as a solo artist instead of trying to sell the Stones without Keith at this late date. It isn't 1978 anymore. I'm not sure it would have worked then, but it certainly would prove a commercial disaster now.

Aha now we are coocking. Mick solo will not work, the power is in the name the Rolling Stones, and it will be a commercial super succes. Why? Because it will not only be the Stones last album and tour with a playlist and line-up that NOBODY would want to miss. Just think about it everybody who hasn't seen the band yet will go (even if it is a different line-up) it will be their last change to later be able to say "I've seen the Stones". Everybody who has seen the stones a 1000 times will go because they don't wanna miss the oppertunity to see this line-up and playlist (doubt if you would go to another Honky Tonk sing along, but you'll want to see and hear this one i'm sure). And lastly a whole new crowd of new young Stones fans will come because they really love the refreshing new sound coming from this combination of musicians (even if they may not bother about the old Stones stuff). Why will that album work? Just go to Darryl Jones homepage and listen to that bassriff welcoming you, listen and imagian Leavell's organ with Keys saxophone coming in, than Woody a bit more on the backgrounf playing a good funky riff (remember Hey Negrita?) than Taylors sharp blues solo and Mick's soulfull voice. How the hell can that go wrong? It only requires Darryl to become (after almost 20 yrs of loyal service) to become an official Stone and get him more involved, upfront with the freedom to play that funky way he can play, It isn't 1973 anymore, the quicker you realise that the better. I really wonder don't you guys want to see the Stones end their career with a big surprise, head the charts again, and gather a new bunch of fans around them? This is the only way, Pink floyd did it (changed the line-up drastically) and hell did that pay of or not? (and silenced the initiall critics). Anyone's past succes (and fans from that time) can become your biggest enemy and stopper in your development. time to break out!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-07 23:53 by behroez.