Of course, Ronnie most often plays the solos and his timing is pretty precise and he seems to have pretty fast fingers, but Keith's timing is often quite loose and to my taste sometimes too loose.

I wonder if he is doing it by purpose (some kind of style thing?) or does he have some kind of physical problems with his fingers?

When he plays riffs I can't notice any bigger problems.

Also when I listened to Keith's latest solo album there was also quite loose solo playing and the timing really wasn't "metronome" tight.

I know Keith has never been a traditional solo virtuoso so I don't expect anything like Mick Taylor or someone like him could do.

In 81-82 tour I think Keith played quite much also solos and he was pretty precise back then... In Let Me Go there was a quite long guitar solo part and he handled it pretty well but of course that's a long time ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-09-19 16:51 by rollingon.

When asked about timing it comes to mind that sometimes Keith seems to come in late for his solo but at the best of times his timing still seems to be right on time [www.youtube.com]

His playing is very loose indeed, I enjoyed that in concerts through the years, for example in Gimme Shelter, Bitch, Out of Control and so on. In the later years, from the ABB tour on, to be honest, his playing has suffered a lot in my opinion.

He was at his best live when he played full chord rhythm and let Taylor and Wood play most ofthe solos.He used to be the driver of the band

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Nikkei
When asked about timing it comes to mind that sometimes Keith seems to come in late for his solo but at the best of times his timing still seems to be right on time [www.youtube.com]

Yes, that is not a bad performance.

It seems he has a litte trouble if he has to move fingers fast across the fret board a long distance...

Keith is facing issues of age and it shows in his playing both mentally and physically. I love the guy but it's been hard to watch the decline in his playing. It's still pretty incredible that they're out there doing this though. And now they do so without Charlie, which will affect Keith as well.

Just let Ronnie do the leads

I actually have thought about this quite a lot. Keith's problem is confidence which is an affliction to many performers. If you listen to him on the '71 British tour he soloed quite a lot. They were typically the Chuck Berry style solos that Keith most often did at the time (like on Bitch and Let it Rock) and the number of solos he had were basically the same as Mick Taylor whose solos were fantastic but not as long and dominant. Keith's solos at the time were confident and strong. On the '72 tour Keith had fewer solos but he was still spot on. By '72 Mick Taylor's skills as a soloist were spectacular and possibly somewhat intimidating to Keith. By the time of the 1973 European tour Keith had ceded virtually all of the soloing to MT other than @#$%& and the somewhat solos of Midnight Rambler and the great but repetitive solo of Honky Tonk Woman. Mick Taylor's supremacy as a soloist was cemented in by '73 with countless incredible performances every night. When Ronnie came around Keith was certainly more comfortable with his performances onstage and began to solo more on the next several tours but he never was as technically proficient as he had been on the 1971 tour. This is just what I have postulated about Keith

I think no one has the courage to imply anything to Keith. Not even Jagger. Certainly not Ronnie. I remember that clip when Chuck Berry tried to school him a bit.
You could sense Keith's fury. So, his solos are what they are. I guess he has been told too many time how great he is. After a while you'll start believing it.
Kind of an analogy to the "lead singer syndrome"...

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rollingon
Of course, Ronnie most often plays the solos and his timing is pretty precise and he seems to have pretty fast fingers, but Keith's timing is often quite loose and to my taste sometimes too loose.

I wonder if he is doing it by purpose (some kind of style thing?) or does he have some kind of physical problems with his fingers?

When he plays riffs I can't notice any bigger problems.

Also when I listened to Keith's latest solo album there was also quite loose solo playing and the timing really wasn't "metronome" tight.

I know Keith has never been a traditional solo virtuoso so I don't expect anything like Mick Taylor or someone like him could do.

Sorry to correct you but Keith still does all the intros, and most of the solos and rhythm,

Is Keith a shadow of the player he once was ?? Yes he's 78 this year,

Is he and Ronnie still better than a 100 others today ?? Yes.

There were lots of interesting comments a few years ago in this thread: Keith Richards guitar playing comments

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Rocktiludrop

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rollingon
Of course, Ronnie most often plays the solos and his timing is pretty precise and he seems to have pretty fast fingers, but Keith's timing is often quite loose and to my taste sometimes too loose.

I wonder if he is doing it by purpose (some kind of style thing?) or does he have some kind of physical problems with his fingers?

When he plays riffs I can't notice any bigger problems.

Also when I listened to Keith's latest solo album there was also quite loose solo playing and the timing really wasn't "metronome" tight.

I know Keith has never been a traditional solo virtuoso so I don't expect anything like Mick Taylor or someone like him could do.

Sorry to correct you but Keith still does all the intros, and most of the solos and rhythm,

Is Keith a shadow of the player he once was ?? Yes he's 78 this year,

Is he and Ronnie still better than a 100 others today ?? Yes.

Totally agree.

A Keith chord, or lead phrase till has more character and ' true grit' than those of 100s of ' proficient' players



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-09-20 15:43 by Four Stone Walls.

I really think that as Keith ages, his guitar playing has intentionally evolved to put more "roll" into rock n' roll.

If you listen to the Fonda Theater show, he played great but very subtly.

Sure he has aged but he's doing great.

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Stoneage
I think no one has the courage to imply anything to Keith. Not even Jagger. Certainly not Ronnie. I remember that clip when Chuck Berry tried to school him a bit.
You could sense Keith's fury. So, his solos are what they are. I guess he has been told too many time how great he is. After a while you'll start believing it.
Kind of an analogy to the "lead singer syndrome"...

Keith was getting irritated in that “Hail! Hail!” clip because what Chuck was “schooling” him on was incredibly pedantic and petty.

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Markdog

Is that why he plays solos in the wrong key sometimes?

Keith ceased being the Stones’ lead-guitarist when Brian departed. As others have stated, he became more of a rhythm monster during Taylor’s tenure. With Ronnie, there’s more of a balance. Ronnie is a little more dominant with the soloing, yet Keith very-much has his place. I did think it telling that Ronnie took most of the solo’s on Blue & Lonesome, however. He’s very dominant on that release.

Keith has pretty much lost all ability to play solos these days from what I have seen

I prefer to think of his solos these days as poetic trainwrecks...they still have some of the Keith essence, but it's all very ramshackle for lack of a better term...

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
I prefer to think of his solos these days as poetic trainwrecks...they still have some of the Keith essence, but it's all very ramshackle for lack of a better term...

You’re being to kind. He’s awful

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Hairball
I prefer to think of his solos these days as poetic trainwrecks...they still have some of the Keith essence, but it's all very ramshackle for lack of a better term...

Much like his vocals...

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Hairball
I prefer to think of his solos these days as poetic trainwrecks...

Sounds like Bob Ross reborn ><

Keith Richards turned into kind of a random generator when playing lead guitar. Hoping to find the right box on the fretboard an just letting go ("it´s good to be anywhere").
Still, I don´t wanny miss a single note from his hands / guitars! He wrote that stuff and can perform any way he wants to.

cheers, fillmore

I think what most people forget is that Keith was always improving as tours progressed, he would often start rusty but by show number 20 he would improve dramatically, take into account tours are about 13 shows long and only two shows a week, he doesn't get the opportunity to get better since 2012.

He's not like Ronnie, it takes Keith time to improve in confidence etc, I've noticed since 2012 he just gets going and then heck the tour is over.

Show us what ya got boys .....



ROCKMAN

He has his own timing, his own style, his own music, his own signature.

And I love it!

That's it Dandeeeee .... me lurv it too ...

Stay safe wont ya ...



ROCKMAN

I thought Keith was much improved during those 2012 shows. His form hasn’t dipped too much in years subsequent, but I do feel those 2012 performances represented a sort of post-Licks Tour peak.

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DandelionPowderman
He has his own timing, his own style, his own music, his own signature.

And I love it!

That's it in a nutshell Dande, and no one can take that away from him or us.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-09-20 10:59 by Rocktiludrop.

I don’t think there’s a problem with “timing” or phrasing. He picks his spots well. He just doesn’t do much in those spots anymore. He has lost dexterity in his fingers — and to a greater degree than his peers. There’s no denying it.

In my opinion, the biggest problem is tone. As he has physically declined, he has insisted on a simpler rig. There is no hiding from mistakes when your tone is that dry and stark.

On top of that, Stones house mixing now highlights guitar solos *way* out front these days.

There’s no hiding from that, either.