The 60s - a decade of music
The 70s - some music, but a lot of posing before his drug use took it`s toll; behind sunglasses, his undershot, , his son Marlon, his Jaguar, Anita, Gram Parsons, you know...
The 80s - his disagreement with Mick
The 90s - the comeback years
The 00s - the comeback years
The 10s - the comeback years...

Have to respectfully disagree..The 70s is perhaps Keith's strongest decade as a rythm guitarist and composer...

I disrespectfully disagree and must assume the TS is a parrot of some sort. Maybe an unruly macaw.

Yes, he was great and focused as a guitar player into the 80s. It's when the shows got really, really big that the posing really took off, starting perhaps in Steel Wheels, but he was really a strutting peacock in the 90s and this manner of posing hit a peak for Shine A Light, where he was throwing guitar pics into the audience and closing songs by strumming less forcefully with the backs of his fingers. On those shows, for You Got The Silver, he was playing lead cigarette--it doesn't get more poseful than that.

I would say the "comeback years" are 2012, 2013....

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stonehearted
for You Got The Silver, he was playing lead cigarette

That actually made me almost shoot soda out of my nose.

I don't really understand the TS here. The posing clearly didn't start until much later. Not saying he was as low key as Taylor, but he was a far cry from all the posing of the 90's and 00's.

You never saw Keith pulling this move in the 70's...



Or that one weird move he always does where he plays a chord, takes both hands off as if he's trying to pose like a chalk outline at a crime scene.

Through the years Keith had many, many enablers and a key group of people who truly cared about him and went through hell worried sick about him, including members of The Rolling Stones.

He is one of the luckiest people in the music business and perhaps he recognizes this today in a way he never did before. Certainly, Fiji accident was a wake-up call...also lessons learned AFTER the publishing of Life."

LOL @ the crime scene comparison.

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stonesrule
Through the years Keith had many, many enablers and a key group of people who truly cared about him and went through hell worried sick about him, including members of The Rolling Stones.

He is one of the luckiest people in the music business and perhaps he recognizes this today in a way he never did before. Certainly, Fiji accident was a wake-up call...also lessons learned AFTER the publishing of Life."

Only because he was forced to quit cocaine per doctor's orders, as it wouldn't mix with the Dilantin he had to take in the months after surgery. He was also told to stop drinking, but in Keith's words, "I can't be bothered," and was compensating, perhaps, during the 2006-2007 shows with more alcohol than usual. It is acknowledged by the Stones' camp that he was quite heavily inebriated during the last part of that tour, and he seems to have had to become quite drunk just to do interviews right up to 2010, where he would keep interviewers waiting for hours on end as he "prepared" in another room for the interview.

I would say the wake-up call was Mick telling him to pull himself together, especially after the "todger" comments from his memoirs, and really make his playing the main focus if he wanted to work as a Rolling Stone again. Ronnie as well must have been handed the same message. I don't think it's a coincidence that Keith and Ronnie stopped drinking [heavily] around the same time, and that they have appeared onstage both sober together for the first time ever, even for red carpet events.

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stonehearted

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stonesrule
Through the years Keith had many, many enablers and a key group of people who truly cared about him and went through hell worried sick about him, including members of The Rolling Stones.

He is one of the luckiest people in the music business and perhaps he recognizes this today in a way he never did before. Certainly, Fiji accident was a wake-up call...also lessons learned AFTER the publishing of Life."

Only because he was forced to quit cocaine per doctor's orders, as it wouldn't mix with the Dilantin he had to take in the months after surgery. He was also told to stop drinking, but in Keith's words, "I can't be bothered," and was compensating, perhaps, during the 2006-2007 shows with more alcohol than usual. It is acknowledged by the Stones' camp that he was quite heavily inebriated during the last part of that tour, and he seems to have had to become quite drunk just to do interviews right up to 2010, where he would keep interviewers waiting for hours on end as he "prepared" in another room for the interview.

I would say the wake-up call was Mick telling him to pull himself together, especially after the "todger" comments from his memoirs, and really make his playing the main focus if he wanted to work as a Rolling Stone again. Ronnie as well must have been handed the same message. I don't think it's a coincidence that Keith and Ronnie stopped drinking [heavily] around the same time, and that they have appeared onstage both sober together for the first time ever, even for red carpet events.

I have only my own thoughts to go on, but I think that Keith and Ron's sobriety came about very separately; for different reasons.

Sure Keith played to his rebel image after the 1967 bust gave him one, but I find it wasn't until 1979-80 that the posing took over.

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NoCode0680
Or that one weird move he always does where he plays a chord, takes both hands off as if he's trying to pose like a chalk outline at a crime scene.

Brilliant.

One thing puzzling me a bit is the fact that for many years Keith was held as the greatest rock guitarist ever. Even from people who were not necessarily Stones fans. He was called "the human riff".
When did that stop? When did it go from "greatest" to "can he play at all"?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-02-19 10:34 by Stoneage.

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Stoneage
One thing is puzzling me a bit is the fact that for many years Keith was held as the greatest rock gutarist ever. Even from people who were not necessarily Stones fans. He was called "the human riff".
When did that stop? When did it go from "greatest" to "can he play at all"?

In my opinion it stopped when he stopped creating great riffs.

From 1968 to 1972 he was intensely focused on guitar and it's sounds.

He would play trance-like for hours trying to get it right.

He was in the true realm of an artist.

The drugs helped.

Then the drugs stopped helping.

His "riffage" declined from 1972 onwards.. sure there were moments but I think he lost the determination.

How many ways can you play open G anyway?

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GravityBoy

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Stoneage
One thing is puzzling me a bit is the fact that for many years Keith was held as the greatest rock gutarist ever. Even from people who were not necessarily Stones fans. He was called "the human riff".
When did that stop? When did it go from "greatest" to "can he play at all"?

In my opinion it stopped when he stopped creating great riffs.

From 1968 to 1972 he was intensely focused on guitar and it's sounds.

He would play trance-like for hours trying to get it right.

He was in the true realm of an artist.

The drugs helped.

Then the drugs stopped helping.

His "riffage" declined from 1972 onwards.. sure there were moments but I think he lost the determination.

How many ways can you play open G anyway?

His image began to suffer when he became a target for comedians, like SNL, sometime in the 80s, when he began to cross the thin line between elegantly wasted and pathetically wasted.

I have a feeling that his status as a leading guitarist wasn't questioned before the 90s. And it wasn't before 2006/07 that even the hardest fans begun to acknowledge that he was struggling a bit.

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scottkeef
Have to respectfully disagree..The 70s is perhaps Keith's strongest decade as a rythm guitarist and composer...

I would say "rhythm and lead". 1989 was his comeback with the Stones, and he played better than ever. After that, it's been a slow decline, with it little boost on the 50th ann. shows.

I don't know how some think Keith is dropping down in Rock importance but Keith is number 4 here [www.rollingstone.com]

The voters (not IORR forum posters I don't think)

[www.rollingstone.com]

THE VOTERS: Trey Anastasio, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Brian Bell (Weezer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), James Burton, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gary Clark Jr., Billy Corgan, Steve Cropper, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing editor, Rolling Stone), Tom DeLonge (Blink-182), Rick Derringer, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder (The Eagles), David Fricke (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), Peter Guralnick (Author), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers Band), Brian Hiatt (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Lenny Kravitz, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Jon Landau (Manager), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Nils Lofgren (The E Street Band), Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Brian May, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Scotty Moore, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Brendan O’Brien (Producer), Joe Perry, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Robbie Robertson, Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Carlos Santana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marnie Stern, Stephen Stills, Andy Summers, Mick Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, Vieux Farka Touré, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Nancy Wilson (Heart)

Read more: [www.rollingstone.com]
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Don Felder knows his stuff. It's agreed then. Keith stays...

I wonder if Gary Clark Jr voted for Keef.

Maybe that's how he got the Stones gig

It might suprise some folks just how much respect keith is held in by a lot of "serious" musicians and players ;[Ask Joe Satriani].

Many of us don't look past the basic technical skills to see the artist beneath.

I don't get into arguments about who was or is "best guitarist in the world".
It usually throws up the usual list of technical virtuosos.

But if you ask about who might be the "most effective" guitar player in the world...Keith has few peers !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-02-19 16:11 by Spud.

..as for the moves and shape throwing .

This has been discussed and disected around here for years..but really started in 81/82 and grew from there .

It's echoed in Mick's performances too.
That tour was the first with a really big stage set and , as Mick has himself often hinted, this precipitates a rather charicatured stage performance.

It's interesting that now both MicK and keith are a bit too old to run around the stage like mad b*stards, the recent shows have seen a bit more focus on the singing and playing.
It may have been partly down to criticism, but they've both now kind of been forced to break bad habits.

Chuck Berry is his predecessor...
1955-57 Music
1958- Posing

2 1 2 0

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GravityBoy

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Stoneage
One thing is puzzling me a bit is the fact that for many years Keith was held as the greatest rock gutarist ever. Even from people who were not necessarily Stones fans. He was called "the human riff".
When did that stop? When did it go from "greatest" to "can he play at all"?

In my opinion it stopped when he stopped creating great riffs.

From 1968 to 1972 he was intensely focused on guitar and it's sounds.

He would play trance-like for hours trying to get it right.

He was in the true realm of an artist.

The drugs helped.

Then the drugs stopped helping.

His "riffage" declined from 1972 onwards.. sure there were moments but I think he lost the determination.

How many ways can you play open G anyway?

He still was like that in 1982 on th Undercover sessions.

Regarding posing.
As weird as it may sound (because we are talking about the elegantly wasted..) i´ve always been extremely greatful to be a fan of a band were the guitarist plays as he is alive visualy (something Mick Taylor did not do until 2012! visualy)! Although Keith has had a bad gig now and then in 2007 i´m still tired of this posing talk, it is him and everyone has it´s own habits even dirty habits.

We all pose.

I think the posing was a direct reSult of the giant tv screen above the stage....producers telling KR be more animated...like MJ...and KR went with it. His fault.

KR always liked to say "just hang a few lights" on the stage...but he really embraced the big mega stage. He should have known better and focused on playing naturally, but he didnt.

and Im not a KR hater

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GravityBoy

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NoCode0680
Or that one weird move he always does where he plays a chord, takes both hands off as if he's trying to pose like a chalk outline at a crime scene.

Brilliant.

Spot on.

Yeah, this is posing in the true meaning of the word. At least, the 70s was his most photographed decade...

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DandelionPowderman

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GravityBoy

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Stoneage
One thing is puzzling me a bit is the fact that for many years Keith was held as the greatest rock gutarist ever. Even from people who were not necessarily Stones fans. He was called "the human riff".
When did that stop? When did it go from "greatest" to "can he play at all"?

In my opinion it stopped when he stopped creating great riffs.

From 1968 to 1972 he was intensely focused on guitar and it's sounds.

He would play trance-like for hours trying to get it right.

He was in the true realm of an artist.

The drugs helped.

Then the drugs stopped helping.

His "riffage" declined from 1972 onwards.. sure there were moments but I think he lost the determination.

How many ways can you play open G anyway?

He still was like that in 1982 on th Undercover sessions.

Sadly.. it didn't work.

The Muse had left.

I'm not saying it's a bad album (I like it), but the human riff isn't a main feature.

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steini
Regarding posing.
As weird as it may sound (because we are talking about the elegantly wasted..) i´ve always been extremely greatful to be a fan of a band were the guitarist plays as he is alive visualy (something Mick Taylor did not do until 2012! visualy)! Although Keith has had a bad gig now and then in 2007 i´m still tired of this posing talk, it is him and everyone has it´s own habits even dirty habits.

I wouldn't quarrel with that.
Keith kind of became what the Stadium audience expected and, indeed, wanted him to be. As did Mick.

We had this wonderful thread a while back , so I guess one person's posing is another person's straddling.

[www.iorr.org]



Courtesy of withsssoul, here is a description of Keith in action from Albert Goldman:

"Keith really is a kind of self-contained performer. His moves are invariably graceful, well struck,
and he makes sense of the body rhetoric that is the most classic, most fitting to a guitar rocker.
He's the discus thrower of rock. He's perfect."