I just downloaded a Chuck Berry live show from 1988, when Chuck would've been Keith's age right now. Chuck is his typical self. He messes up lots of lyrics and does such wacky guitar playing that it verges between brilliant and disastrous. I know Chuck is 79 now, and has been declining for at least 20 years in most of the natural ways, but on this boot he is pretty damn rocking. He manages to sing over an hours worth of songs, work the crowd, play some killer guitar solos and rythm, and be a frontman. I think Mick at this age buries absolutely anyone as singer/frontman, but it got me really focusing on how far Keith has fallen. He is still good, but barely shoulders any workload at all anymore. Just where did Keith go!!?

Keith went to the bottle

poor immigrant Wrote:
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> I just downloaded a Chuck Berry live show from
> 1988, when Chuck would've been Keith's age right
> now. Chuck is his typical self. He messes up lots
> of lyrics and does such wacky guitar playing that
> it verges between brilliant and disastrous. I know
> Chuck is 79 now, and has been declining for at
> least 20 years in most of the natural ways, but on
> this boot he is pretty damn rocking. He manages to
> sing over an hours worth of songs, work the crowd,
> play some killer guitar solos and rythm, and be a
> frontman.

He did the very same in 2000 in Zurich (Switzerland) at the age of 73, playing after Little Richard (then aged 67) and Jerry Lee Lewis (then aged 65, a human wreck), easily overthrowing both of them and sounding like the God of rock'n'roll should.

Hail! Hail! Rock'n'roll! He will appear in Zurich Kongresshaus on Monday 7 November 2005.

I don't know why people can't simply accept the fact that Keith and drunk and drugged himself into irrelevance.

Yes, the arthritis is cruel. Yes, he CAN still play quite well at times, but overall, he's just a very rich, very content drunk who no longer has the fire in his belly.

I saw Chuck Berry a few years ago at the Shepard’s Bush Empire in London. While it was an absolutely amazing experience to be standing just feet away from a true master, his playing is very lacking these days. Occasionally the old magic would shine through, but like Keith, he does his fair share of posing. He tended to play a riff or two, and then put his hands down. I wasn't moaning though. It was an experience and a half.

Comparisons to Keith? Well, I wouldn't like to say how Keith’s going to sound when he’s Berry age! He's gone down hill a bit these days, but who knows? Personally, I’ve always thought he’s a superior guitarist to Chuck and after all, Keith does Chuck Berry guitar BETTER than Chuck Berry!

Keith is lucky to be here, he's lucky to be anywhere. And sure, he's lost something, but he still sounds pretty damn good!

in fact keith sounds great....just listen to abb or go see them in concert...

keith is playing killer guitars on this tour...the ones putting him down..
have you seen him play on this tour?
if you did, you would be thrilled with the guitars...woodie and richards have not sounded better...thats a fact....

Chuck still tours because he needs the money. Will Keith tour when he is 79? Probably not because he won't need the money and he already he lost his drive in most shows. Sometimes you see it ignite again when he tears into a song or two.

I think Keith, for better or worst has turned into his hero. NOT the seedy stuff BTW !

God this site is so bloody negative. Who the hell says Keith has crippling arthritis? Ive only ever read it here. As for the Chuck thing - I saw him live 10 or 15 yrs ago in Glasgow, He was ok, nothing special. He only played 45 minutes. He was back in Glasgow 6 months ago and didnt bother turning up. 3000 fans waited for him till 10pm when it was announced he'd pulled the gig. Who knows why. He's never explained or apologized. And the person who said "Keith drugged and drank himself into irrelevance" should be ashamed. Go listen to those wretched Mick solo albums and leave us in peace. Keith is the heartbeat of the Stones. Long may he run

If my answers frighten you, then you should stop asking scary questions.

No one said anything about "crippling" arthritis, as that would mean he couldn't play anything. Do have any other explanation for his deformed fingers?

I love Keith but I find him very boring these days. If ABB is primarily a Mick effort, then it would appear that he's the real heartbeat of the Stones.

God When K did the 60th b'day "Hail Hail" film it resurrected Chuck's career! Chuck was very lame when I saw him in the early '80s, part of an oldies show, w/ the usual bad pickup band. Chuck is the epitome of a great artist/writer who either lost it or threw it away, certainly by the time he left Chess in 1965. After one of the great r & r songbooks made during 1955-61 (& a comeback in '64), he's done very little (last studio album, "Rockit" in 1979 was a one-off for Atco).

"deformed fingers". Piss off you loser. You are spreading crap. I love Jagger, but Keith is the catalyst.

It has nothing to do w/ age - saw Ike Turner, who would have been 70 or so at the House of Blues show, & he PUT OUT. Yes, lots of old stuff but it rocked & Ike kicked ass. Chuck relies on singalongs, never rehearses & doesn't bother with any new material. What was his last interesting new song. "Tulane"? "Bio"? So you see him once & it's a novelty. And that's a lot closer to Mike Love's current Beach Boys than the Stones' string of warhorses (which ARE classics, & usually done with amazing energy) during the last part of their shows.

sladog Wrote:
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> Chuck still tours because he needs the money.


This i can't believe. I don't know his spending habbits but i can't believe that Chuck hasn't earned enough in all those years.



Cheers,
Wuudy

At least tickets for Chuck Berry aren't as expensive as for the Stones.
I bought one this afternoon. paid 33,85 €. Thats a fair deal - but he might not get rich.

Big Al Wrote:
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> Keith does Chuck Berry guitar BETTER than Chuck Berry!

Sorry, but that's real BS. Chuck did not only compose the riffs but play them alone (while Keith always had a second guitarist to back up). Chuck kept his sound as clean as it was in the 1950s. Keith just added some distortion to Chuck's riffs. Unfortuantely nowadays he doesn't play rock'n roll anymore, or well, maybe one or two songs per show (and none of them the real stuff like "Little queenie") but that's all. I admit Keith is a good copycat but NO WAY is he better than the master. If Keith is Mr. Rock'n'Roll then Chuck is the God of Rock'n'Roll.

letitloose Wrote:
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> "deformed fingers". Piss off you loser. You are
> spreading crap. I love Jagger, but Keith is the
> catalyst.

You're obviously one of those irrational fans who can't stand reading anything negative about your gods.

Have you SEEN photos of Keith's fingers?? The knuckles closest to his fingertips are horribly swollen.

I'm not making things up because I hate the Stones. Jeez.

Keith does Chucky's guitat better than Cuck Berry.Now what does this mean?

I love the Chuck Berry guitar sound, and of course there's a lot of CB in the Keith R. sound.But, I think KR is far more exciting.He was more exciting in 1965 and he is still in 2005.Just listen to ABB, or the live boots.

Wuudy Wrote:
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> sladog Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Chuck still tours because he needs the money.
>
>
>
> This i can't believe. I don't know his spending
> habbits but i can't believe that Chuck hasn't
> earned enough in all those years.


Go back and look at your history. Did you know that in order to get some of his songs on the radio back in the 50's Allen Freed got song writing credit which also means he got royalties? How many chuck song do you hear on the radio? It's not like he has royalites coming in like the Stones. Also, with all his lawsuits (womens bathrooms anyone) that drained him.

I would not say that Chuck is hurting for money but it is does not mean he can just quit and kick back and not work till he dies.

Chuck is the master of the good rock'n roll song and and the riffs he made, but he hasn't done anything new since the sixties, except for Rock It from 79. Keith is still delivering songs, both solo stuff and with The Stones. Also he delivers brilliant guitar playing, both on tour and on records. I can't believe people claming otherwise, mind you if the have attended a show or heard the ABB.

But let us all remember this: Keith has never forgotten who he learned from. He constantly talks about his respect for Chuck, Muddy, Robert Johnson, Sonny boy Williamson, Little Walter and so on. He is very aware of the true masters of rock'n roll, blues, country and reggae. This goes for the whole band and have been proved on tours for ages. The last evidence was when I saw them in MSG. They had an absolutely fabulous presentation of Marley and Tosh during their cover version of their song. This is GREAT!

Last time i saw Chuck Berry on stage was in 1992, when he was 65. Keith plays mutch better. Of course i talk about how Keith is sounding, not about how his fingers are showing.

stickydion Wrote:
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> Last time i saw Chuck Berry on stage was in 1992,
> when he was 65. Keith plays mutch better. Of
> course i talk about how Keith is sounding, not
> about how his fingers are showing.

Yes, but if Keith had bad knees, then I don't think we'd focus too much on that malady...but fingers ARE quite important when it comes to guitar playing.

I don't know why people can't see things in shades of gray...it seems that the only two opinions people can have here are:

- Keith is the model of perfect health and sounds as good as he did back in the 70's.

or

- Keith has one foot in the grave and his fingers are mummified.

I'm NOT saying that he sounds like shit, but he's lost a lot of dexterity and his soloing is pretty poor sometimes...and looking at his fingers, I can only conclude that that's partly to blame.

keefriff99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> letitloose Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > "deformed fingers". Piss off you loser. You
> are
> > spreading crap. I love Jagger, but Keith is
> the
> > catalyst.
>
> You're obviously one of those irrational fans who
> can't stand reading anything negative about your
> gods.
>
> Have you SEEN photos of Keith's fingers?? The
> knuckles closest to his fingertips are horribly
> swollen.
>
> I'm not making things up because I hate the
> Stones. Jeez.


Ok lets call a truce. I know we're all fans here. I just get pissed off that we seem to accentuate the negative so much on this board. Im fortunate enough to be flying from Scotland to the states to see them in St Louis at the end of January. Im sure they will still be great and Keef will be the man. I'll be sure to post a review here when (if?) I return!

> Ok lets call a truce. I know we're all fans here.
> I just get pissed off that we seem to accentuate
> the negative so much on this board. Im fortunate
> enough to be flying from Scotland to the states to
> see them in St Louis at the end of January. Im
> sure they will still be great and Keef will be the
> man. I'll be sure to post a review here when (if?)
> I return!

I'm sure the review will be overwhelmingly positive since you're so sure about their greatness. This will help us to overcome the painful feeling when listening to today's Rolling Stones after hearing the real stuff.

> I'm sure the review will be overwhelmingly
> positive since you're so sure about their
> greatness. This will help us to overcome the
> painful feeling when listening to today's Rolling
> Stones after hearing the real stuff.

LOL...well let's not get too mean here...I did have fun at the show back in August, but I just felt like that special something was missing.

It was my 8th time seeing them and definitely the first time I was ever underwhelmed by their live show. It was quite depressing.

get on a plane come to the US and watch keith play -- he tears it up every night - he plays like a man possessed!

this website it seems sadly has 2 modes when it comes to keith richards , one involves his hair , the other his fingers

BECAUSE IM OLDKR