Okay, lets put the Ronnie debate aside for one moment and discuss Keith Richards playing of late. Yeah, Ronnie mucks up a lot, but so does Mr Richards. For example, how can the very person who wrote it, completely mess up the opening few riffs of Brown Sugar? He did it a few times on the European leg of the Licks tour and he did it again at the Columbus show from this tour. It isn't just the odd chord he messes up though, sometimes he doesn't seem to play at all. He doesn't seem to be able to hold down a decent rhythm at all sometimes and what about his solos? Yeah, Keith has borrowed heavily from Chuck Berry over the years, but EVERY SINGLE solo he comes up with how sounds like a Berry rip-off. Classic rockers like Neighbours were turned into Berry numbers on the Licks tour. Is this all the great man is capable of these days? Can he no longer play constructed solos? All it seems to be is a few string bends here and there. Live With Me, It's Only Rock N' Roll etc.. the list is endless. He's replaced decent rhythm work with this and I don't understand why.

Okay, firstly, does anyone agree with me here and if so, why do you think he's lacking somewhat these days? Is it his fingers, is his drinking or is he just plain lazy?

My last point and a typical example of all I've stated above is this. Heart Of Stone on the Licks tour. A Fantastic song to start with and overall, they did pretty well with it, but Keith? Why couldn't he nail the solo? Not once did he attempt to recreate his fantastic original. It was a horrible, though be it short, solo every time

He has arthritis. After 40 years of heavy drinking like he has done I can hardly imagine him actually being "drunk".

I don't agree at all.

He still amazes me.

What most people don't understand is the difference between an Artist and a skilled session player.

The same applies to Wood.

C

<how can the very person who wrote it, completely mess up the opening few riffs of Brown Sugar?>

Everybody who plays guitar and is used to perform for people knows that this is a thing that happens. They're not robots. Everything from stage lighting, other distractions like loose straps, wrong sound, broken strings and your shape/awareness can do the trick. And it happens - more often than you might think - even to the best of players

liddas,

Before 95, Keith was both an artist AND a skilled session player.
Now, he is at best an artist.
Honestly,nowadays I do not hear anything in his playing that could not be played by any other good guitarist.

we've discueed keith, how about mick's singing? He can't sing anymore. terrible.
And what about Charlie? I hate his drumming on this tour. And what about lisa fisher? She better go home. And what about...just kiddin, c'mon guys be happy keith plays great!!!

nmaillot Wrote:
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> Honestly,nowadays I do not hear anything in his
> playing that could not be played by any other good
> guitarist.

Oh my God! I can't believe you are serious..
Listen to his fills on Back of my hand, his licks on ONNYA, or the solo of Let Me Down Slow, or the killer chords of Dangerous beauty, just to name a few of his recent and decent masterpieces.

If you got the chance to see him live, listen carefully to IORR, JJ Flash or All Down The Line...

nmaillot i didn't hear anything on his playing that coulndn't be played by any other good guitarist neither before '95, he's not jimi hendrix and he never wanted to be like that. But he's keith richards and he wrote satisfaction. Jimi hendrix, clapton, page or malmsteen didn't. that's what any other good guitarist could not do. I mean any good guitarist could do the solo on honky tonk women, but only keef wrote it!!!!




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-11-03 15:39 by farawayeyes2.

keith can still hide behind his capos and ANGULAR ANGULAR NOTE.LOL

The way Keith played on No Expectations on the Licks tour was pure brilliance imo. So much feeling, so much soul and blues... There have been discussions about Keith's playing before and I think they're useless. Keith simply doesn't want to nail every solo anymore... he doesn't care if he @#$%& up some parts. He's there to to play the notes he likes.. nothing more, nothing less. He's Mr. Rock 'n Roll.

rutger i'm absolulutely with you! keith plays chuck berry-like solos every song, not beacuse he can't play anyyhing else, but because HE LOVES IT.

Rutger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>Keith simply doesn't want
> to nail every solo anymore... he doesn't care if
> he @#$%& up some parts. He's there to to play the
> notes he likes.. nothing more, nothing less. He's
> Mr. Rock 'n Roll.
>


So it's OK if Keith doesn't care if he screws up and he does what he wants on stage, yet Ronnie gets slandered if he makes a mistake and has some fun?

Grow up guys!!!! Do you question the source? Do I have to give you a cold bath? It this another series of "I did not see them on this tour and I am worried if they can still walk"?

Keith is the king on stage and if you have seen any of the shows this year you would not even think about asking such a question.

Some times during the shows this year I am sure if there was a photographer and he made a picture of me while Keith was at his best my mouth would be wide open and my smile would be as wide as the hudson river and my eyes would sparkle.

Keith is king. I have seen most shows on this tour, and if you are still sitting at home wondering if this band is worthy of your 100 dollars or so hard earned money then take my advice and buy your ticket right now. Shame on you nif you arevat home while they visit your home town!

There is no other band that comes close to the stones. These is no other guitar player that comes close to Keith. When he is on you are charged by a energy of rock'n roll that no other band on this planet can ever supply. Go get it. Now!



Bjornulf

Say what you may, I don't believe there are so many guitarists that can give what keith gives. This before or after 95. And, of course, there are 1,000 guitarists in every town of this world that could play note-by-note all parts in any given stones song (yes, MT's vibrato included!!!).

I've been listening to quite a lot licks recordings lately and hear some great Keith moments. Further, compared to the past, despite the chuckberryzation of the repertoire, there is more variety in his playing. Mainly due to the choice of songs in the set list embracing such a wide time period of their career.

Again, I might heve a problem with my ears, maybe I daydeream, but those (maybe rare) genuine Keith moments still make me prefer any stones show to any other major act in circulation.

I don't want to say that he is better now than then, only I invite you to pay respect to what he does now. Those ho don't are kindly invited to send me some mp3s of their own music ...

C

My impression about the guitar work of Keith Richards is, that he does a very good job. Often you can hear that he tries to help Ronnie out of a solo desaster, but often he fails - this is a problem of Ronnie. Right, he isn't without mistakes, but often there are interesting mistakes and he adds something new to the song, e.g. the solo outro of "Tumbling Dice". Also I like the "SFTD" solos on this tour and particularly the solos on the cover songs "Night Time is a Right Time" etc. I don't observe that there is a decline in the guitar work of Keith Richards - and the most important: He produces music. I'm sorry but Ron Wood didn't produce any music on this tour.

Keith is as loose as he's always been.

I listened to The Harder They Come from 1979 the other day. This is supposed to be when he was at his best. He did the same mistakes then.

What worries me a bit is that the Berry-thing (in his solos) is taken a bit too far. I want more of the runs from Let Me Go (Still Life), Tie Me Up (Undercover) etc. You're allowed to play some single-string bends in minor also, Keith!

I saw him close range in Seattle and he is not his old self. He can still play like Keith only can, but he does it very sporadically. Even in 94 and 97 he played throughout the show, but not on this tour and I don't think so on the licks tour either even though I can only judge from the DVD's.

Some shows he takes control from start but that is up to the set list. Usually he is coming in strong late in the show. That is why I go to more than one show.

Bjornulf

Keith is the best rocker on earth.
Mick is the best frontman singer on earth.
Ronnie is a rocker too.
Charlie is a practic and very good drummer.
Both guitarrist are not at his best but they are trying to do their best.
Of course, alcohol, drugs and age has your effects and remember, a special touch missed on the bass.

you're only as good as your last gig....that's how the vultures are...one night you're a "God"...the next night, you're "off" and the vultures move in to finish off your carcass...it's human nature...they place you on a pedastool and then can't wait to knock you off.....we're all a bunch of hyporcrites have a nice day



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-11-03 18:16 by Leonard Keringer.

DandelionPowderman Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------->
> What worries me a bit is that the Berry-thing (in
> his solos) is taken a bit too far. I want more of
> the runs from Let Me Go (Still Life), Tie Me Up
> (Undercover) etc. You're allowed to play some
> single-string bends in minor also, Keith!


I agree 100%

I DO enjoy his Berry style of playing, but it seems to me that he's incorporated it into every other song. Maybe because of his dodgy digits, he finds it easier to play in this style. Maybe playing chords throughout a song hurts his fingers?

Big Al Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For example, how can the very person who
> wrote it, completely mess up the opening few riffs
> of Brown Sugar? He did it a few times on the
> European leg of the Licks tour and he did it again
> at the Columbus show from this tour. It isn't just
> the odd chord he messes up though, sometimes he
> doesn't seem to play at all.

In fact "Brown sugar" was NOT written by Keith Richards but by Mick Jagger, even if it is credited to "Jagger/Richards". Mick wrote the song in 1969 while being in Australia. Keith wouldn't play that song during his solo tours, not even with the New Barbarians. Since it is a Mick song maybe Keith WANTS to mess it up sometimes. He's an evil character as we all know. Instead of talking to Mick (I doubt he's got a chance) he messes up the songs Mick wrote to show him who's the boss.

Besides I think the days of "Brown sugar" are long over, the song was ok until 1973 but it sucks bigtime now. It's been massively overplayed ever since. That's just my personal opinion, though.

Has he ever @#$%& up the intros to Satisfaction or Jumpin' Jack Flash? Hardly, if ever.

On one hand, I think the opinion that Keef may @#$%& it up just to rile up Mick are plausible...although that is EXTREMELY unprofessional, and only serves to make him look bad and give ammo to critics who claim he's a drunk who looks like he died 20 years ago.

I think the loss of Keef's unrelenting rhythmic charge is down to his fingers, but more to laziness and ego. He showboats too goddamn much...I used to enjoy his stage antics, but when his arms are flailing all over the place and there's a huge gap in a song because HE'S NOT PLAYING...then it's just too much. It ruins the momentum of entire songs.

Brown Sugar was not sucking during the SW/UJ tour.
It has been sucking since Wyman left: the song does not swing anymore.

I have been a fan for 10 years and I am just starting to understand how much Wyman was important.

I really doubt Keith is going to screw up intentionally because Mick wrote Brown Sugar. That is silly. Most fans are just going to hear Keith screw up not say he must have screwed up to piss Mick off. Rubbish.

He is almost 62, yes 62 years old. Cold, damp, arthritic fingers are going to take some time to get going. They will never play like 25 years ago.

But, during the 2015 tour many will say they just can't play like they did in the fall of 2005.

Markdog Wrote:
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> > I really doubt Keith is going to screw up
> intentionally because Mick wrote Brown Sugar.
> That is silly. Most fans are just going to hear
> Keith screw up not say he must have screwed up to
> piss Mick off. Rubbish.

However, the intro is SO simply - how could you ever screw it up?? And he did screw it up, quite often. Also don't forget: it's very often the FIRST song, but he still screws it up.

In fact I don't know WHY he screws it up but I'm sure he does it intentionally.

Another reason why he does it (if not to piss off Mick) could be to show the world how sloppy he can be and still getting away with it. It's part of the game. Let's face it, every Stones fan expects Keith to screw up. He isn't that good a player but he knows his business. If Hendrix was the guitar player with the feedback then Keith is the guitar player who screws up.

There should be a Chuck Berry solo in every song the play. It can't get any better than that!

on shes so cold ,,keith's licks rip ,,

Instrumental technique and making music are two different things. One involves repetition and motor coordination, the other involves your ears and your soul.

Sometimes Keith and Ron @#$%& things up... but it's only a few songs... the large majority they play really well. I watched the vid from Philadelphia on Rocks Off and Keith nailed the solo from Honkey Tonk Woman.

F.U.C. the Captain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Markdog Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > > I really doubt Keith is going to screw
> up
> > intentionally because Mick wrote Brown Sugar.
>
> > That is silly. Most fans are just going to
> hear
> > Keith screw up not say he must have screwed
> up to
> > piss Mick off. Rubbish.
>
> However, the intro is SO simply - how could you
> ever screw it up?? And he did screw it up, quite
> often. Also don't forget: it's very often the
> FIRST song, but he still screws it up.
>
> In fact I don't know WHY he screws it up but I'm
> sure he does it intentionally.
>
> Another reason why he does it (if not to piss off
> Mick) could be to show the world how sloppy he can
> be and still getting away with it. It's part of
> the game. Let's face it, every Stones fan expects
> Keith to screw up. He isn't that good a player but
> he knows his business. If Hendrix was the guitar
> player with the feedback then Keith is the guitar
> player who screws up.


Listening to the Columbus boot, it was the first song and that opening riff was a disaster. Is Keith going to intentional do this to 20,000 fans? Even Charlie was hesitating at the start trying to follow Keith. (At least Ronnie came in strong with the riff to break the silence in the crowd)

My thought after was cold, damp, arthritic fingers and that is it. I can't believe there is more to it. Anything more makes no sense to me.