Sometimes you get what you read
5 Out of 5 Stars
Keith Richards has lived in his own universe since his teens; as guitarist for the Rolling Stones, he's managed to not only become one of the defining guitarists of our lifetimes, he's also become such an out-sized personality that even those folks that don't really care about rock and roll know who he (and Mick Jagger) is. His exploits are the stuff of legend, his excesses and abuses would have destroyed dozens of men, and somewhere along the way he's had a hand in writing some of the last century's greatest rock and roll riffs.
You'd think with all that abuse, there wouldn't be much of his brain left to store all those memories. But big surprise. Not only does he play the steel strings like madman, he has a mind like a steel bear trap. Unlike Eric Clapton's biography that seemed to just be passage of passage of "I formed a band, we got wasted and recorded songs and I don't remember much," Richards manages to pull great amounts of detail from the entirety of his life, along with co-writer James Fox. Richards' ego is as loud as his guitar and "Life" puts all on full exhibit. It's interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, and often not very complimentary.
While there are times I was wanting for more details (like the passing of Brian Jones, for example), Richards doesn't gloss the issue away. This includes his many brushes with law enforcement and some of the notorious trials, like the Toronto bust that almost took him down. He also minces no words when it comes to his fellow Stones. Ronnie Wood takes his knocks, there's plenty of anecdotal - and mostly complimentary - stories about Charlie Watts, but plenty of savaging of Mick. Richards' defends Jagger as a brotherly relationship, and that anyone else knocking Mick should be ready for Keith to "slit their throat." On the other hand, there's an awful lot of direct hits on his bandmate, including one rather physically descriptive comment that will give you reason to wonder about why Mick insisted on the giant inflatable weenie was part of the Stones' '72 tour.
While I highly recommend this book, Richard's seems to be running out of interest in the last few years of his life. The final two chapters burn through the 80's on in near abbreviated manner, which may not matter much to folks who think that everything from "Steel Wheels" on was ultimately forgettable. He skims through it all in surprisingly brisk fashion. Regardless, "Life" is a terrific rock and roll book.
No comments:
Post a Comment