What makes you so greedy,
Makes you so seedy? (You Don’t Move Me)
The very best thing about Keith Richards Talk Is Cheap is the back cover. That close-up of Keith’s right hand on the strings, awesomely cool skull ring to the fore. It’s a piece of jewellery that features on the front and inner sleeve pictures too and one I suspect that has to be earned by laughing in the very face of the grim reaper himself, rather than bought. It’s way cool, just like Keith. The ring couldn’t adorn a more worthy right hand but the picture belongs on a better LP than this.
Keith is always the Stone who draws in little worshippers like me who groove off every druggy legend, misdemeanour and bon mot. The cat can play too. Far more human than Jagger, he’d be my original Stone of choice to be Robinson Crusoe’d with. Hell, he sang ‘Happy’ which can sometimes be my favourite ever Stones track; along with ‘Connection’ and ‘You Got The Silver’ which aren’t, but are still great.
By 1988 Keith was 45 and the Stones were on the rocks as Jagger pursued his own muse and Richards found that he needed to make some music. Starting out with drummer Steve Jordan he added a few musicians to his coterie and picked up a few star extras as the tunes developed, channelled his anger at Jagger into the grooves and Talk Is Cheap was born.
I love the way the low-key opener ‘Big Enough’ slinks into view, like the last reveller slinking home after the party in daylight. Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker adding their talents to a confection that’s part reggae, part funk and wholly Richards, via that voice that only a mum could love and some Richards-ian licks. For my money it’s the best and by far the most inventive thing here.
Talk Is Cheap has nothing brilliant on it, but more and better tunes than the Rolling Stones had sculpted in a decade and certainly more than they’ve cut since*, you can hear an urgency percolating through Richards’ best playing here and the meaner the sentiments, the better the track. The best cuts here for my money are the take-that-Mick-tastic ‘You Don’t Move Me’, the tough lovin’ ‘Take It So Hard’ and ‘Make No Mistake’, on which Richards sounds uncannily like a lizard impersonating Tina Turner**.
Elsewhere there are some nice changes of pace like the 50’s strut of ‘I Could Have Stood You Up’, featuring Mick Taylor, which sadly overstays its’ welcome and the lascivious low-key ‘Rockawhile’. But the problem with Talk Is Cheap is that about half the LP sounds a lot like the germs of half decent Stones songs which never quite get airborne; at least two of which seem to be modelled on the track ‘It Must Be Hell’ from the Stones’ Undercover. The players are all great but (I agree with Jagger) that the drums are too high in the mix^ and I feel it could just do with a bit more star dust.
BUT I do dig the way that Keith has used his platform here to address an important issue, the plight of under-endowed chaps, via the sexy sex and/or drugs tune, ‘Take It So Hard’
Take a look around you, tell me, what do you see?
People with little bits try, tryin’ to smile
As my broad smile will attest, I cannot relate to this line at all Keith. Sorry. But it is great to see a rocker finally addressing this issue for the masses. I just think it is a shame and a missed opportunity that it was never followed up by a huge fundraising concert^*.
I like Talk Is Cheap as a bit of a diversion now and then, but it always makes me hanker after some proper Stones, make no mistake.
830 Down.
PS: This is actual footage from the post-apocalyptic future that has found its way to our time continuum via a wormhole in the space/time thingy. Rest assured Once the explosions have all finished, Keith will still be there playing away.
*’Love is Strong’, ‘Doom and Gloom’ and ‘Rough Justice’ being the only original tracks of theirs I’ve liked in about 30 years and counting.
**in a good way.
^LP was co-produced by drummer Steve Jordan
^*Gland Aid?
I like it when he plays music.
Me too. I Hated his autobiography, he did himself a real disservice with it.
Didn’t you do a take on it? I will take your word on it, i’m not that curious on old Keith’s life. I did read a good one on Oliver Reed. I don’t think he plays guitar though. Gets drunk a lot.
For a more recent Stones tune I dig, “Saint of Me” is one. But that song is now 21 years old, lol
Great album man I still love the battles him and Jagger were having with each other in Rolling Stone mag back in the late 80’s..
Keep calling Mick’s solo band a “Jerkoff band” was classic
Seeing TisC was the topic, I spun it this morning. Kind of an OK album, isn’t it? Reckon your review is fair and reasonable. And I simply adore the two rings photo.
Cheers Bruce, I was neither under, or over whelmed. So probably just ‘whelmed’ then.
Keith’s records seem to draw mixed reviews all around. I do not know what to say about them because I have yet to get to them, but the dude is the soul of the Stones. Sure, Jagger loved blues and R&B as much as him when they were young, but if the creative control of the Stones were left solely to Jagger I am afraid of what the band would have sounded like after the 80s came around. Not that what we got from then since that era has been great, but I think it could be worse.
Anyway, when it comes to songs Richards sings I would like to add Before They Make Me Run and This Place Is Empty. I also love those two, even if they are not even close to being as good as Happy.
Cheers Matt. My dad once saw the Stones play a daytime gig to just 100-200 people on the steps of a country house in the early 60’s. By the time it was my turn, I had to go see them at Wembley Stadium!
Woah! That’s an awesome story!
Well, as we learned from “Wayne’s World 2,” Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons. I never really bothered with any Stones solo material but after reading this, I would be more curious to listen to Keith’s stuff than Mick’s.
Definitely – Mick’s stuff is abominable!
I like this one more than you (a lot more). It stumbles a bit lyrically, but I enjoy this for being a proper rock n’ roll record with Keith’s the trademark with that voodoo blues groove and Berry flourishes.
Anyhoo, I expect you to revise a paragraph in your review. “Talk Is Cheap has nothing brilliant on it”. I cannae accept that. Take It So Hard, You Don’t Move Me and Struggle are brilliant. So there.
I’ll give you ‘Big Enough’ and ‘You Don’t’, but the rest? (makes farting noises)
It’s all or nothing, fella.Jings! Big Enough, of course! That saxy sax sax! I’ll forgive you cause you reminded me of my oversight there.
Gland Aid, ha! I’m imagine slo mo footage of a sad Gene Simmons. Please give all you can.
Also, hate to break it to you but he bought that skull ring in H Samuel.
No! He was bragging on it being from Rayners!
Yup, Gland Aid. Maybe an all star charity single cover of ‘Big Love’ by Fleetwood Mac?
Perfect! Maybe some sort of guitar hero event too? Just the ones that overcompensate though… your 6 neck Rick Nielsens and 4 neck Michael Angelos…
Worth reminding everyone though, that’s it not how much you give to the charity that’s important… it’s how you give it.
I always find the legend more entertaining than the reality were more recent Stones are concerned. There is also a certain sense of joy in old men unashamedly acting like younger men shouldn’t.
Yup, I get it but they could all use a good ironing these days!
Fortunately you don’t have to be a mum to love the Richards-ian licks – after reading ‘life’ I was inspired to try tuning my electric a la Keith!
I don’t know much Stones (only heard the 2CD GRRR) but I do like Doom and Gloom a lot as well, especially compared to the other newer stuff
D&G is just a great track, it really surprised me just how good it was.
You’ve got a world of great Stones LPs to explore then. My parents were really into them, so I sort of absorbed a lot of their stuff by the time I’d left the cradle.
My dad has Tattoo You as well. He was really into Led Zeppelin so one of my earliest memories is Whole Lotta Love.
With Doom and Gloom, at some points in the song it sounds like there’s some crowd noise or something in the background but when it ends someone laughs, assumedely in the studio
Excellent! I love tracks like ‘Doom …’ where there’s a bit of chaos in the sound/production – it just makes it all seem more real and organic.
This is an Aaron record for sure!
For more recent Stones that doens`t suck, I recommend:
I don’t know this one.
Did you like it or should I hang my head?
No, I did like it; sorry should have said.
Well! That’s cool. I liked three of the four new songs on 40 Licks. I hated the Keef song though.