Keith Richards, Life.
nzshadow
5,526 Posts
Finished it last night.
One hell of an entertaining read, Obviously the Nellc??te and Pallenburg stories were the big standouts, good to finally hear them straight from the horses mouth.
Whilst initially amusing, the numerous barbs and snide asides aimed at Jagger quickly became tedious and kind of sad. (as did the knife fight heroics stories, "blades and shooters"... )
Appointing your 7 year old as your minder on the road whilst you are in the depths of a smack addiction is a major bad look though, and now i have finished the book, it is the thought of that poor kid being dragged all over the world by his junkie father that sticks with me the most.
A recommended read.
Comments
I was struck too by how little Richards was able to reflect upon the damage he did to his friends and family. He never ever apologizes for his behavior. He glosses over how absent he often was a Nellecote due to his deep addiction at the time as if it were a stylistic difference (I like to work at night and he liked to work during the day sort of thing). It reminded me how Jerry Garcia never really fessed up to how much drugs robbed his band of his creative powers in their last few decades together. He was unrepentant to the end, at least publicly. It really is the difference between someone who has gone through recovery (Elton John, for example) and someone who has stopped using heroin. Of course, the biggest lose was his relationship with Jagger. Had he been clean, I imagine they would have been able to keep working more closely and keep pumping out more great music. Apart neither one was ever able to do a whole lot.
Great stuff about his relationship with Gram Parsons.
Keith is not an active junkie. He hasn't used (heroin) in decades. There is a marked difference between someone who has stopped using and someone who has come to terms with their past. I thought that was noteworthy when thinking about his "Life". If you read the book he slags Mick mercilessly but gives him no credit for holding down the fort while he spent a decade passing out in bathrooms (the Playboy Mansion scene is pretty damn funny). I would call that ingratitude of the highest order. I would also say that is the lowest kind of person.
I was in Los Angeles over the Xmas holidays, and read it on the plane ride both ways. Haven't finished it yet - I had to put the book down because I was starting to OD on Keith as much as he OD'ed on them drugs! But I covered a lot of ground...
One thing that stood out to me was a random comment that he made about his son who died when he was two: "I never even got to know the son-of-a-bitch!" :hard_as_fuck: Now, for those of you who haven't cracked open the book, we have to put it in context - he said this with deep, deep regret. He wasn't trying to be irreverent. I understand the sentiment, but still, the words he used to express it were mighty :raw:.
At the point I'm at in the book, it's 1979. The other Stones, up to this time, are basically supporting characters, and so far the brunt of his barbs at a fellow Stone go straight to Brian Jones. But the early eighties, when Mick was at his most diva-ish, are just around the corner in this book. So I'm assuming the anti-Mick tirades will arrive sooner than later.
YES! Depp kills it.. Real fun listen so far..
- spidey
But yeah, Keith Richards, fuck yeah man.
"I was there"
Heard KR on Terry Gross the other day. Great interview. I was struck that he only had nice things to say about MJ. Every other time I have heard or read an interview with him he has talked of his hate for Jagger.
They were lucky to have each other. Keith writes great rnr tunes, and Mick populates them with memorable characters.