Paulblow's Full Review: Talk Is Cheap by Keith Richards
I remember seeing Keith Richards and his band the X-pensive Winos on Saturday Night Live eons ago. His voice was shot - he could barely sing - but his performance contained so much raw energy and rock'n'roll sex appeal, that I was spellbound. I was just a kid, and was not a Rolling Stones fan at the time, but I knew that this guy Keith Richards was cooooool!
Years and years later, I was turned on to the Stones, and after a while of buying their CDs and listening to their music, I realized that many of my favorite Stones songs featured Keith Richards on lead vocals. I'm talking about songs like "Little T & A", "Before They make me Run", and "Happy", to name a few. My favorite Stones songs also featured Keith's trademark riffage -- which he didn't really develope until the '70's.
I was watching a Stones video once, and Keith was interviewed. He talked about his solo project --the X-pensive Winos -- and the band was shown playing a live version of "Take It So Hard"... I immediately loved the song, and I rushed out to find the album it was on, "Talk Is Cheap". I bought a copy on CD, and it has become one of my top ten favorites of all time.
This album is pure, unadulterated, vintage Keith Richards -- chock full of his legendary guitar riffs, cigarette-stained vocals, and some of the best drum sounds I've ever heard--(I love that snare!)
This CD blows away anything the Stones were doing in the same time period (the late '80's). Apparently, Keith was saving his best riffs for his solo album, for songs like "Big Enough" (which features Bootsy Collins on a funked-out bass), "Take It So Hard" (the hit of the album), "You Don't Move Me" (supposedly about Mick Jagger), and the rocking "Whip It Up". Keith mixes it up a bit, with a '50's-inspired rocker "I Could Have Stood You Up", and shows his sensitive side with the slow, mellow "Locked Away". The last track on the album, "It Means a Lot", is also one of the best --a 5 minute, straight-ahead rocker with a heavy groove -- a perfect ending for this standout album.
If you're a Stones fan, rock and roll fan, or just a guitar rock fan, you've got to check this out. Keith Richards is a rock and roll legend, guru and master, and here he really shows his stuff. If you dig the way Keith plays guitar, like I do, this is a must have. Forget about his drug trips, blood transfusions, and cheesy headbands -- this album is rock and roll that will rock you, roll you over, then rock you and roll you over again... complete with the sweetest guitar riffs you will ever hear!
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