And what a life he has lived so far. They say every woman wants him and every man wants to be him. I don’t know why he’s an ugly son of a bitch. Nevertheless, he has lived an extraordinary life and it was of great interest to me to get it all from the horse’s mouth as he so eloquently writes on the back cover of his book, “This is the life. Believe it or not I haven’t forgotten any of it…..”

I find it quite remarkable that Keith Richards had such a normal upbringing, in such a normal loving family, to whom he pays tribute many times throughout his autobiography. In fact he opens and closes the book writing about his family. Actually, I found the chapters about his family quite boring to read as I wanted to get to the good stuff but I think the reader has to understand that Keef was a normal boy raised by good normal people in a normal environment. So what happened to him?

Keef lets it all hang out in this  biographical work. There are no holds barred. I must say that his writing style leaves a lot to be desired albeit he had a ghost writer. Keef writes the way he talks; he rambles, he gets off track as if he was having a conversation. This makes the book slightly harder to read but there is so much juicy stuff in there and so many answers to so many questions that although I found myself getting bogged down on occasion, I read on with anticipation. One of the interesting quirks to his writing was using cameo authors; from his son Marlon to Ronnie Wood to Anita Pallenberg and even Mariane Faithfull recounting little stories that Keef says they could remember better than himself.

Keef does provide a lot of detail: From the drug taking to smuggling his stash between countries and also about being busted several times it’s all in there. The truth about Brian Jones, the problems between he and Mick Jagger and even what really happened when he fell out of the palm tree in Fiji last year, its all in the book.

What interested me the most were his thoughts on song writing: According to Keef, “Great songs write themselves. You’re just being led by the nose, or the ears. The skill is not to interfere with it too much. Ignore intelligence, ignore everything; just follow where it takes you. You really have no say in it, and suddenly there it is.” And this coming from one of the most prolific song writers in history.

The chronology of the autobiography once the Stones start recording is based on the albums. A lot of time is spent writing about “Exile on Main Street” where the stones were recording in the basement of Keith’s house in France. This is where he developed many of his ideas on recording which is a holistic approach. Keith likes to record the whole band together as if they were performing live rather than one instrument at a time. He likes to record the sound of the room and the vibe that the musicians generate together. According to Keef “…. This idea of separation is the total antithesis of rock and roll….. It’s the sound they make together not seperated. This mythical bullshit about stereo and high tech and Dolby, it’s just totally against the whole grain of what music should be…… You can’t get these indefinable things by stripping it apart. The enthusiasm, the spirit, the soul, whatever you want to call it, where’s the microphone for that.”

Keef also goes into great detail about the writing of several songs off each of the albums. He discusses the inspiration for the song and how Mick and he collaborated to put it down. And the tunings. Known for his alternate tunings, Keef discusses these different tunings and the songs that were written and played with such tunings in great depth. He even writes that in some tunings he removes the lower ‘E’ string and just uses five strings on the guitar.

It’s all in there, pretty much everything you wanted to know about the Stones but were too afraid to ask. If you are a fan of the Rolling Stones or a rock ‘n roll history buff this book is a must read. Along with all the information listed above plus tons more there are heaps of photos, song lyrics and even Keef’s recipe for bangers and mash!

So if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor. It’s just been released in paperback so you can pick yourself up a cheap copy.

Axel.

Ok folks, it is time to dig out all your Aerosmith cds, lps, sps, DVDs and any other ees and burn them. That’s right get rid of them! Steven Tyler has sold out. The king of cool needs to go back to school. The god of rock needs a huge sock, in his mouth. He is no longer a rock ‘n roller but just a mere judge on a talent show that is destroying the industry that has provided him the extravagant lifestyle that he as afforded for decades.

I could not believe my eyes and ears when I saw an advertisement for the coming seasons American Idol sprouting off about the new judges. I can accept Judge Jenny who was really just a made artist anyway, but Steven Tyler. My god! I used to worship Aerosmith when I was growing up. I am shattered, disturbed, destroyed. Is nothing sacred?

We must ask the question does anyone create art for art’s sake anymore? Or is it only about the almighty dollar? I know a person has to live but how much is enough. These days most rock ‘n roll stars are little more than prostitutes selling themselves to the highest bidder and losing their dignity in the process. Allowing record executives to dictate terms re-arrange and even rewrite their songs, all for a little money.

A good friend of mine, JJ Harris, used to drum with Australian band The Divinyls in the 80s. When the band went off to New York to record their Temperamental album, producer Mike Chapman (of Suzie Quattro fame) sacked Jeff (JJ Harris) because he had no recording experience. Upon his return to Australia Jeff said to me, “What really gets me is that Mike Chapman is not even in the band and no one in the band said anything.” So not only do these record execs and producers rewrite the band’s songs they even take the liberty of hiring and firing the band’s members and what is even worse than that is that these great rock ‘n rollers let them do it.

I have so much admiration for musicians like Buddy Holly, who punched out his record producer because he wanted to change one of Holly’s songs. And Stevie Ray Vaughan who used to play at music festivals, like Bumbershoot in Seattle on small stages in the street, for next to nothing. And Jim Morrison for being unwilling to change one word of Light My Fire when he performed live on the Ed Sullivan Show, knowing his actions would cost the band any potential of a repeat performance.

But gone are those days, now it’s all about the dollar. Greed is ubiquitous in modern society. We have seen it all but destroy the world’s financial systems as it continues to tear apart the music industry.

So Mr. Tyler thanks for shattering my illusions and destroying my faith in rock gods from the seventies. You should be ashamed of yourself. I hope fellow Aerosmith members are ashamed of you too.

- Axel