Keith Richards, "Talk is Cheap"

Don puts his money where his mouth is

, and

Jun 02, 2021

Don’s Pitch:

By 1988, The Rolling Stones had gathered moss after a quarter century of being the World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band. They hadn’t toured in years, nor released anything good since 1981’s Tattoo You. Fact is, after “Start Me Up,” they simply didn’t move us anymore.

Finally fed up with his dimming Glimmer Twin Mick Jagger, Keith Richards dusted himself off, recruited some of his favorite studio cats, and nonchalantly spent the next 10-days recording ironically the most important Rolling Stones* record since Exile On Main Street, for it made Mick realize Keith had other options, and it kick-started their 1989 reboot.

Talk Is Cheap is not a solo record. While Richards is indeed front and center, he and his mates comprised a great band in their own right, affectionately dubbed The X-Pensive Winos, including drummer Steve Jordan, bassist Charley Drayton, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and keyboardist Ivan Neville. The sessions were peppered with a potpourri of guests, including Bobby Keys, Chuck Leavell, Patty Scialfa, Sarah Dash, members of P-Funk, and even Mick Taylor. Meanwhile, Jagger was chewing the scenery on MTV, prancing in billowing stupid pants singing cover songs with “Let’s Dance”-era David Bowie. Not a good look for ol’ Mick.

By contrast, Richards remained the coolest rock and roller on Earth. Ever the quintessential rhythm guitarist, his percussive style meshed perfectly with Drayton’s groovy basslines and Jordan’s snappy snare, which seemed to reside in a pocket inside another pocket. Their interplay propelled the album and served as the foundation beneath Richards’ understated solos and underrated, distinctive lead vocals.

Talk Is Cheap is a guitar player’s album full of vintage Keef riffs, stabbing and jabbing throughout. Lyrically, he pulls no punches, with several not-so-veiled references to Jagger, and even less subtle subjects in tunes like the cocky “Could Have Stood You Up.”

The Winos made everything work, from rockabilly and funk to Memphis soul and straight up rock and roll. My favorites are “Take It So Hard,” “How I Wish,” and “It Means A Lot.” But the album’s most distinctive songs are the ballads “Make No Mistake” and “Locked Away.” Keith may have temporarily lost his lead singer, but surely found his own voice.

Jagger came to his senses immediately. Within weeks after Talk Is Cheap was released, the duo rekindled their friendship and began writing The Stones’ comeback, Steel Wheels, itself released less than a year later. Methinks this was Richards’ end game all along.

The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band may have never recaptured their studio brilliance, but they’ve thrived as a live band for three decades hence because Keith played hard to get and proved to Mick that when it comes to solo records, you can’t always get what you want, but you damn well can get what you need.

Ken’s Response:

It’s fair to say I’m not prone to liking anything about Keith Richards. He’s a surly guy that has shown no hesitance whatsoever to throwing his friends and bandmates under the bus anytime it becomes expedient. He’s taken low blows at Mick Jagger’s manhood, he’s infamously treated employees in the hospitality industry with world-class rudeness, and trashed hotel rooms beyond recognition. And through all that, his hubris is worthy of my most sarcastic eye roll. Having said that, the guy can lay down a helluva guitar lick!

Kudos to Keith for going out on his own and finding some great musicians to work with him on a solo project. On one hand, it’s a brave endeavor ditching the guy that was the face of your band for 25 years. On the other hand, if ever a rhythm guitarist was in need of a front man, it’s Richards. This album is missing a hook. It’s okay musically, nothing outstanding but nothing awful either. Lyrically, it gets a passing grade. Vocals are hit or miss, but Keith’s singing is an acquired taste and I don’t have the palate.

What bothers me most though is that after 25 years making music with The Rolling Stones, he ventures out on his own only to load up his album with a bunch of filler; throwback rockabilly songs that sound like they’re from the late 1950s. I enjoyed “Locked Away”, one of the two ballads on the album, but every other song, especially the abhorrent “I Could Have Stood You Up” are getting the SKIP button every time.

I’m not buying what Keith is selling and I look forward to getting back to my Beggar’s Banquet. If I have to listen to Talk is Cheap one more time I might just jump off the Bridges to Babylon.

Pitch Failed

Mitch’s Response:

There is a general consensus among Stonesologists that 1986 is the nadir of The Rolling Stones. Mick and Keith were on the outs and it had been a long 5 years since Tattoo You was released. Tattoo You was their last great album (comprised of leftover tunes from the ‘70s - always a dangerous sign) and 1983’s Undercover and 1986’s Dirty Work exposed the Stones’ greatest flaws - Mick’s trend-chasing and Keith’s laziness.

And then a funny thing happened: The Stones started dropping late-era albums every 3 to 5 years and while they weren’t amazing they always contained a delicious treat or two: a beautiful Keith-sung ballad. I adored “Slipping Away” and “Thief in the Night” and “The Worst”. I burned Keef ballad CDs and tried to convince anyone and everyone in ear shot that Keith, even with his off-key warbling, was the world’s greatest living balladeer.

So it’s no surprise that Keith’s 1988 solo debut Talk is Cheap established the pattern: two amazing ballads and a whole lot of skippable, competent but unmemorable Chuck Berry-esque rock and roll with a hint of reggae (our old buddy Peter Tosh helped Keith fall in love with Jamaica and he’s has a ska-obsession ever since.)

“Make No Mistake” and “Locked Away” are both top-shelf Keith ballads with the typical Keith ballad themes: I'm a terrible partner, I'm losing her, and I hope I don't have to see her again. They both have a permanent place on my Keef ballad playlist, but the rest of the album is as boring as a Charlie Watts drum fill (I kid, I kid, people tell me that Charlie is the best.)

Solo albums are a wonderful way to see exactly what each person brought to a band. In retrospect it’s obvious that Keith made Mick’s trend chasing palatable and Mick helped transform Keith’s rockers into accessible hits. Otherwise all that’s left are the tears.

Pitch Failed

CJ’s Response:

Rock journalist Brian Hiatt once wrote that “AC/DC offer a vision of the (Rolling) Stones if Keith had won every argument.” I love this quote and have used it quite often over the years to taunt my friends who are Stones super fans. But, after listening to Talk is Cheap, I’ve come to the realization that my favorite rock dig is patently false. Here’s Keith on his own, making every single decision, and this is the most in-the-pocket Stones album of the 1980s.

In 1988, we were at the height of the Jagger/Richards feud which manifested itself on the painfully mediocre Stones album Dirty Work. Consider the thinly veiled jabs in “One Hit (To the Body)” and “Fight” and the let’s-put-all-our-cards-on-the-table and aptly titled “Sick of You.” Mick had already released She’s The Boss on his own and now it was time for Keef to present his side of the argument. Where Jagger’s effort was pop-centric and of the moment, Richards stuck to his guns and went back to his roots. And while Mick may have charted higher and sold more records, I think Keith scored the victory of timelessness.

I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly looking forward to listening to this record. Keith’s voice is an acquired taste and I was dreading 45-minutes of songs that fluctuated between “Happy” and “You Got the Silver”. But, I forgot just how good this album actually is. (Turns out that being mad at somebody you love makes for really good songwriting. Who knew?)

There are several highlights on Talk is Cheap, but for me the standouts are “Take It So Hard”, “Whip It Up”, “Locked Away” and the coup de grace in the Jagger/Richards sword fight “You Don’t Move Me”. It’s Keef’s “How Do You Sleep?”. Aside from being lyrically murderous, the tune is a knockout as well.

Talk may be cheap, but this album sounds like a million bucks.

Pitch Successful

Don’s pitch failed and Keith Richards’ Talk is Cheap has been exiled from the Newbury St. Collection.

Make no mistake, we hate it when you leave, but if it’s no trouble why don’t you rockawhile in the comments section and let us know what you think about Keith Richards and Talk is Cheap.

Exile on Newbury St.

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