Ladies and Gentlemen

Lately I've rekindled my friendship for the Stones. It started with last year's Exile on Main Street reissue, and picked up steam with the Keef memoir. Now I've got a copy of Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones, and as the saying goes, it rewards repeated listenings. Quite simply, this is the Stones at the peak of their powers.

That's not to say that it was all downhill from here (the '72 tour promoting Exile); there were plenty of peaks and valleys to come. But none of those peaks ever quite reached this altitude again.

The Life of Keef

I just finished Life, the memoirs of Keith Richards as told to somebody's tape recorder. And it's a whole lot of fun.

Certainly it works as a celebrity tell-all, with dish on everyone from Dean Martin and Sammy Cahn to John Belushi and John Lennon. It also works as a harrowing chronicle of the consequences of addiction - albeit with a minimum of awareness of the effects on people around him.

What I take away from it, though, are the insights on songwriting, from a partner in one the best writing teams of the rock era. Keith and Mick's songbook from '66 to '75 produced an almost unparalleled stream of classics (almost, given the quality of the competition). And to me, great songwriting is even more satisfying than instrumental acuity (which is, though, a close second).