With Keith Richards deep in quarks with bandmate, Mick Jagger, the future of the Rolling Stones was anyone's guess at this point. Jagger had seemingly moved on to a solo career, releasing his 1985 debut, She's The Boss, and 1987's Primitive Cool, focusing minimal effort on the band, to the point where he wasn't even willing to tour anymore. Well, with the Stones anyway.
It would be his work on the latter album, and subsequent tour for it, that led Richards to sign with Virgin Records, and dabble in his own solo career, releasing his debut, Talk Is Cheap in 1988. While it would perform relatively well, peaking at number twenty-four on the Billboard 200, it wouldn't produce any Billboard Hot 100 singles. In fact, as a solo artist, he's not had any singles chart in the USA.
My initial thought when it first started up was that it gave off a Sting vibe. However, this quickly changed. In comparison to Jagger's more pop friendly sound, which seemingly embraces the times, Richards stays in his comfort zone. He knows roots rock, and that's relatively what you get from Talk Is Cheap.
Admittedly, I often found myself zoning out through it, only to then pick up on it again with my ears and wonder how it could possibly still be going. For a fifty-minute album, it felt like an eternity. This was by no means a testament to the quality of the album. Rather, I found myself more intrigued with the history of events of the Stones around this time.
From what I did pay attention to, Struggle, and How I Wish were the standout tracks for me. But ultimately, and being straight forward, this is not a CD I would have bought randomly. It's only in my collection because of Keith Richards brand recognition. Without that, I wouldn't have wasted my time.
The following year, Richards and Jagger would kiss and make up, returning to the studio for the Rolling Stone's comeback album, Steel Wheels. Since then, while he's returned to the solo life for 1992's Main Offender, and 2015's Crosseyed Heart.
It would ultimately be his solo career signing that would lead the Stones to leave Sony, and switch to Virgin Records in 1991. Though it would be a financially beneficial move for the band, creativity wise, it would be considered a low point for them in their storied career. Of course, as everyone knows, that hasn't hurt them much, and they remain very much iconic legends.
As for Richard's solo career, it simply wasn't something meant to be. Though his albums charted decently, they were nowhere near the Stone's achievements, and further, far below the expectations of such a pedigree artist. But I suppose you could say that's relatively what also happened to Jagger and his solo career. At the end of the day, it's their unity that produced results, and not their individual efforts.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment