About Keith Richards

[mercifulfuzziness]

Technically, perhaps debatable but I love his stuff. When it comes to feel, riffs.. etc. amazing. I am a fan. But I wonder, has Keith Richards gotten much worse compared to his younger years?

 

[EOengineer]

A couple years back he had a documentary on one of the streaming platforms. He sprinkles segments of him playing throughout and I distinctly recall recognizing in that moment there is WAY more depth to his playing than I’d realized.

He’s not a shredder but I just found everything he played incredibly musical and human. One day im going to learn some stones riffs.

 

[norminal]

But I wonder, has Keith Richards gotten much worse compared to his younger years?

Well, I mean he is 157 years old, so I’m sure that could take a toll on his motor skills and subsequent guitar playing.

 

[Bruce]

I think he would tell you himself he isn’t a terribly good guitar player. That being said, you’d have to be living under a rock to not know and appreciate his contribution to rock guitar. Can you tune a guitar to open G, throw it down a flight of stairs and play half the stones catalog by the time the guitar stops rolling? Yes. Has nearly every guitar player since tried to replicate SOMETHING about him or his band? Also yes. Love em or hate em, you just have to respect the Stones if you’re being fair, open minded and objective.

 

[Aelred]

But I wonder, has Keith Richards gotten much worse compared to his younger years?

Arthritis? He says there is no pain, but he has to find different ways to do it now.

Despite legends of Keith being immortal, he's an 80 year old dude. Long may he continue, but really...

 

[PLX]

We need to start thinking about what kind of world we're going to leave behind for Keith Richards.

 

[Bruce]

Saw Les Paul in Times Square about a year before he died. He certainly wasn’t playing like he did in the 1950s but I can promise you absolutely no one cared. You want to be the guy who says he just didnt play like he once did? You’d probably get hit by a bus or worse. Besides, Lou Pallo played well enough to cover 3 guitarists

 

[itchyfingers]

Saw the Stones in Vegas in April. I was blown away by the energy put forth by Keith, as well as Mick and Ronnie. I was also impressed by the minimalist approach to guitar that Keith has - like very efficient movement, never overplaying, lots of space. When he does play, it's that much more meaningful.

I have nothing to compare to in order to know if he is better or worse than decades past, but was impressed nonetheless.