Keef

I just finished Keith Richards' new biography, Life, and it didn't disappoint.  I loved hearing the inside scoop about what was going on behind the scenes during the Stones' formative years.  I had no idea Keith was such a prolific writer.  He and Mick had a pretty magical dynamic when it came to banging out the hits.  I guess I also didn't realize what a tumultuous relationship those two had.  I just blithely figured that everything was always hunky dory between them.  Not so.  It seems Mick let the fame go to his head, while Keith kept his pride in check.  However, they obviously did something right if they're still together after all these years.

Keith has been in many a scrape, and while it's entertaining to read about it, I'm happy he's not my child, or my husband.  He seems like someone maybe appreciated best from afar.  And the drugs he's consumed.  Oh, my.  It really is a wonder he's still standing.  He claims at one point that he's been clean for over thirty years.  Apparently he was only referring to his heroin use, since the Jack and coke(aine) seemed to be regular fixtures over his subsequent years.  His body has taken a beating, but he's still standing.

It's amazing to go back over their anthology of hits and recognize the sheer breadth of their career.  I had forgotten about so many great songs.  If nothing else, this book will make you want to go on a downloading frenzy.  What talent.  Keith speaks of all of his bandmates with such love, despite all of the bumps in the road along the way to stardom.  He appreciates their skill and lauds them repeatedly throughout the memoir.

Keith truly loves his music.  I was entranced by the way he described the feeling he gets when he and his  bandmates hit their stride.  He says that when he gets in the zone where their playing is so right and they're complimenting each other so perfectly that he starts to feel like he's levitating.   I want to feel that way.

And for those of you who have been wondering what these songs are truly about, or who they're about, or how they were conceived, look no further.  This book is like crack for music geeks.  If you like the Rolling Stones (and who doesn't, really?), you should definitely check this one out.  It's compulsively readable.  I'm relieved to have finished it because it was interfering with my ability to accomplish anything else for a few days there.  It'd make a great gift for music lovers as well.  Tis the season.