I thought about just posting to this threadwhich asks whether the Stones are done, but Keef warrants his own thread.
I just got the book - like I was really going to resist the urge, given my guitar geekery issues.
I haven’t started it but I read the excerpts in Rolling Stone. And I just finished Ron Wood’s memoir Ronnie - which reveals him to be a clueless douche who has led a charmed life. Keef, on the other hand, appears to be road-hardened individualist who has led a charmed life. There’s a difference and it appears to be worth reading about.
In reading the excerpts in Rolling Stone, one thing is clear: Keith knows music and can articulate why. While his POV and writing (actually writer James Fox, but an authentic Keef voice throughout what I read) aren’t up to Dylan’s Chronicals: Volume 1 standards, they are insightful and interesting. His descriptions of how he works with the other musicians, how he thinks about chords and grooves - it rings true and wise to this musician while still seeming accessible to non-muso readers…
I look forward to digging in. Say what you will, he’s been a major musical force and clearly lived a life…
I don’t have anything to offer to the OP, but this sorta ties in with Richards’ musical roots:
There’s a documentary called Bill Wyman’s Blues Odyssey (2001) that airs occasionally on the Ovation cable channel (US). I’m not really a Stones fan, and I don’t care much for “The Blues,” but I started watching it and found it incredibly captivating. It was quite obvious that Wyman had an appreciation almost bordering on reverence for The Blues and Blues artists.
Oh yeah - all the Stones clearly came to the music as honest fanboys. Charlie prefers trad jazz, but has a deep respect for the blues.
I never ended up reading Stone Alone, Wyman’s autobio, because I heard it was a boring list of tour dates and didn’t really dig in. I would’ve skipped Ronnie Wood’s, too, if it wasn’t given to me…
There was also an excellent 1 hour special on BBC2 last night here in the UK ( Keith Richards: A Culture Show Special) tying in with the book’s release. Mainly an interview with him, with comments from his co-author and various others and lots of early footage of the Stones, etc. It started with the very early days and continued with the 1st 10 years or so, with almost nothing post 1970 or so!
Half-way through the book - easily sizing up to be the best straight musician’s autobiography I have ever read (Dylan’s Chronicles: Volume One is more complex and better technically rendered solely by Dylan, but that book is not strictly an autobio).
His voice is authentic, his stories a continuous stream of well-and-somewhat-known events, personalities, backstory and insight - you just want to sit at his side and never let him stop. His natural transition into rockstardom was so smooth from his teen years, and so absolute in nature, that he wears it easily and comfortable and with enough self-awareness that you feel like you can relate to him.
His explanations about drug use are hilariously unapologetic - don’t do it, I wouldn’t ever recommend it, but let me share with you how heroin helped me dig deep while recording Exile ;). His references to women - “the bitches” - is coarsely inappropriate and misogynistic, but clearly, given the role he is in and the relationship he has had with women, something that is just how it is for him.
From a musician’s standpoint, his observations about music - the blues, guitar, his move to 5-string Open G guitar tunings - are long enough to be satisfying as well as deeply insightful. The guy totally gets it as a musician in his element. And his insights into how he used a tape recorder as an amp to get the overloaded acoustic tones on Jumping Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man is just cool…
Has exceeded my high expectations so far…
Oh - and here is a link to the interview he did on NPR’s Fresh Air.
Someone - actually named Bill Wyman, but a journalist - wrote a fictional rebuttal in Mick Jagger’s voice. Seems really thoughtful - not just a goof; good analysis of Brian Jones, Keith’s songwriting and behavior, the Stones through the 80’s etc. Worth a read…
