Keith Richards on Keith Richards

August 26, 2013
Rock music writer Sean Egan (The Rough Guide to the Rolling Stones, The Mammoth Book of the Beatles, etc) dug through countless stacks of periodicals to select the fifteen articles (primarily interviews) that make up this slim but entertaining look at one of rock's most iconic figures. Offering little more than a paragraph introduction to each entry, Egan nevertheless does an admirable job as a curatorâthe collection spans other five decades and pieces vary in length. Even readers who consider themselves well-versed on Richards will find new material here. In a previously unpublished interview with Ira Robbins from 1988, Richards discusses his legendary drug habit, noting that "If they'd have left me alone, you wouldn't have half these freaks thinking that's the way you play guitar, by taking that crap." Also included is the full, unexpurgated version of Richards's epic Rolling Stone interview from 1971 which "served to confirm that he was now a counter-culture icon." Remarkably honest, Richards comes across as an affable, humble subjectâquick to give credit to his band mates for songs like "Paint it Black" as well as the performers who inspired him decades ago.

June 1, 2013
For those who have read Rolling Stones' guitarist Richards' massive autobiography, Life (2010), and are still eager for more, here is a compilation of candid interviews spanning the years 19642011. That chronology offers interesting insight into the musician who went from sneaking off to the bathroom at art school for guitar practice to the superstar who has toured all over the world. His love of music is always prime ( I love my kids most of the time, and I love my wife most of the time. Music I love all the time ), the reason the group wrested creative control from their record company and still insist on recording and practicing while all in the same room. All of the infamous incidents are coveredBrian Jones' drowning death, Richards' 1967 drug bust and subsequent jail time, the violence at Altamont, and Richards' public feuding with Mick Jagger, most notably after Mick's knighthood. But what also comes through is his still-burning admiration for the Chicago blues musicians who were his greatest influence and his wariness of fame. Great reading for Stones' fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)