Book Review: Keith Richards “Life”

Yesterday I finished reading Life, the simple-titled autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Why not? It sounded like an interesting read, and if there’s one guy whose memoirs you want to read, it’s Keith.
 
I really enjoyed it! You get a lot of insights into Keith’s personality. Basically, he’s just a bloke from Dartford who loves music and loves making music. He’s funny, he’s smart, he’s more sensitive than you’d think. He’s not such a bad guy, really. There are many other musicians who had the same or worse misadventures as Keith, so why is Keith the bad boy? Maybe it’s image.
 
While reading this book, it becomes clear that Keith is really a student of music and guitar playing in particular. He is a musical sponge, always soaking up other sounds and playing and recording with whoever wants to join in. He spends hours and hours in the studio perfecting his sound. What struck me is not only how much fun Keith has creating music, but how much work he really puts into it. The early days of the Stones were spent holed up in a flat listening to every detail of old blues records. Keith and friends would eat, sleep and drink the blues during those formative years. Touring, too, takes a lot out of Keith. That's the job part of the job, even though he enjoys it. He's a road warrior, that's for sure.

Of course, one thing everyone reading this book wants to know about is what Mick Jagger is like. Keith definitely has mixed emotions about his band mate. They are buddies and collaborators, but there is also a deeper pain that separates them from time to time. You get the sense that Keith misses the old days when Mick was just Mick and not a superstar with a superstar ego. Above all, you get the sense that Keith is real heart, soul, guts and brain of the Rolling Stones. Without Keith, there is no Rolling Stones.

One thing I particularly liked about this book is how Keith invited people he knew to contribute to it. As a result, it seems like a party, a gathering, rather than one man's recollections. It's a different approach, and I would expect nothing less from Keith Richards. The writing is superb. Don't forget, this is a man who wrote or co-wrote some of rock's greatest songs. His writing style is playful, engaging and passionate. Keith wants to enlighten and entertain you just as he does on a Stones album.
 
No matter who you are or what you think of the Stones, you'll have a new respect for Keith Richards after reading his Life, along with an amazement at all he has survived. He's survived because he's one tough son of a gun.