Okay @tablejockey, but "Stray Cat Blues" was recorded in the late-60’s, over 50 years ago for gawds sake! Anyone who thinks Keith Richards is a naturally gifted musician needs to watch the scene in Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll (the 1987 documentary Richards made on Chuck Berry) where the band that Richards assembled for the concert that ends the film is rehearsing. They are going over one song---I think it’s "Oh Carol"---and Chuck has to over-and-over again show Richards how he is playing it wrong. Chuck demonstrates that the offbeat accents played on guitar are done so with upstrokes (there’s no other way to do it), and try as he might, Richards just can’t play it right. Lame.
By the way, the bassist Richards chose for that band was Joey Spampinato, of the great American Rock ’n’ Roll band NRBQ. Richards offered Joey the job of replacing Bill Wyman when Bill quit The Stones, and Joey turned him down! Apparently Joey elected to stay in the world’s greatest Rock ’n’ Roll band rather than join The World’s Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band (self-proclaimed, of course). NRBQ themselves had a great Telecaster player as a member for a long time, the fantastic Big Al Anderson. Good songwriter, too.
I last saw The Stones in the early-2000’s, and it was a pitiful sight to behold. But not as pififull as Richards had acted at the tribute show for Keith’s pal Gram Parsons, held in 1999 at The Universal Amphitheater. He and Norah Jones closed the show, performing the Everly Brothers song lots of people attribute to Gram: "Love Hurts". Yeah, Gram recorded it with Emmylou Harris, but it’s not "his" song. Besides, their recording is not nearly as good as the Brothers’ version.
Anyway, during Richards and Jones performance of the song Keith is being such a leering, lascivious creep towards Norah (he also couldn’t keep his hands off her) that she is actually embarrassed, looking VERY uncomfortable. But that doesn’t stop him, no. He does that whole "Aren’t I so charming and amusing" shtick, constantly chortling at his own charming banter. It was truly disgraceful. What a disgusting pig.
But seeing James Burton on stage (he played on Gram’s albums, and was invited to participate in the concert. Unbelievably, Emmylou wasn't there.) made it all worthwhile. James Burton, now THERE’S a guitar player!
