The only real performance I can remember was the Stu tribute album.. Even then his licks were the lazy (but beautiful ones) we have heard alot recently. I love the man's work and listen to his playing daily but he seems to be doing everything except picking up the tele! I really hope he plays his heart out at the Sumlin memorial! Btw, yes I have heard the Tom Waits album.. I like Tom but not his music! Could barely hear evidence of Keith on the track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 17:07 by flacnvinyl.

The answer is simple, this question you pose has been running on all Stones fan boards for the last few years. In all those years Keith has never ever taken the trouble to proof he can. And he would have rest assure, if he could, the answer therefor is unavoidable and hard... NO he can't! Clear and simple.

do you wear earplugs?
There are a couple of songs, forgot the title a) where you can hear him singing b) a rocker, where you can definitely hear him playing guitar.
Sorry to be rude, but i wonder why you dont hear it.
jeroen

current playing: [www.youtube.com]#! (Dezember 11 with another pirate)

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flacnvinyl
The only real performance I can remember was the Stu tribute album.. Even then his licks were the lazy (but beautiful ones) we have heard alot recently. I love the man's work and listen to his playing daily but he seems to be doing everything except picking up the tele! I really hope he plays his heart out at the Sumlin memorial! Btw, yes I have heard the Tom Waits album.. I like Tom but not his music! Could barely hear evidence of Keith on the track.

Drake, Keith plays on four tracks on Tom's album. At least on two of them he's quite prominent in the mix.

He did the Johnny Depp-gig as well. Unfortunately, he didn't have a pick then, but he did alright, imo.

... and in any case why does anyone feel it's worth starting yet another thread about this question,
as if someone here can say something that will ease your worried mind?
try rereading this thread: [www.iorr.org] and/or this one: [www.iorr.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-15 17:23 by with sssoul.

he'll astound us all with all the new chops he's gained as a result of long woodshedding sessions over the past several months.

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Stoneswolf
current playing: [www.youtube.com]#! (Dezember 11 with another pirate)

You made may day. Maybe not in great shape, but he can still do it! And don't care what most of you say, I still think he sing really god, even when he's not playing. Put the man on the stage, and taht's all.

--------------------------------------------


"I'm gonna walk... before they make me run"

--------------------------------------------

And if Keith can't play; then give the job to Johnny Depp. I'm sure he will be thrilled

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DandelionPowderman
Keith plays on four tracks on Tom's album. At least on two of them he's quite prominent in the mix.

He did the Johnny Depp-gig as well. Unfortunately, he didn't have a pick then, but he did alright, imo.

I'm not convinced, in the studio you can clue different parts of different takes together, make overdubs etc. To see him play is another thing and yes he palyed very nicely with Depp, but let's face it, he played only for a few minutes and only a slow part where the other guitarist filled in quite a bit of the sound. I'm not convinced at all that he can play full out let alone a whole show (forget about touring).

With arthritis medication and therapy, he probably can. Has certainly helped Edward Van Halen, who like Keith, was suffering greatly from the associated joint pain.Listening to EVH recently, and comparing his playing to 2007/2008, the diff. is pronounced.

Does a cat have an ass? peace

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Naturalust
Does a cat have an ass? peace

Good one!!

I have loved the stones for 35 years....I hope he doesn't embarrass himself at the Sumlin tribute

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memphiscats

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Naturalust
Does a cat have an ass? peace

Good one!!

Granted, it's been a few years since the Bigger Bang Tour and a lot of people say they saw shows where he played poorly, especially after the head injury. It's hard to judge by what little bits we've heard lately. All I know is I saw two shows on the BB Tour, one early in the tour, and one the next year after the accident. Maybe I got lucky but his playing was awesome on both shows. He admits he didn't play much during the time he was writing his book, but I'm sure that if the Stones (or in the case of no Stones tour) or the Winos are going to do anything, he'll be shaking off the rust and getting his chops together. He also appeared more sober and healthy in recent interviews and things I've seen so I have a feeling he'll have no trouble getting his chops back. He's been doing it for 50 years so it will probably come back like riding a bike. He's smart enough to know that any major project or tour that may be in the works is going to be heavily scrutinized and since it's late in the game and any tour could be the last, he needs to show the world that he's still Keith Richards. I have a hunch he's going to surprize a lot of people with some very good playing!

I just put this on another forum:

How are people going to feel if they turned up and there's a complete backing band and the Stones stood out front with just a microphone and except for vocs and b/vocs play no instruments at all. They are after all on the 70 years old area.

For me the question is more, 'Why doesn't Keith stick to rhythm"? Clearly, his soloing has deteriorated to the point of distraction. The fact that he continues to play the same solos over and over is really worrisome.

I'm happy with Keith's playing up until his head injury. And it makes sense that it would take some trial and error to adjust, so I get the last leg of the 2006 tour being a bit rough around the edges.

I was really hoping Keith would have adjusted by 2007, but he clearly didn't. Since then, there has been very little proof that the man's skills have returned, which makes sense, because they never will. He needs to stick to rhythm, lock in with Charlie.

The Tom Waits record is wonderful, and Keith's playing fits nicely, but his contributions are, for the most part, raunchy licks that give some excellent flavor to the songs. He's hardly the driving guitar force on the record.

Drake,this has been a BIG question for the last 4 or so years,been discussed on all the Stones boards(that i go to)..time will tell(feb 24th that is)he might hit the boards & really play great...then again his bit might just be joining in with everybody else so we really wont be able to tell,we all know he loves to play & tour as much or more than the rest of the band & we all know he's been absent the past few years....i'm hoping for a great gig on his part...but,like i said.."time will tell"...

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vermontoffender
The Tom Waits record is wonderful, and Keith's playing fits nicely, but his contributions are, for the most part, raunchy licks that give some excellent flavor to the songs. He's hardly the driving guitar force on the record.

But why should he be the driving force? It's not his album. Just because he isn't doesn't mean he can't.

Let me just say after the injury he had i read he was taking Dilantin for seizures. I have epilepsy and just had a seizure last year hadn't had one in 18 years but anyway, I play drums and I forgot how to play. It all came back in a couple of months but still my piont is you can forget stuff and it takes awhile to relearn and get it back. My playing has returned but I am still trying to get all my chops back. It may the same for Keith he is in a relearning process of getting his chops and he may surprise us all.

This has certainly been discussed but I never saw a definitive answer. Honestly I am surprised by some of the hostility above. We're all fans. No need to get up in arms about this. No one is trolling, and it is a VALID discussion topic. Ha!

The link to Keith playing with Depp is an example of NOT having it together. I love seeing the man with Axe-in-hand, but his playing is exactly what I mentioned... Sloppy, lazy, predictable. Same bends every time.

I appreciate both sides of the argument, but it seems like the vast majority of folks on here seem pessimistic, at best. I will have to re-listen to the Tom Waits album but its still very grating. In the studio he can play a few notes, string them together, and we suddenly hear Keith. Definitely not the same as playing All Down The Line..

I'm just hoping he has it in him for one last show, regardless of whether there will be a 'tour' or not.

It would be interesting to hear what professional musicians has to say about it. Are there any quotes from his peers? And i mean the latter day Keith, the post 89 Keith.

To be a bit cynical: as long as it looks good I don't think that it matters that much whether he can play or not. There are measures to fix that nowadays: Background guitarists, playback and such. They may not even have to plug him in. 90 % of the audience won't notice any difference. The troublesome bit is that Ronnie has to take a big responsibility covering both ends. He probably has to be sober to manage that...

since the band began to play to the lighting cues and did not have KR driving the band I have heard very little on the real engine of the band. I suspect KR cannot hit it like that anymore....I also can hear a major drop off in Charlie's playing versus the innovative stuff he did on Some Girls and Emotional Rescue....Mick's voice is still strong, Ronnie okay but hardly his mid seventies best and Bill is still kicking ass but he is out of the band...

Another thing that has crossed my mind, that Keith might want to switch guitar.
He's gone through phases in his career where he has favored many of the major guitar models around. He knows them.
I just wonder why he has been using the big bulky 345/355's. I suspect he'd have 010's on there. Not that these guitars are extra heavy, and that 010 is extra thick, but I'd be thinking to make things easy on those hands and shoulders at this time.

Go ask the man himself via Ask Keith on his site.

[www.keithrichards.com]

I wish he could do a quarter of what Pete Townshend can play.

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His Majesty
Go ask the man himself via Ask Keith on his site.

[www.keithrichards.com]

he wont reply
jeroen

I don't know ...but watching this video he doesn't seem in good shape.

We don't have to worry about, this man can replace all the band members!

^ That guy is ace, such a kind sweet and soul too.