Posted by Fleabit Peanut Monkey on June 01, 1999 at 13:18:14:
In Reply to: New Keith vs. old Keith posted by Keef on May 28, 1999 at 20:17:17:
I'm a bit late jumping onto this thread, and perhaps my comments will go largely unread. I understand your POV, and have avoided a knee-jerk reaction (ie- "Fuck YOU!!! Keef ROOLS!") The subject has been amply discussed, but I think two key elements are missing in the discourse - length of the shows, and drugs. The shows of the halycon days of yore were generally in the neighborhood of 90 minutes long. A man in his 50's should not be expected to do what he did in his 20's and for twice as long, whether you're discussing playing guitar or any other phallic exercise. One explanation for Keith's change of style is simply that he's pacing himself. In March, I watched the Man play Midnight Rambler from 10 feet away and I can tell you it is NOT a matter of not being able to get it up anymore.
The other factor, as I mentioned, is drugs - on the '72 tour, most of the Stones were shovelling mountains of cocaine up their noses. Of course Peruvian Marching Powder is derived from cocao leaves, used by South American natives to be able to work long arduous hours in a rarified atmosphere. After extensive use of the drug, over periods of decades, the stimulating effect lessens, and the user either moves on to freebasing, shooting up, dying, or giving it up altogether.
I'm not offering this chemical equation as the sole answer to the change, merely a factor. The other thing to consider is that none of the Stones are playing exactly the way they did in '72. Most of us honestly think they are all at the top of their games right now, and not because we're blinded by hero-worship.
In closing, I'd like to share a jazz related story. Miles Davis was playing with John Coltrane and mentioned to him that he needed to leave a few more spaces in the music for the other musicians to stretch out in. "But I've got all these ideas, all these riffs in my head, and I can't stop," said Coltrane.
"Try takin' the fuckin' horn out of your mouth once in awhile," said Miles.
I think Keith is just following Miles' advice.