Zack wrote on Sep 19
th, 2015 at 11:25am:
Just listened through for the first time. Spun Trouble just once then avoided all the other previews. Let me just say, Keith, bless his heart. He's a treasure and a wonder. Having new music from him under any circumstances is absolutely preferable to nothing. I have to say though that it struck me that practically everything on here seemed to be a rewrite of something previous. Plus a random array of old Winos and Stones melodies and licks from the days of yore. Even down to a lost Toronto demo. That said, I really enjoyed it, and the mere fact of Keith Richards making music is a spectacular thing. And it's great to see him looking so healthy these days. First album cover ever without a cigarette! Who knows, this one has the potential to really grow on me. . . .
You're right about melodies and beats repeated from past songs. But why I say it's a shame we can't have a Stones record like this is that Crosseyed Heart does it with soul and the kind of playfulness that leads to reinvention. The Stones do it all with
effort. When the Stones repeat formulas, or even when they labor to pull out something new, like on ABB, it sounds strained and forced. There are many songs on Crosseyed Heart that would be great for the Stones if the Stones did them without tarting them up or pushing them too hard.
In contrast, listen to Stones albums from, say, IORR forward, and hear how much they depend on effort and exertion compared to the albums of the decade before. Effort bought them a lot on IORR, Black and Blue and Some Girls; and it saved Emotional Rescue and totally elevated the scraps that became the great Tattoo You. But as the quality of the material declined with time and age, you hear not great songs but the effort to make an album that will sell.
If you listen to Keith's song demos, such as on the Voodoo Stew-Brew-Residue collections, you sense that Keith writes them, then lets Jagger be not just the final lyricist but the band's musical director, just shy of a co-producer of the albums. Really, Keith should be the musical director, as his unreleased work for the Dirty Work sessions shows. What's missing from the released Dirty Work would have created a totally different and more memorable record.
Crosseyed Heart could have done without "Goodnight Irene," which I've been tired of since the days of Pete Seeger. But Keith puts his own vocal spin on the lyrics. You can always cut that track when you program or burn, or put it at the end of the record where it belongs. (Open with blues, close with blues.)
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