Mostly boilerplate, but mentions solo album due in September (sorry, Ian!). He also addresses the Taylor issue. Amazing. Shades of Keith's isolation during Exile reissue:

Keith Richards: 'I Want to See How Far the Stones Can Go'
The Stones guitarist on their summer tour, playing 'Sticky Fingers' and his upcoming solo album
By Andy Greene April 9, 2015

  The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards tells us about 'Sticky Fingers' and his new solo album in a new interview.

If everything goes according to plan, the next year is going to be a busy time for Keith Richards. He's about to begin rehearsals for a 15-date North American stadium tour with the Rolling Stones, he's got a new solo album roughly slated for September and he may even support it with his first solo tour since 1993. We spoke about all this and more with Richards, who phoned up Rolling Stone after our talk

I just spoke to Mick and he said you guys were thinking about playing Sticky Fingers straight through on this tour. What's your take on that?

Well, it wasn't my idea. It was kicked around. I don't know if that would be every night. We might do it in places. First off, we've got to rehearse it all. When it came up, I said, "Yeah, it's not Exile on Main St. We could do that."

Mick was worried there were too many ballads for a stadium audience.

I don't know. It was just an idea. When we get to rehearsals, we'll give it a try.

I'd love to hear "Moonlight Mile" and "Sister Morphine."

It's very rare we play them. Playing them in order is an interesting idea. We'll see how it goes. I'd like to give it a try.

When do rehearsals begin?

I think by the end of April we'll go down to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks and then take it down to San Diego to work on the stage.

Do you think they'll be any sort of public rehearsal show?

I've seen no plans for that yet. Usually, those things happen much closer to the event, so I don't know nothing about that yet.

From your perspective, is playing a stadium much different than an arena?

Not drastically. It's just a lot bigger. And with stadiums you've always got the weather to deal with. God joins the band in one form or another.

Your tours used to last about two years followed by long breaks. Why has this one been so different?

I think everybody's really been enjoying the last few years on the road. The last break was really long; about five years. I think everybody really missed it because we came back energized.

Do these shows feel different to you than previous tours?

It's really difficult to say. Once you're up onstage, it's very familiar ground to me. All audiences are different slightly, but what I go up onstage for is the fact that things are not different. Things stay the same.

Beyond the Sticky Fingers stuff, are there any rare songs you hope to bring back on this tour?

It's early days. We'll be talking about it. I guess I'm going to be seeing Mick next week. I have no doubt the subject will come up.

Are you bringing Mick Taylor on the tour?

Um, I'm not sure. The last I heard…I'm not sure if he's
available or what his condition is at the moment. I'm waiting to hear about that.

That's a shame because he's all over Sticky Fingers.

Yeah, it's just one of those things. I'm not sure. I just haven't gotten into that thing, but I heard he was sick. [Through a representative, Taylor says he is not sick and was not invited onto the tour.]

Do you see Sticky Fingers as a pivotal record in the band's evolution?

Well, it was one of them. Beggars Banquet was another. But with Sticky Fingers, we were working very much with [producer] Jimmy Miller, which was a very fruitful period.

And you were on a new label and thus had a little more freedom, right?

Yeah, yeah. That was the first one on the label. So we did pretty much whatever we wanted to do. Mind you, we always did anyway. What happened after Sticky Fingers? Was it

It was Exile.

Of course. I'm getting them mixed up. Sticky Fingers was the last one we made in England at our old haunt, Olympic Studios. Right after that, we moved.

I imagine this tour will be bittersweet since it's the first one since Bobby Keys passed away.

Man, he'll certainly be missed, especially backstage. He was a good, good friend of mine. But he would be the first to say, "The show must go on."

Do you think they'll be a new Stones album at some point?

We're talking about doing some recording after this tour, but there's nothing definite. We just threw out the idea. I'd like to get the boys back in the studio again, yeah. Anything can happen.

What's the status of your solo album?

I think that's coming out in September.

Is it totally done?

Just done, yeah. We're looking for the right time slot to bring it out. The Stones have been working so much lately that I've been holding off until we could find a reasonable time. I think it's September, but I don't know for sure.

Who plays on it?

[Drummer] Steve Jordan and me. We're joined here and there by [guitarist] Waddy Wachtel and [Rolling Stones backup singer] Bernard Fowler. Steve and I put it together.

Are you thinking about doing solo shows to promote it?

That's being kicked around. At the moment, I'm just getting my head into the Stones and I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do afterwards. But usually if I put a record out, I do some road work. So, it's possible.

Is the thrill of playing live the same as it always was for you?

Yeah. It's a unique feeling, really, and you kind of miss it. I'm ready to get up there. I've been looking forward to it.

I know you've been asked this a million times, but do you see a point in the future when the band will stop touring?

No, I never think about that. I leave that to other people.

I guess if Chuck Berry is nearly 90 and still doing this…

Exactly. As long as I feel like it and there's people to listen to it, we'll do it.

What do you hope to see The Stones accomplish before you guys wrap it up?

That's a good question. I'd like to see just how far they can evolve. I have no demands or particular visions for them, but you're just part of this thing and I want to see how far it will go.

I'm always so impressed by Charlie. He just seems to get better and better.

Yeah, man. He's an incredible drummer, man. A very, very cool customer.

I remember a few years ago, Johnny Depp was shooting a documentary about you. There was even some sort of performance he filmed. What happened with that?

We shot some stuff, but I don't think there's anything in the cards about it. I don't think he's going to use the footage and I don't think I've seen Johnny for a couple of years.

To wrap up here, I just want to ask again about "Moonlight Mile" since I've always wanted to see that live. Do you think you guys are going to do it?

Yeah, I think we'll give it a bash, yeah. I'll tell you what: I'll play it for you right now. [Laughs]

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/keith-richards-i-want-to-see-how-far-the-stones-can-go-20150409#ixzz3WqInKv5c
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Another few band interviews...this time with Anthony DeCurtis

Anthony DeCurtis Chats With The Rolling Stones

APRIL 9TH, 2015      by PANDORA      in FROM THE ARTISTS +LISTENER EXPERIENCE
In celebration of the The Rolling Stones’ ‘Zip Code’ tour, Pandora has launched a new station packed with handpicked track selections and exclusive commentary directly from the band. The interviews were conducted by award-winning author and journalist Anthony DeCurtis. In the special guest blog post below DeCurtis recounts his conversations with Mick, Keith and Ronnie in anticipation of their stateside tour. Listen to Zip Code Radio here.

A door opens in a hotel suite on Manhattan’s upper east side, and out steps Mick Jagger, characteristically full of energy. A few days before, I’d journeyed down to Soho to meet with Keith Richards, who strolled into the offices of his manager Jane Rose in an excellent mood, having just come from a long, celebratory lunch with his daughter Theodora, who turned thirty that day. Between those events, the genetically cheerful Ron Wood checked in by phone from London. All of this can mean only one thing: The Rolling Stones are going on the road again!

More than fifty years ago, the Stones earned their reputation as “the greatest rock & roll band in the world,” and they still play with a ferocity that bands a third their age would envy. They’re booked stadiums for what they’re calling the Zip Code tour, but when the Stones take the stage, the bigger the venue, the bigger the impact.

“I’m hoping to turn every stadium into a club,” Keith says. “Thank God, we have Mick who can cover all the spectaculars, and the band, once we’re on stage, we feel like, ‘This is our club for the night – it’s just a big one!’”

Jagger believes that getting the audience involved is his job – one he learned from greats like Little Richard and James Brown when the Stones were starting out. “We went on tour with Little Richard, and I would assiduously watch him every night,” he says. “His work ethic was incredible. If the audience wasn’t totally up for it, he would get them up for it, and after half an hour they’d be going nuts. He danced, he sang, he took his shirt off – he just rocked it! James Brown did that too – he wouldn’t let the audience be. He’d push them, and that’s what you have to do. That’s what they taught me.”

Ronnie describes that moment when the Stones come back together in rehearsals, and begin to conjure their magic. “We catch up at rehearsals and have a good old hug, get back together,” he says. “The key is the camaraderie and the bonding of making the music again. We go, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I remembered that song!’ It’s such a huge repertoire that we all secretly take pride in remembering the special little licks that make the songs happen.”

The Stones will be releasing an elaborate reissue of their 1970 classic album Sticky Fingers in June, which includes such songs as “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses,” “Bitch” and “Sway.” The album’s original cover – a photo of a man’s jeans-clad crotch with an actual zipper that could be pulled up and down – was designed by Andy Warhol and inspired the Zip Code tour’s name. “Naming tours is the bane of my life,” Mick says, laughing. “Because of Sticky Fingers, we were playing around with zips, and every town has a zip code, so that’s an allusion to where we’re going. It’s sexy, and it sounds fun!”

After all these years, the Stones still thrive on the response of their fans to their music in performance. “It’s like a gift that can’t be bought,” Ronnie says. “It’s an amazing feeling. We’re all equally surprised at how great the vibe is, because we love to make people happy with our music, and it seems to work. The give and take is wonderful.”

“Every night is a different night,” Mick says. “My role is, I’m the cheerleader. I’ve got to sing, but I’ve to get the audience involved. That’s my thing – I want them involved. I want them emotionally involved. I want them physically involved. I want them to have the greatest time in those two hours and to really have fun and while they’re there to be living in the moment. And if I’m doing that, obviously I’m having a great time too.”

As for Keith, he makes no bones that, given the life he’s led, every moment is a gift. “I was top of the charts, baby, as the most likely to die,” he says, laughing. “I held that spot longer than anybody – until they got bored waiting!”

But when he talks about the Stones and their fans, you realize what’s kept him alive. “It’s an indescribable feeling to get out there and whack into ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ for starters,” he says. “That rapport between the band and the fans, that feedback of energy – it’s like you’ve got these millions of friends. And as you get off the stage and you’re sweating and they’re trundling you back home, you can still hear in the background the crowd yelling, “More, more, more!” A guy can’t ask for anything much more than that. All those people are happy. I’m happy. The world’s okay tonight.”

– Anthony DeCurtis


http://blog.pandora.com/2015/04/09/anthony-decurtis-chats-with-the-rolling-stones/

Those comments by Keith about Taylor in the 'Rolling Stone' interview are unreal. Classic Pontius Pilate stuff. Does he think people are so frigging dumb they cant check this kind of stuff out with Taylor himself?

A new Stones tour, the possibility of all Sticky Fingers nights, a new Keith album, maybe a new Stones album AND maybe a Keith tour? I think it's a great year to be a Stones fan :)

That doesn't sound too good though for the Johnny Depp documentary on Keith.

If he's going to tour behind a newly released solo album (which has been the plan all along), that means there is highly unlikely to be Stones shows later this year.

It might be a feasible alternative if South America falls through (Mick didnt seem overly confident about it in his interview) and then the Stones can resume touring in 2016.

They aint gonna play 'Sticky Fingers' in full. Not in stadiums anyway.

Keith Richards Hopes to Have New Album Out This Year, Considering Solo Tour

by Nick DeRiso April 9, 2015 2:13 PM


Read More: Keith Richards Hopes to Have New Album Out This Year, Considering Solo Tour | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-richards-2015-album-tour/?trackback=tsmclip

Dammit

Keith is clearly using heroin again.
This ain't good.

It means I gotta go back to Lite beer

Mel Belli wrote on Apr 9^th, 2015 at 2:40pm:

All audiences are different slightly, but what I go up onstage for is the fact that things are not different. Things stay the same.

EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!!

KEITH RICHARDS ANNOUNCES SETLIST FOR UPCOMING US TOUR!!!

ALSO...first interview in years that Keef didn't mention "getting his chops back"...

Richards is full of shit. Has been for quite some time.

All this 'oh, he's the soul of the Stones' bullshit.

Nope - nasty greed-head that Jagger is, it's Mick and Charlie who are the soul of the band. Woody's comic relief and musical grounding (i.e. reminding everyone how the songs go), and Keith is baggage. Propped up as an icon. I'm sorry - the guy used to at least be a fun interview; now he's clearly tired and tired of his own bullshit.

So we're led to believe that a guy Keith has played with for the last two years might be too sick to tour with Keith's band -  but that Keith hasn't bothered to check out if this is true or not and even more pointedly, can't even be bothered to pick up the phone and call the man to see if it's true and how he's feeling?

Either he's an incredibly insulated selfish human being with next to zero input into the running of his own band and who just blindly goes along with what he's told or he's a liar.

Those comments are a very eye opening and  sad insight into the state of affairs of the modern day Stones .

Gazza wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 4:20am:

So we're led to believe that a guy Keith has played with for the last two years might be too sick to tour with Keith's band -  but that Keith hasn't bothered to check out if this is true or not and even more pointedly, can't even be bothered to pick up the phone and call the man to see if it's true and how he's feeling? Either he's an incredibly insulated selfish human being with next to zero input into the running of his own band and who just blindly goes along with what he's told or he's a liar. Those comments are a very eye opening and  sad insight into the state of affairs of the modern day Stones .

I see your point Gazza, but hey, much as we read the interviews and all, we know next to zero about what their actual relationships are like. I mean, we've all fallen out and back in with people we've known for ten or five years, can't even imagine what it must be like to work and be friends with and travel around the world a thousand times with people you've known almost all your life. And these guys always lived an insulated kind of life since their twenties!

He last worked with Mick Taylor in late November.

They've been putting together this tour since January - only two months later - and his excuse for Taylor not being on the tour is that he "heard" he was sick?

So he just went along with that ? No need to contact the guy? It's not as if it was someone he lost contact with 10-20 years ago or has had no recent working relationship with.

They decided not to use him in 2015. That's unfortunate personally but it's what it is and they're perfectly entitled to do that. But to publicly feign ignorance over it - while Mick flat out stated that theyd decided to move on - is embarrassing.

Gazza wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 7:14am:

But to publicly feign ignorance over it - while Mick flat out stated that theyd decided to move on - is embarrassing.

It's embarrassing that either Stones, Inc. doesn't distribute talking points on pretty easily anticipated media questions, or Keith neglects and/or refuses to follow the script.

Regardless, I'm speculating heavily that Mick Taylor may be his own worst enemy. He may have moaned to play on more songs outside of the occasional CYHMK/Sway/Silver Train as well as ridiculously playing acoustic on Satisfaction and joining in on Slipping Away a few times. You can't blame the guy at all, and we all want much more of him, but the original agreement following the 50th Anniversary London shows may have been to play only on Rambler. Money, of course, plays into it.

I also recall that on a least one of the CYHMK performances, Taylor gloriously extended his solo, perhaps to the irritation of Mick Jagger. Remember this? It's on Youtube. In addition, another (or the same?) CYHMK had him getting right in Keith's face after the 1st chorus to ensure Keith didn't miss the riff coming out of the chorus. Keith looked annoyed and certainly allows only 1 Mick to get in his face: Jagger. Taylor should have merely enjoyed the ride and be a Ron Wood-type sycophant. All speculation, but egos are egos and Taylor may have forgotten to remain in his proper place. Poor Mick Taylor decisions . . .similar to quitting on them in '74.

Sad and annoying that Keith is so flippant or lies about this shit. But he's the guy who said Muddy was painting the ceilings at Chess so there is a long history of BS. If Taylor had any balls he woulda quit after being "allowed" on stage with an acoustic for Satisfaction. Later folks Im off to another pre-sale.

Gazza wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 7:14am:

He last worked with Mick Taylor in late November. They've been putting together this tour since January - only two months later - and his excuse for Taylor not being on the tour is that he "heard" he was sick? So he just went along with that ? No need to contact the guy? It's not as if it was someone he lost contact with 10-20 years ago or has had no recent working relationship with. They decided not to use him in 2015. That's unfortunate personally but it's what it is and they're perfectly entitled to do that. But to publicly feign ignorance over it - while Mick flat out stated that theyd decided to move on - is embarrassing.

Especially since they are out promoting Sticky Fingers, really their first studio album where they turned MT loose with pretty amazing results...to not have him  along for this is a slap in the face to MT and makes the Stones a bad joke for me!

Gazza wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 7:14am:

He last worked with Mick Taylor in late November. They've been putting together this tour since January - only two months later - and his excuse for Taylor not being on the tour is that he "heard" he was sick? So he just went along with that ? No need to contact the guy? It's not as if it was someone he lost contact with 10-20 years ago or has had no recent working relationship with. They decided not to use him in 2015. That's unfortunate personally but it's what it is and they're perfectly entitled to do that. But to publicly feign ignorance over it - while Mick flat out stated that theyd decided to move on - is embarrassing.

Most interviews with Keith the last 20 years are embarrassing imo. Sad but true.

patioaintdry wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 1:25pm:

Gazza wrote on Apr 10th, 2015 at 7:14am: But to publicly feign ignorance over it - while Mick flat out stated that theyd decided to move on - is embarrassing. It's embarrassing that either Stones, Inc. doesn't distribute talking points on pretty easily anticipated media questions, or Keith neglects and/or refuses to follow the script.

Even if Mick T WAS sick - which doesnt appear to be the case - its not really Keith's place to put something as private as that in the public domain.

Not his best interview.
Questions re Taylor were totally mishandled.
To suggest MT is too ill to tour is just not cool. Just say NOTHING.

The Stones operate in another world. They just do. It's who they are.

I've been in the collaborative arts for many years. Egos, attitudes, clashing of ideas, personal dislike...all things crop up. I was working with a group of 6 for a long time. I liked 5 of them, the other I hated. Three had the power and the means to get stuff done. We each brought something to the table and made great stuff, but it wasn't like we were brothers, which is what people lay on bands for some reason.

We worked well together, but individually not so much.

Right now I'm working with someone I'm not crazy about. I could care less about them personally but the end results are good, so it works.

Sorry for the ramble.

I heard Keith was ill. Been hearing it for decades in fact.

Keith didn't handle the MT question well at all.  But knowing how he and Jagger tend to get into a war of words it could be Keith's weirdass way of calling bullshit on Jagger.  MT isn't in, it's Jagger's decision, I had no say so - isn't the best answer either.  Neither is - Ask Brenda - which he would have said in the past.

In any case MT is out and we take it or leave it.

If not having Taylor appear for 15 minutes during the show is a deal breaker for some, don't buy a ticket. I'm not going to miss him at all. It was nice to see him on the 50th, but it's over.

Also, how many people collect his music? Look at these releases at the bottom of his Wiki page. Does anyone buy them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Taylor

Whats his solo work got to do with anything? If you used that yardstick for Mick and Keith, the Stones would barely be filling theatres - and for Charlie and Ronnie, it would be clubs.

His solo work has everything to do with it. I find it very interesting that most people do not buy his solo stuff, attend his shows, etc.

If Mick Taylor is so important to most people nowadays, why was nobody seeing his solo tours or buying his music? While it was very nice of The Stones to have him guest on the 50th, it's time to move on.

All I know is Bill Wyman must be feeling a little weird about all the MT love  :nooslajaleisk

People didn't give two shits about Mick Taylor or Bill Wyman for the longest time.

We should be lucky that we have a summer fucking tour. The fans of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Doors, Creedence, Cream, The Clash, SRV & Double Trouble, etc. will never have that thrill.

Bring on the Stones!

Steel Wheels wrote on Apr 11^th, 2015 at 7:42am:

His solo work has everything to do with it. I find it very interesting that most people do not buy his solo stuff, attend his shows, etc. If Mick Taylor is so important to most people nowadays, why was nobody seeing his solo tours or buying his music? While it was very nice of The Stones to have him guest on the 50th, it's time to move on.

It's good that you put a "most" qualifier in there because I do attend his shows whenever they are close to me and I have his solo work.

Move on? It's more like move back to putting on warhorse displays with very little heart and charging ridiculous amounts for it. The best show of the last American leg and probably the entire series of shows anywhere was the LA show where there were no guests and Mick Taylor came out for Sway, CYHMK, and MR (I'm not including that crap where they bring him out on acoustic for Satisfaction and turn off his sound). I was there and the crowd's favorite moments were when Mick Taylor came out. It was one of the best Stones shows that I've ever been to, if not the best and it was because he gave the band some new heart and made the Stones fresh again.

If they are going to charge an arm and a leg, maybe, just maybe, the fans should be taken into consideration and, therefore, if they were, I would pay that large bit extra for their consideration. However, like always, they really don't give a toss.

I said this before, if this is truly for his own sake because of some health issue, good on them and I hope they are helping him get better, but it doesn't appear so. Also, it's disgusting for Keith to act like such a prick and put it out there for the world. Furthermore, Mick may simply not like how it sounds musically, which is fine, but don't charge and arm and a leg for the same boring set lists and pretend that you're offering anything new.

Steel Wheels wrote on Apr 11^th, 2015 at 7:42am:

His solo work has everything to do with it. I find it very interesting that most people do not buy his solo stuff, attend his shows, etc. If Mick Taylor is so important to most people nowadays, why was nobody seeing his solo tours or buying his music? While it was very nice of The Stones to have him guest on the 50th, it's time to move on.

'Move on' to what, exactly? More nostalgia? Maybe touring in support of a 44-year old album?

MT was a nice thing on the 50th. The 50th is over and it's time for stadium shows. It seems nobody was really happy with the limited use of MT on those shows. On every board, people complained.

Now MT is free to do what he wants, on his terms, without being limited by Stones, Inc. He can get back in the studio,  create new albums, go on tour, do whatever he feels like he needs to do.

KR needs to pipe down about MT and move on.

The fans that are grumpy about no MT, need to move on.

Be lucky we have Mick and Keef and enjoy the summer shows. And who knows. Maybe MT will play with the band again at some point.

They played plenty of stadium shows last year. Its the same thing.

Grumpy? No. I personally couldnt give a shit. Doesnt affect me as I wont be at the gigs. They're at liberty to do what they want with their own band. Everyone is equally at liberty to be enthusiastic, unenthusiastic or a bit bewildered by their decision making though. Especially if they're being asked to part with a lot of cash.

I do however find the timing of dispensing with Taylor's services to be a bit strange. Promoting a 'Sticky Fingers' reissue and talking about playing the entire album in concert (or at least - and more realistically - sizeable chunks of it)  - but choosing to dump him from the touring line up NOW? Had it been for the next leg of the tour, wherever and whenever that may be, then fair enough.  But doing it at this time?  - huge opportunity missed IMO.

Defending Stones Inc. these days is kind of like defending Coco Cola or the Vatican.

Gazza wrote on Apr 11^th, 2015 at 4:13pm:

Steel Wheels wrote on Apr 11th, 2015 at 7:42am: His solo work has everything to do with it. I find it very interesting that most people do not buy his solo stuff, attend his shows, etc. If Mick Taylor is so important to most people nowadays, why was nobody seeing his solo tours or buying his music? While it was very nice of The Stones to have him guest on the 50th, it's time to move on. 'Move on' to what, exactly? More nostalgia? Maybe touring in support of a 44-year old album?

Nails it.

Just a thought: they've been here for the last half a century. I don't mind being able to still go to their gigs and listen to Start me Up one thousand times over. I like that. Sure, I'd love a new album, but the nostalgia thing doesn't bug me one bit. I haven't cought them live enough times to grow tired of them just yet.

Sometimes I think that if the Stones did all the things we'd like them to do (e.g. bring MT back, play more clubs instead of stadiums, release an album full of blues and what more) they'd be playing for a much more limited audience and world tours would be what we'd be nostalgic about.

Please don't hate this post :D but all this discussion makes me think that we don't ever give these guys a break. I've yet to go to a Stones gig and leave feeling disappointed cause of warhorses played or the lack of Mick Taylor. We can't bring the seventies back and they'll never be as inspired or relevant again, but still, hey... Let's enjoy this while it lasts!

Think youre misunderstanding what I'm saying. I largely agree with you, actually.

I long ago accepted that their reason to exist is to peddle nostalgia and make a lot of money in doing so. It is what it is. When I make comparisons to how other veteran artists have embraced the ageing process, its maybe not what I'd like them to be doing in the home straight of their career but I'm still very glad that they're around and performing (and doing so very well - certainly better than they were a decade ago) even if I think that part of the reason why they produce so little in the way of new material is because Keith has been largely burned out creatively for two decades and Mick isnt interested in pushing less familiar material on an ageing audience of tourists.

But to suggest they're made a career decision which will see them 'move on' to anything that embraces anything creative is kidology, at this stage.

Gazza wrote on Apr 12^th, 2015 at 1:00pm:

But to suggest they're made a career decision which will see them 'move on' to anything that embraces anything creative is kidology, at this stage.

Yeah Gazza, I agree with that too myself. But I don't know if there's really any other option at this time for them. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise us with one final good album, but I think it's the combination of having achieved fantastic artistic results in the past plus the fact they can still be great live (often) that sort of gives them a carte blanche in my head as to what they choose to do at this point in time in their career. I mean, they've already hit all the milestones, the rise, the peak, the whole eighties and onwards downfall, and everything seems like an added bonus at this time.

Mick still writes. Keith has managed to put together a solo album thats in the can as we speak.

I understand that its difficult to live in the shadow of past work when that work is of such a high standard - but the notion of dismissing every album as 'not as good as Exile' is really a problem for fans or critics. An artist shouldnt have to feel stifled by those comparisons - otherwise they could have stopped making records in 1973, 1979 or 1982 (take your pick).

It'd be nice to see them try, at least. I keep seeing 'why bother' comments from Stones fans on internet forums, citing the 'fact' that the last Stones album sold poorly and wasnt well received - something which is ludicrous revisionism, to say the least as it was critically acclaimed as something of a return to form, fans broadly seemed to like it and it sold something like 2.6 million copies, which in an age where record sales are in the toilet, was certainly not a bad achievement.

Gazza wrote on Apr 11^th, 2015 at 5:43pm:

They played plenty of stadium shows last year. Its the same thing. Grumpy? No. I personally couldnt give a shit. Doesnt affect me as I wont be at the gigs. They're at liberty to do what they want with their own band. Everyone is equally at liberty to be enthusiastic, unenthusiastic or a bit bewildered by their decision making though. Especially if they're being asked to part with a lot of cash. I do however find the timing of dispensing with Taylor's services to be a bit strange. Promoting a 'Sticky Fingers' reissue and talking about playing the entire album in concert (or at least - and more realistically - sizeable chunks of it)  - but choosing to dump him from the touring line up NOW? Had it been for the next leg of the tour, wherever and whenever that may be, then fair enough.  But doing it at this time?  - huge opportunity missed IMO.

The fact that Keith denied knowing why Taylor wasn't invited on the tour and hinted that he may be ill. While clearly knowing that he wasn't asked, is fucking sickening.

Could it be that Taylor is sick / not feeling well and Keith did not want to make that known publicaly out of respect for him? I hope that is not the case but that isn't an entirely out of the question thought (just sayin).


Ian

Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16^th, 2015 at 4:41pm:

Could it be that Taylor is sick / not feeling well and Keith did not want to make that known publicaly out of respect for him? I hope that is not the case but that isn't an entirely out of the question thought (just sayin). Ian

If he didnt want to make it publicly known, mentioning it in an interview is a pretty unique way of  keeping it quiet!

Gazza wrote on Apr 16^th, 2015 at 4:49pm:

Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 4:41pm: Could it be that Taylor is sick / not feeling well and Keith did not want to make that known publicaly out of respect for him? I hope that is not the case but that isn't an entirely out of the question thought (just sayin). Ian If he didnt want to make it publicly known, mentioning it in an interview is a pretty unique way of  keeping it quiet!

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What did he say about it? I thought he was specifically asked if MT was going to be on the tour this time and Keith simply noted he wasn't asked is all that was said. Was there more?

Mr. Yeats wrote on Apr 10^th, 2015 at 2:31am:

Richards is full of shit. Has been for quite some time... - the guy used to at least be a fun interview; now he's clearly tired and tired of his own bullshit.

Very true and very sad (imho).

I recall about 500 years ago when I first read the '71 Greenfield interview with Keith. It cemented my opinion of him as the coolest man on the planet. It showed his humour , his humility and not least his intelligence which completely defied the popular image of him as some moron spaced out on junk.

As you say, now and for the last 20 years or so it's mostly bullshit and braggadocio (much of it re-cycled ad infinitum) with almost zero insight into anything.

Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16^th, 2015 at 11:34pm:

Gazza wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 4:49pm: Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 4:41pm: Could it be that Taylor is sick / not feeling well and Keith did not want to make that known publicaly out of respect for him? I hope that is not the case but that isn't an entirely out of the question thought (just sayin). Ian If he didnt want to make it publicly known, mentioning it in an interview is a pretty unique way of  keeping it quiet! ______________________________________________ What did he say about it? I thought he was specifically asked if MT was going to be on the tour this time and Keith simply noted he wasn't asked is all that was said. Was there more?

er....its in the first post of this thread!!

Has anyone thought Mick Taylor may not want to go back on the road again with the Stones?  He may not voice his opinion publicly but he did leave the Stones originally because he was dissatisfied and I can totally understand it iif he feels this way now.

Bitch wrote on Apr 19^th, 2015 at 7:19am:

Has anyone thought Mick Taylor may not want to go back on the road again with the Stones?  He may not voice his opinion publicly but he did leave the Stones originally because he was dissatisfied and I can totally understand it iif he feels this way now.

Mick Taylor has stated on his Facebook page that he hasn't been invited, also said his health prevents him from going on long solo tours himself...but I doubt playing two songs at fifteen Stones shows affected his health too much...:)
To not have him along on  a tour celebrating the re-release of Sticky Fingers, the first album they really turned him loose on is a joke!

The Stones have missed a lot of opportunities over the years.

They missed Heard It Through The Grapevine with John Fogerty, for an example of a small missed opportunity.

They missed it with Mick Taylor on the last tour -- seeing him with an acoustic during Satisfaction was perhaps the most idiotic image ever in the history of live performances.

Agree that dropping Taylor now does not seem to make any sense -- but generally when something doesn't make sense, it's because you don't have all the facts.

We probably don't have all the facts on this.

Oh, and of course, the biggest missed opportunity of all time...their failure to open a show with Sympathy.  That can be cured fellas.

   

MRD8 wrote on Apr 19^th, 2015 at 8:13am:

Bitch wrote on Apr 19th, 2015 at 7:19am: Has anyone thought Mick Taylor may not want to go back on the road again with the Stones?  He may not voice his opinion publicly but he did leave the Stones originally because he was dissatisfied and I can totally understand it iif he feels this way now. Mick Taylor has stated on his Facebook page that he hasn't been invited, also said his health prevents him from going on long solo tours himself...but I doubt playing two songs at fifteen Stones shows affected his health too much...:) To not have him along on  a tour celebrating the re-release of Sticky Fingers, the first album they really turned him loose on is a joke!

Yes I agree Mick T should have been included but I also know that he has a lot of pride, and it could have been damaged by the way he was featured last time round. So he may not be that into it and the health thing is an excuse, possibly cover up the fact that his pride has been hurt by not being asked. Emotional health is every bit as important as physical. Maybe it is too much stress for Mick T.  (Reading too much into this probably) because I care!

I think you are. Anything about his health or pride is speculation at best, or invention at worst. The bit about the Stones choosing not to invite him however is fact.  He simply wasnt given the choice to accept or decline the offer because none existed.

Knowing the Stones greed these days....they will have to pay an opening act in the stadiums AND Taylor?.......no way!

Gazza wrote on Apr 17^th, 2015 at 7:19pm:

Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 11:34pm: Gazza wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 4:49pm: Ian Billen wrote on Apr 16th, 2015 at 4:41pm: Could it be that Taylor is sick / not feeling well and Keith did not want to make that known publicaly out of respect for him? I hope that is not the case but that isn't an entirely out of the question thought (just sayin). Ian If he didnt want to make it publicly known, mentioning it in an interview is a pretty unique way of  keeping it quiet! ______________________________________________ What did he say about it? I thought he was specifically asked if MT was going to be on the tour this time and Keith simply noted he wasn't asked is all that was said. Was there more? er....its in the first post of this thread!!

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Oh I missed that part. I see now ... yeah ... by the way he responded he wasn't trying to hide anything entirely either lol ... I was thinking he simply replied in saying he was not sure if MT was asked on this leg.

Ian

nankerphelge wrote on Apr 19^th, 2015 at 8:50am:

They missed it with Mick Taylor on the last tour -- seeing him with an acoustic during Satisfaction was perhaps the most idiotic image ever in the history of live performances.

Yes. A truly baffling decision. You wonder who made it and what was the motivation behind it.