Mel Belli wrote on May 16
th, 2013 at 6:17pm:
I think Keith's reliance on Blondie was always overstated. I never saw it. More precisely, I never *heard* it. But it makes perfect sense that Mick would demand a general housecleaning, if you will. As hard as we are on Jagger, we should concede it's at least possible that he doesn't attempt more songs because he honestly thinks they would suck.
Well, I didn't mean it literally: never did Blondie overpower Keith or did the two had to fight for the sound space
but the effect of Blondie on stage with an electric guitar had a very clear effect on Keith. With Keith up there, he knew that he had two guitars underneath him covering his ass: Ronnie and Blondie. There was a lot of opportunity to sit back and go about things very half assed. And man did he take that opportunity. I think his "performance" of Little T&A from Shine A Light displays this shit storm perfectly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTddCYXkka4In typical Keith fashion of the time, here he is completely under-rehearsed and totally banking on the other guitar players to cover him. The only thing he seems to know for sure is the key the song is in just so he could whip out a solo to make up for his lack of playing. That year was particularly difficult to watch mainly because Keith sunk into a very laid back role among the team of guitar players on stage. Blondie was never mixed as loud as Keith, but in my interpretation of the recordings is that Keith thought Blondie would be there to cover for him in the sound which is why Keith apparently felt the need to noodle as much as he did. But as we can hear...Blondie was apparently only really audible to those on stage but not really to us, the audience.
Today, with Blondie gone, Keith has said so himself that it forces he and Ronnie to really buckle down to business in the guitar department. As a guitar player myself, I would think Keith is aware that he wouldn't be able to get by just by noodling around the tunes...he'd actually have to work it. I haven't seen him do as much responsible lead work (besides the obvious warhorses) on these rare tunes like "The Last Time" "It's All Over Now" and "Dead Flowers" in a great long while. I'd say as far as back as the B2B tour--back when Blondie only had a tambourine in his hand.
I don't think I ever truly appreciated how terrible that rendition of T&A was. In addition to not playing the guitar—or playing it like crap—he clings to the TelePrompter like a woobie and *still* can't phrase the words right! The most telling moment might be when he a smile appears on his face during the solo: He thinks it's good!
[update: No! My favorite moment is at 2:43 and Keith's piss-drunk appreciation for Darryl's bass solo.]