Rock ‘N Roll folklore deems it that at the moment, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards must be fighting. The reason being? Whenever they’re too pissed off to tour with each other they put out a solo album. So while we adopt the brace position for the potential concept of Jagger doing disco-dubstep, we can relax and enjoy a far more palatable offering in Keith Richards – the ultimate Rock ‘N Roll icon.
Crosseyed Heart is sumptuous. If you know anything about Richards, you know his love for the blues, for jazz, for reggae, for Americana. This is an album oozing with influences of the music he enjoys, and you can hear that in the way every song is lovingly crafted, every note adoringly played, attention to detail paid over every subtle spark of a match or draw of a cigarette. Not to make it sound like this album is awash with sweetness and light. Absolutely not. This is a proper, rugged, dirty, sexy Rock ‘N Roll album so seeped in Blues it’s practically hauling itself from the banks of the Mississippi.
Opening with the album’s title track, a simple acoustic blues ditty sounding more likely to come from JB Lenoir than the twentieth century’s biggest hell raiser, you know you’re in for a treat. Richards’ voice is smokey and abrasive, every vowel hinting at a tale bigger than the sound. His playing is intricate, skilful and soulful. But of course it is, it’s Keith Richards, he treats his guitar like lady.
Moving through up-tempo rebel jams, country tinged ballads and rootsy tunes straight from the Bible Belt, Crosseyed Heart has many highlights. ‘Amnesia’ and ‘Substantial Damage’ are two songs with grooves that rock you to your soul and lyrics cooler than a black and white picture of Keith and Anita in Nellcôte. Pausing for a softer moment, Richard’s contemplative tone is perfectly complemented by the velvet-husk of Norah Jones on ‘Illusion’, definitely one for whiskey by candlelight. As a sucker for a Waltz, ‘Goodnight Irene’’s gentle and melancholy timbre completely moved me. ‘Just A Gift’ and ‘Robbed Blind’’s subtle hints of slide invoke a kind of cowboy/sunset imagery. The latter displays absolutely exquisitely articulated notes on the solo and may also be the argument track…
As a kid, Keith Richards always wanted to be a real American Bluesman, to have the the soul in the song and the stories to tell. This album cements him as a Bluesman, a singer/songwriter in his own right. Alone with his guitar, telling stories of 50 years of outlaw living, he’s achieved his ambition and then some. And it’s a joy to hear him do it.
Adding this album to your collection is the equivalent of buying a top Bourbon for your booze cabinet, except you don’t have to worry about saving it for special occasions. Listen liberally and love it.
Crosseyed Heart is out now via Mindless Records LLC.
Kat Tittley
@LeTitts
Kate Tittley
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