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Tue 21 November 2023 16:00, UK
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is likely one of the prickliest males in rock song. Along being one among his technology’s maximum crucial and infamous icons, he’s proven a large number of instances that he’s a non-conformist in the actual countercultural spirit. His angle in opposition to different artists is one space the place this perception in particular involves the fore.
Even though Richards is simply as well-known for his hellraising with The Rolling Stones as he’s for his inventive efforts, earlier than all else, he reached his iconic standing through being an improbable musician. Other folks would possibly incessantly disregard this because of his caricature-like persona, however Richards is likely one of the largest guitarists that emerged throughout the heady days of the Sixties.
Fusing his lifelong love of the blues and conventional Spanish song, Richards conceived a particular strategy to the fretboard that weaponised finger-picking and open tunings. This distinctive taste noticed him identify a potent songwriting partnership with the British band’s swaggering frontman, Mick Jagger. From ‘Gimme Refuge’ to ‘(I Can’t Get No) Delight’, the pair have written an in depth record of classics.
Because of The Rolling Stones’ common sound and the standard of his efforts, Keith Richards is likely one of the figures maximum intently related to rock song, in particular that of the vintage technology. On the other hand, given his penchant for going towards the grain and herbal propensity for contempt, he has asserted that he’s no longer partial to rock song.
This concept emerged when Richards was once commenting on one of the crucial influential bands the arena has ever noticed: Led Zeppelin. Right here, he prominent between rock ‘n’ roll, which he loves, and rock, which he decried because the lesser model of the unique style.
“Rock ‘n’ roll I by no means get bored of, however ‘rock’ is a white guy’s model,” he mentioned of Led Zeppelin’s sonic insurgency within the documentary Below the Affect, “They usually flip it right into a march, that’s [the modern] model of rock. Excuse me, I favor the roll.”
When talking on his website online, Richards expanded on his distaste for Led Zeppelin’s rock song. He mentioned: “As a band, I felt aptly named, it by no means took off for me musically. On the identical time, Jimmy Web page is likely one of the highest guitar gamers I’ve ever identified. Bonham was once a hell of a powerhouse drummer even supposing I feel he’s roughly heavy-handed, myself — that’s when the ‘Led’ is available in.”
Watch Led Zeppelin in motion under.