Turntable Tuesday

Turntable Tuesday! Keith Richards’ “Vintage Vinos”

November 3, 2020

It’s Turntable Tuesday…because life is too short not to listen to great music! Turn that TV OFF and listen to some music on your local speaker! I know it is election day but when life is short you better go find the volume knob on your music and live like there is no tomorrow! What are you listening to tonight? I hope you voted but most of all I hope you have the volume on 11 cranking some tunes!

The cover of Keith Richards’ “Vintage Vinos” from his band the “X-Pensive Winos” on one of my hundred year old piano stools. (Note the crack in the top of the stool it was in two pieces. I bought this one in a box in half a dozen pieces covered in dust. I had it restored and put back together. It is very strong and beautiful today. I hope it lives another 100 years while someone is sitting on it and rocking.) OK that was a tangent but details are important. Yeah that is one of my Fender Telecasters with a nitro maple neck in honor of the Tele-master Keef. I did not remove the low E string as Keith does for the photo although I should have. This guitar is tuned to open G for playing Stones when the mood hits. That tone is just amazing in a small space or in a stadium. This “Vintage Vinos” is a fantastic album. More on that in a moment.
The beautiful red vinyl in this package. Check out the shadow work on the vinyl. Folks you just cannot get this on a cd, usb, or some rogue stream that pays an artist .0000 something. What an album this is and there are two pieces of awesome 180 gram vinyl in this sleeve along with enough reading to keep you busy while you CRANK IT UP.

As I write this I am listening to Keith and his incredible band play the tracks on this compilation album released almost exactly ten years ago today. First let me admit I am a huge Rolling Stones fan and have most of the albums they have recorded through time which fill a long section on a shelf in my listening room. I also have all of Keith Richards’ albums and I say this not to bs about my collection as it is to say how great all of these solo tracks are. This compilation album is awesome from beginning to end. I don’t just credit Keith for this album although one could argue if it weren’t for him it would not exist. I will credit first Steve Jordan who co-wrote a bunch of this music while playing drums, keyboards, and bass. Next there is guitar from Waddy Wachtel, Ron Wood, and Keith of course. There are so many contributors to this collection of music I will have to only hit the high points until I get to the podcast. Ivan Neville is on keyboards. For those of you who recognize that last name just know he is all over the place playing with his band even now as “Dumpstaphunk.” I have seen them play several times live and Ivan is a talent. Ivan has been out on tour with the Stones. Of course it is a Keith Richards album so everyone who makes the print is top shelf huh? Speaking of funk I have to mention Bootsy Collins from the James Brown band as well as sitting in on Parliament-Funkadelic. The Cincinnati-born bass player sits in on two tracks. Michael Doucet from Louisiana sits in on track 13 on violin to provide the proper Cajun perspective. I know Keith loves New Orleans as I have heard some “Keef NOLA” stories so he likes that Cajun thing. Yeah I do too. As I write this a flashback hit me of being in the French Quarter one night watching a Cajun band play and the accordion player had on white shrimper boots. I spent four years working on my French and all I can remember from that night was the band yelling “Ce Soir” and how I had to be drug from the dance floor. But back to where we were…. Charley Drayton. Keith says Charley is one of his favorite drummers. He is all over this album and has played with everyone from Johnny Cash to Chaka Khan. When you have Steve Jordan in the studio you better be good. Did I mention Steve Jordan has played with everyone from the Blues Brothers Band to the David Letterman Band, SNL, and even John Mayer? Yeah he is that good. He is one of my favorites as well. I’ll mention most of the players on my companion podcast. They are all ringers of course.

One of the inserts in the album printed for your enjoyment. A nice bonus for the owners of the vinyl.

If you want to listen to my companion podcast you can listen here or subscribe for free on any of the streaming services you use. My podcast is easily searchable on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google, Spotify, Tuned-in Radio and many others by searching “Andrew Talbert.”

I don’t have to run down the track listing as it is on the back cover. I have so many favorites on this album. All of these songs have a great beat, great lyrics, the rhythm guitar is so funky and bluesy rock I just can’t capture the feel in words. You really need to crank it up and just move to it. I can’t pick a favorite side. These tracks all rock. (Why did that sound like an American Bandstand remake? Asking for a friend.)
A whole lotta’ soul in that photograph from the album. You don’t get images with streaming services and the artist gets paid shit. Protest with your hard-earned money. Buy media. Pay the man who created this art. Collect vinyl and take back the music business from the corporate vampires. Hey it is election day. Vote with your money. Go buy local in your record shop. Support your favorite artists. And besides…Keith will outlive us all and have a damn good time spending it. Cheers to my Rock and Roll brother.
The back cover of the vinyl records.

That is most of what I had to say this week on the blog. I’ll put some icing on this record talk on my podcast. I suggest you go listen to the Keith Richards solo tracks with the X-Pensive Winos. They just announced a new “Live at the Hollywood Palladium’ Box Set” which I have on pre-order in red vinyl. I can’t wait to hear that. “The real stuff,” Richards said in a statement describing the X-Pensive Winos. “I wish to thank all the guys in this crazy beautiful band. Something to love. I know I do.”

Recorded in four hours in the villa Nellcote in Southern France during the “Exile on Main Street” sessions while hardly anyone was there except Bobby Keys and Keith. They just started playing and had it on tape in no time. One of my favorite moments at a Stones live show is when Keith Richards takes the lead vocal. “Happy” and “Before They Make Me Run” are two of my favorites. I know there are quite a few live Stones shows where I was on backing vocals with a huge crowd beside me. Those are moments you don’t forget.

That’s all I have for this Turntable Tuesday…As Keith says in the lyric “I Gotta Walk Before They Make Me Run. Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.

Well I never kept a dollar past sunset,
It always burned a hole in my pants.
Never made a school mama happy,
Never blew a second chance.

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.

Always took candy from strangers,
Didn’t wanna get me no trade.
Never want to be like papa,
Working for the boss ev’ry night and day.

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love, baby won’t ya keep me happy.
Baby, won’t ya keep me happy.
Baby, please keep me

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.

Never got a flash out of cocktails,
When I got some flesh off the bone.
Never got a lift out of Lear jets,
When I can fly way back home.

I need a love to keep me happy,
I need a love to keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.
Baby, baby keep me happy.