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Let's take a closer look at the genius of Keith Richards
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In his prime, that approximately lasted from '68 to '73, Keith Richards composed a couple of excellent songs, that belong to the best the Stones ever recorded, probably the result of his excessive drug consumption in those days. His creativity gradually waned after this productive period, maybe likewise due to the before mentioned drug abuse, who knows !? Anyway, what's been achieved in those prolific years is worth to take a closer look at.
One highlight at the time was the Stones' version of Robert Johnson's LOVE IN VAIN, released on the album LET IT BLEED in 1969.
While Mr. Johnson's guitar playing is nothing much to get excited about, his lyrics are excellent, a circumstance that led to many cover versions of his songs by other musicians in later years. Apart from the lyrics, these versions have - thank God - nothing in common anymore with the original recordings. The Stones' version of LOVE IN VAIN is in 6/8 time and in the key of C. Keith is flat-picking this song on a steel-string guitar in standard tuning. If you play finger-style, it's not advisable trying to play exactly the same, but find a good alternative instead for your nylon-strung acoustic model ...
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Another great song that saw the light of day some four years later, was the ballad ANGIE, released on the 1973 album GOATS HEAD SOUP. Too schmaltzy for my taste, with all those string arrangements and stuff, but who am I to argue. The song was composed by Richards alone, even if Jagger is mentioned in the credits, as usual. ANGIE is in 4/4 time and in the key of Am.
WiKIPEDIA: "Released as a single in August 1973, ANGIE went straight to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 5 on the UK singles chart. The song was also a No. 1 hit in both Canada and Australia for five weeks each and topped the charts in many countries throughout Europe and the rest of the world".
Vom Intro wurden damals 25 Aufnahmen (Takes) gemacht! Da es nicht einfach zu reproduzieren ist, kann es kaum verwundern, daß Richards nie das exakt gleiche Intro auf Konzerten der Stones gespielt hat. Daher ist es auch müßig darüber zu streiten, wie das Intro korrekt gespielt wird/werden muß. Apropos: Dem unten aufgeführten Beispiel (der Tabulatur) liegt die Aufnahme Nr. 26 zugrunde :-).
09. 03. 2025 In the late '60ies, Richards started experimenting with Open G Tuning. The story goes that Ry Cooder, who hung around the Stones at the time, introduced Keith into the wondrous world of Open Tuning. The interaction of two guitars, one in Standard Tuning, one in Open Tuning, forms the basis of many Stones songs. 50 years later, Richards declared, that he's still exploring Open G's potential. Let's take a closer look.
HONKY TONK WOMEN was recorded in 1969 at a time when Brian Jones already lived on another planet. The song was released as a single one day after Jones' death. It never appeared on a regular Stones album, though a country version (COUNTRY HONK) was put on LET IT BLEED in 1969. A live version can be found on GET YER YA-YAS OUT. Mick Taylor's contribution to the song is not quite clear. His mug somehow found it's way on the single's sleeve, though. The song is a fine example of the Stones' late puberty phase, a development phase they never really grew out of.
Funny thing is that Keith removes the low E-string when playing in Open G, which means, that he usually plays Open G with 5 strings only. The E-string, that's normally turned down from E to D, isn't actually needed. It stands in the way when strumming barré chords. Chords sound better, if the fundamental tone can be played on the lowest string (Power Chords/ DADGAD). In our case, it's o.k. to just ignore it.
09. 03. 2025 In the late '60ies, Richards started experimenting with Open G Tuning. The story goes that Ry Cooder, who hung around the Stones at the time, introduced Keith into the wondrous world of Open Tuning. The interaction of two guitars, one in Standard Tuning, one in Open Tuning, forms the basis of many Stones songs. 50 years later, Richards declared, that he's still exploring Open G's potential. Let's take a closer look.