If rock’n’roll took on a physical form and roamed the earth, it would very much resemble Keith Richards in both appearance and sound.
It’s not solely due to the skull ring, the charmingly disheveled look, or the chemically enhanced circulation that sets him apart—though those elements play a part—rather his extraordinary talent for absorbing nearly all of the most iconic guitar riffs ever created. So, which ones stand out? Considering he’s evaded death more times than anyone can count, here are some of my personal favorites – and trust me, this is merely scratching the surface.
One of Keith’s most iconic riffs, it’s quite surprising to discover that this song was initially envisioned as a reggae tune and took six years for the band to perfect after attempting it in 1975. Today, it’s so immediately identifiable that it serves as the riff Keith uses to introduce himself and Mick at The Simpsons’ Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp.
‘Beggars Banquet’ marks the beginning of an impeccable four-album streak from 1968 to 1972, with this track at its core. A thrilling rebellion anthem, it also undeniably demonstrates that exceptional guitar riffs can exist without electricity.
In his remarkable autobiography ‘Life’, Richards fondly recounts how the open G guitar tuning transformed his playing forever – showcasing this in excellent form: raw and vibrant.
A testament to Keith’s brilliance is his capacity to make a superb riff work seamlessly for a slower ballad as much as for an energetic rocker. He doesn’t seek the spotlight: Ronnie Wood takes the lead solo, and their guitars intertwine throughout the song, but the dreamy riff unmistakably belongs to Richards.
Now that’s the way to introduce a track: those initial sharp notes signal the approach of the unmistakable groove, an ideal match for Jagger’s controversial narrative on sadomasochistic themes intertwined with a hint of heroin.
Composed late at night in the sophisticated front room of Keith’s French chateau, Villa Nellcôte, this riff embodies Richards’ effortless, flowing style. The remainder of the song merely supports it and allows it to drift.
Another gem from ‘Exile On Main Street’, Mick Taylor’s slide guitar shines, but once again, it’s Richards’ relentless riff that elevates this track to classic status.
Long before MP3s were ever imagined, in an era when all records required flipping midway through, this track opened side two of ‘Sticky Fingers’. Given the first side kicked off with ‘Brown Sugar’, this needed to impress – and it may even boast a stronger riff. As unstoppable as a freight train with malfunctioning brakes.
The opening of ‘Exile’ cleverly revolves on itself a couple of times, then launches into perhaps the most drug-infused, strung-out riff ever recorded – a bold category with stiff competition. As Keith himself notes, it’s “zipping through the days at lightning speed.”
Is there any more thrilling sound than the opening lick of ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’? No, honestly. Ted Demme recognized this when he synchronously crafted the cocaine-production montage for Johnny Depp’s film ‘Blow’ to this track. As Keith expressed in ‘Life’: “‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ came out flying – I just found the tuning and the riff and started to swing it and Charlie picked up on it just like that, andIt was a moment where we thought, “hey, this has some groove.” Thus, smiles were everywhere. For a guitar player, playing those chopping, staccato bursts of chords is quite straightforward, very direct and minimal.
Legend has it that he composed this track in his sleep. At least, he briefly woke up to record it on a tape recorder before dozing off again – capturing the moment when he dropped the pick followed by “snoring for the next forty minutes.” Although Keith desired to replace his riff sketch with horns – as Otis Redding later did in his cover – manager Andrew Loog Oldham persuaded him to release it in its original form, leading to the birth of his iconic sound and a legend.
After dabbling in psychedelia – with questionable success – on ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’, the Stones declared their comeback to rock’n’roll with Richards’ most outstanding riff. It was astonishingly cool and eventually became the soundtrack for everything from Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’ to Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Hunter Thompson driving into the desert at the conclusion of Terry Gilliam’s ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’. Regarding the riff itself? Well, as Keith puts it: “It just floats there, baby.”
by Wallace McTavish
