Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/29/1992
Run Time: 46:48
In 1987, it was anyone's guess if
the Stones would ever get back together. Sure,
Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards were well known for their public disagreements, but when
Jagger decided to tour in support of his second solo album,
Primitive Cool,
Richards was disheartened and finally succumbed to the idea of recording without
the Rolling Stones. Taking the band he had assembled to back up
Chuck Berry for the
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll documentary (along with longtime session player
Waddy Wachtel),
Richards put together an album that was straightforward, musical, and better than a good portion of
the Stones' output in the first half of the '80s. The lead single
"Take It So Hard," "Whip It Up," and
"Struggle" are classic
Richards riffology, and tracks like
"Locked Away" are emotional without being maudlin and worldly but not sounding
adult contemporary. The main point of
Talk Is Cheap is the music, nothing more;
Richards obviously didn't want to fret about anything but the groove. While
Jagger's solo work sounded like
Mick with some studio musicians,
Keith had assembled a band, found a productive songwriting partner in
Steve Jordan, and created a record that was free of frills. Simply put,
Richards sounded like he was playing for himself, and playing with a certain sense of enjoyment. The new band,
the X-pensive Winos, had a different work ethic than
the Stones, forcing
Richards to focus on the music. What resulted was a solid album built on fundamentals rather than style. It's hard not to see who the real musical force was in
the Stones after hearing
Talk Is Cheap.
~Chris True, All Music Guide
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