The 1968 album Keith Richards called his greatest work: “The best of everything”
The entire encyclopedia of classic rock riffs is practically descended from Keith Richards.
The Rolling Stones were already supposed to be the antithesis of what bands like The Beatles were doing, but there was a certain sense of swagger in Keef’s fingers that was laced with the DNA of every single blues artist that he followed when he was a kid. But even for all of the classic albums that The Stones put out during their lifespan, Richards felt that certain records stood out as the moments where they were the most true to themselves.
But picking a favourite Stones album is one of the hardest choices for any rock fan to narrow down. The Stones are one of the few bands that had periods where everything they made was great, and while Exile on Main St is their acknowledged masterpiece, no one would blame you if you thought that a record like Let it Bleed or Sticky Fingers were at the top of everyone’s list. But Richards was always one to rely on instinct when choosing his favourites, and that means looking at where he was in the moment.
Every single record has memories for Richards whenever he worked on them, and there are probably more than a few that he would rather not revisit. He was never a big fan of playing into trends like Mick Jagger wanted to every single time they went into the studio, and despite having a few hits with the more trendy tunes like ‘Miss You’, it’s not like Richards is putting those tunes at the top of his list.
The best iteration of The Stones for him was when they were digging deeper into the blues, which probably explains why he favoured Mick Taylor so much. He didn’t exactly fit the same vibe as The Stones every single time he played a solo, but the fluidity of every one of his solos made the band feel a lot more connected to their roots than any other average rock and roll band. But in the context of The Stones’ story, Beggars Banquet is the moment where they were in shambles.
Brian Jones was well on his way out, and Richards was the one tasked with recording most of the guitar for the album. And while that does present the band at half capacity, Richards felt that the mood of the record gave him the sound that he wanted. The blues songs on the record like ‘No Expectations’ had genuine pathos behind them, and even when he ended up breaking out the country tunes, ‘Factory Girl’ is one of the greatest acoustic tunes that they had ever made up until that point.
So while many of their records may have been more well-crafted, Beggars Banquet was the one sweet spot for Richards in the band’s discography, saying, “That was the most important time for the band. It was the first change the Stones had to make after the teeny-bopper phase. Until then, you went onstage fighting a losing battle. I guess I like Beggars Banquet the best of everything we’ve done.”
And you can feel that sense of growing up across Jagger’s lyrics as well. There were more than a few songs on their last few albums that took the borderline misogynistic approach to their lyrics like ‘Under My Thumb’, but the characters in this song seemed genuinely heartbroken, whether it was the poor sap left at the altar on ‘Dear Doctor’ or the protagonist in ‘No Expectations’ bordering a train bound for nowhere.
The band would get a hell of a lot more bluesier as the years went on, but the balance on Beggars Banquet fits perfectly with both of its covers. It’s down and dirty when it wants to be, but when you listen to the ballads on there, you’ll start to realise why The Stones deserve to at least be in the same conversation as The Beatles as the greatest band of the 1960s.
