The legendary artist Keith Richards said “put a new slant” on songwriting
As an industry veteran, almost everything Keith Richards comments on holds a significant amount of weight. Not only has the musician lived what seems like a thousand lives, but he has also witnessed the rise and fall of many legendary names, making him one of the more qualified and reliable narrators when it comes to the prowess and achievements of others.
Despite the many controversial words and actions uttered by Richards and his musical partner-in-crime, Mick Jagger, over the years, The Rolling Stones never really suffered at the hands of their offences. In fact, their rejection of any blanketed pretence and nonchalance in the face of discipline often helped their popularity rather than hindering it, drawing those with a taste for anarchy closer to their world and away from ‘cleaner’ rivals, like The Beatles.
From the beginning, Richards was always at the fore and on the sidelines of his own movement, catching the first-hand experience of living like a true rock ‘n’ roll aficionado while observing the innovations and pitfalls of others. While others tried to make ends meet—a game many failed at—Richards knew that being authentic was the only way to make it in such a competitive arena. As he said on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1974, “Any band that doesn’t play live is only half a band as far as I’m concerned.”
This focus on raw energy was often a significant facet that bled into their records. They would often come off stage and immediately enter a studio, embracing the next phase with their blood still boiling from the adrenaline of performing in front of thousands. For the Stones, nothing ever really felt overdone or tryhard; everything was executed with effortless energy, almost as if they always wrote and recorded with an attitude that said: “What will be, will be”.
But it was also this application of casual versus vibrancy that made them one of the biggest and most honest outfits out there, more so than The Beatles, who, in their eyes, felt a little too well-placed and constructed to match their level of rawness. This standard also meant that finding contemporary influences wasn’t always easy. According to Richards, however, one artist who exceeded expectations was Bob Dylan.
In his view, Dylan didn’t just create greater music; he transformed what it meant to be a great songwriter and gave it a fresh twist, which didn’t just change the course of music, it called out the many who didn’t have the talent to match his extraordinary execution. During an interview with Anthony DeCurtis in 2017, Richards described Dylan as an “inspiration” who “came out in defiance of all the odds”.
On his artistry, he continued: “What great songs. Beautifully expressed and beautifully written. He had a large effect, not just on the Stones particularly but all around. John Lennon was incredibly impressed with Bob right from the word go.”
He added: “He also put a new slant on how you could write songs. Do they all have to be three minutes long? If you needed more time to express what you want to say, take it and do it.”
For the Stones, excelling wasn’t always about being hitmakers and playing it safe. A lot of the time, ‘making it’ was more about ripping out the rulebook and generating new avenues of expression. While they proudly held this mantra at their core, it was musicians like Dylan who enabled many of these decisions, proving not only that it could be done but that it would be done with grace and charm.
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