Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Old Barbarians: Keys/Richards 75

I could have done any number of big birthdays today, but I went with a two-for-one special, featuring a milestone day for two luminaries born mere hours apart and forever associated musically.
One left us a while back, and one of them is still very much around. We probably need to start to think about what kind of world we're gonna leave behind for him when we depart.
The deceased one had to quit music for a while, as the lifestyle influences from the still-living one nearly ended him decades sooner.
When he was still around, the two of them shared a stage on every continent on Earth but for the polar caps. Which are melting anyway, nothing to see there.
The obviously-living-to-age-199 one just announced he has quit drinking, causing Scotland to announce its secession from the UK.
I'm kidding. About the secession part. Although there's no way Britain can leave the European Union now without assuming immediate third-world status.
They're both 75 today... back in the day you could have got even money wagering they'd not make it to 35.
I'm sure the birthday is bittersweet for the guy that remains, without his running partner there to share in the (yes, they must be legendary) festivities.
That's the tumble of the dice I guess, when you've been decades at the epicenter of one of Earth's most beloved bands.
Born the very same day in 1943, Keith Richards and Bobby Keys will always be some sort of inseparable.
To mark the magnificent milestone, I slapped a nice Stones show, or the 76-minute segment of it that got taped anyway, into the cloud.
This one is from the European leg of the Tattoo You tour and sees both of our heroes in a full frontal assault on their respective instruments. Keef also sings a bit.
The Rolling Stones
Stadio San Paolo 
Napoli, Italy 
7.17.1982

01 Under My Thumb
02 When the Whip Comes Down
03 Let's Spend the Night Together
04 Shattered
05 Neighbors
06 Black Limousine
07 Just My Imagination
08 band introductions
09 Little T & A
10 Angie
11 Tumbling Dice
12 She's So Cold
13 Hang Fire
14 Miss You
15 Honky Tonk Woman
16 Brown Sugar
17 Start Me Up

Total time : 1:16:27

Mick Jagger – vocals, guitar
Keith Richards – guitar, vocals
Ron Wood – guitar, vocals
Bill Wyman – bass
Charlie Watts - drums, percussion
Ian Stewart – piano
Chuck Leavell – keyboards
Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone
Gene Barge – alto saxophone

FM capture of unknown origin; could be audio from a TV broadcast
sourced from the 1994 boot silver CD "Shattered In Europe" on the Swingin' Pig label
I'm tryna get back tomorrow with a rare centennial celebration of another long-departed legend.
But today is the day to get your Ya-Ya's good and out with this show, featuring as it does today's two forever-linked birthday lads.--J.
12.18.1943 - 12.2.2014