Keith Richards: Under the Influence

Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)

*** (out of 4)

This Netflix documentary has Keith Richards talking about a variety of subjects while touring with The Rolling Stones on their 2015 tour as well as preparing his solo album Crosseyed Heart.

If you're a fan of Richards or the Stones then you're obviously going to want to check this film out as there's some great interview footage as well as some behind-the-scenes footage from the recent tour. The biggest flaw with this film is that it's rather uneven and I'd argue that 83 minutes isn't nearly enough time to fully get into the mind of Richards. Part of the film is a promo piece for the new album as Richards talks about what made him get back into the studio with a solo album and he also talks about his influences on the album. Whenever the new album isn't being discussed we get the legends talking about his influences, other rebels of rock music, country music, the blues and what it was like being chewed out by Chuck Berry.

Again, this is a good and entertaining film but at the same time you can't help but think there's so much more to know about Richards and there's just not enough time here to capture everything. Still, it was great fun getting to see him in the studio recording the new tracks and there's no question that he always manages to have something interesting to say.

It's a Casual Affair, Hanging Out with Keith as He Talks About Discovering "The Blues", and How He and Mick Jagger Formed What Became "The Greatest Rock n Roll Band In the World',

Only Because "The Blues" had so Moved Them, that They just Wanted to "Turn-On" Other People to the "Pleasure"

Man, Their Motivation Succeeded Beyond All Measure.

Their Dedication was so Great, that "The Stones" Told the Popular Teen Show "Shindig", "You Want "^The Rolling Stones", well, "Only if you also Book "Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters".

The Show Reluctantly Said Yes (American Media and Culture were Still "Segregated" in Mind and Soul).

It Became a "Spearhead" of America's Musical Culture Changes in Attitude and Gratitude for Forgotten Folks who were Forced to "Paint Ceilings" and Do Other-Things with Little Regard for Their Artistic Contributions.

The 80+ min Show is Short but Sweet.

With its Main Focus, the Lifetime Love, Advocacy of and Affection For the Musical Contributions, and to Touch on Other Forms of Music that He Embraced and Included in His Prolific Out-Put that was the Engine that Drove His Career as a Performer from a "Labor-of-Love" Grounding.

This Doc. Is an "Elementary School" Primer.

Most of the Historical Happenings, and His Personal Story are Now Well Known. His "Book" is Simply Called "Life",

and has Keith Articulating His Personal Definition in the Common-Man-Vernacular..."Life is a Funny Thing".

While Admittedly "Wasted" a Lot of the Time, and His Image of "Him Walking Down the Street with Jack Daniels and Cigarettes by HIs Side. Is One He Can't Shake..."Image never leaves you, it's not like a shadow, it's there 24-7".

But it Certainly Can Be Said...Keith Richards did Not is Not "Wasting His Life".

The Infamous "Drug-Use" and Partying is Only Mentioned Sparingly and Waved-Off by a Few Sentences Like...

"My Father is a "Straight" Guy and He can't "Process" that His Son was "Busted for Drugs".

But He and Keith have Traveled Around the World Together for the last 20 Years. Keith Proudly Comments..."I enjoyed showing Him the World and He enjoyed seeing it".

It's a Casual Affair, This Documentary, and Keith Invited a Few of His Musician Friends to "Hang Out". And You're Invited too. But Keep in Mind that it isn't Going to Get any Deeper than...

"I Know it's Only Rock n Roll but I like it, Love it, Yes I Do!"

I've always considered Keith the real driving force in the Stones, now that I'm aware of how important he was to the creation of songs for the band. There's an audio clip here of him crafting the melody of "Street Fighting Man" with his overlaid acoustic guitars and Charlie Watts drumming, where you can pretty much hear the fully-fledged song and Keith then casually says, "And Mick just came in to finish it off...", presumably with the lyric and good as Jagger's lyrics often were, there's no question that it's the riffs which really made the songs, at least in my opinion they did.

Richards is also the only Stone to make a really good solo album, if you listen to his "Talk Is Cheap" and "Main Offender" albums, plus he wrote a really good autobiography "Life" some years ago so far me, I'd rather catch a documentary on him than his old mate Mick.

This Netflix production, as the name suggests, talks to the man about his main musical influences, which in order appear to be the blues, rock and roll, country and reggae music so the film takes him to places like New York, Chicago, Nashville and Jamaica allowing the man to regale us with his love for each musical style as well as inserting some vintage clips not only of some of his own musical heroes like Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry, but also of him interacting with them too. There are some nice anecdotes about how modest Muddy was and how demanding Chuck was although one or two of his other tales appear a little on the tall side.

Of course, he had a new record out at the time called "Crosseyed Heart", so we get to see him playing with his solo band demoing tracks for the album and chatting informally with his band members. Debunking his caricatured image of the drunken stoner, just as he did in his book, I find a lot of what he says quite sage, especially at the end when he stresses the importance of his family to him. It was warming to hear him talk about reconciling with his twenty-years absent father who'd walked out on him and his mum before he became famous. Occasionally he rambles on a bit about the magic of music and it's obvious that he's the main man the way everybody around him seems to wait for him to stop speaking before laughing with him, plus the producer gets his infrequent collaborator Tom Waits to spout a lot of adulatory BS in Richards' name, but Keith definitely comes over as a decent, grounded guy, as evidenced by him stopping his chauffeured limo to sign autographs for his fans.

I'd have appreciated a bit more length and depth to this documentary but you suspect at ten times the length you'd still only be scratching the surface of the man.

The legendary Keith Richards reveals the artists, individuals and music that influenced his music.

Interesting documentary, on a very interesting subject. Keith Richards is one of the most influential and successful artists in music history and his views on music are generally worth listening to. The documentary does a reasonable job of showing what and who influenced him, making him the musical genius and megastar he has become.

Some good clips from the influential artists, plus Rolling Stones clips and Keith Richards solo clips, including behind-the-scenes footage from him working on his latest album.

However, the documentary lacks focus, jumping around and not really making too much of a point in the end. In a way this adds charm to proceedings, as this fits in with the laid-backness of Richards's persona. It would still be nice to have some degree of order though...

In addition, as you would imagine of someone of Keith Richards's ilk, his influences are broad and there is much ground to cover. This leaves not much in the way of depth, e.g. reggae gets covered in about 5 minutes and even Chuck Berry, probably the greatest influence on Richards, is only highlighted through the anniversary concert Richards appeared at.

A longer, more detailed, documentary would have been great.

The drunk chuckle of Keith Richards makes me smile. This wasn't so much a documentary about Keith, but more about his music influences. If you're a guitarist or big fan of the blues, then you'll probably love this. If not, then you may find it a bit underwhelming as I did in parts.

The first half was a bit like hanging around a music store as guitarists talked about their instruments and recording techniques. I did enjoy hearing how 'Street Fighting Man' came about in the studio though.

The sheer scope of different genres and musical influences on Keith was impressive, as was his sheer love for music and rock n roll itself. The reggae and country segments were particularly interesting - as for me, the Stones were my stepping stone into the whole country genre.

Have you ever wanted to see Keith Richards and Chuck Berry argue? Well this is your chance. I also had no idea about Keith's proficiency on a piano - was great to see him playing!

By the end, you feel like you've been hanging out with Keith and he starts to feel like a good friend. A brief touching moment on family and love was a nice way to wrap things up.

If you've always just thought of Keith as a pirate or drunkard, then watch this to get a better understanding of the man and how gifted a musician he is - we need to appreciate these music legends while they're still around!