The Artistry of Keith Richards

Currently, I'm working on two pieces from my list of 50.  The first is the Wes Montgomery song "Four on Six."  Like me, Montgomery is a native of Indiana and he is a mean cat on the six string.  The tempo is breakneck and mastery to my satisfaction is going to take a bit.

In order to keep things moving - I'm working on "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones as well.  This is one of my favorite songs of all time...in part because of the lazy way Keith Richards plays those licks at the beginning.  His bends feel like a 3 am drive through LA - when the streets feel haunted and nothing good is gonna happen and something bad probably just did.

Recorded in Feb/Mar of 1969, the song's dark urgency is a perfect reflection of the violence and social unrest of those times...and its lyrics, a cry for shelter from that storm, remain sadly relevant.  And Merry Clayton...your a stone cold heart if her vocals don't induce a chill or two. 

Keith, 1969

I think the most difficult part in learning this song has been nailing the timing and feel of the intro chords and the verses.  The solo bends haven't been too difficult for me...my bluesy lead style lends itself pretty well to a decent replication of Keith's style.  In general, Keith is about feel more than technique and his sense of rhythm is really the thing that can be difficult to perfect.           

RELEVANT NOTES

I am using standard tuning, 11 gauge strings on a Fender Esquire to learn this.  Still working on the amp/pedal combination to best mimic the tone.  And I may switch to a Telecaster as the Esquire has a replacement humbucker which makes its tone a little too dirty for the song.  More specifics on this when I commit.  I should have it up later this week.

The Rolling Stones Performing Gimme Shelter, 1969