Talk Is Cheap

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For the EP by Dave Melillo, see Talk Is Cheap (EP).
Talk Is Cheap
Talk Is Cheap cover
Studio album by Keith Richards
Released 3 October 1988
Recorded August 1987 – May 1988
Genre Rock
Length 47:01
Label Virgin
Producer Keith Richards
and Steve Jordan
Professional reviews
Keith Richards chronology
Talk is Cheap
(1988)		 Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988
(1991)

Talk Is Cheap is the solo album debut by Keith Richards, co-leader of The Rolling Stones, and was released in 1988. Recorded and released following a brief creative and personal fallout with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received glowing reviews upon its release.

Relations between Jagger and Richards had grown tense over the course of the 1980s, as they began to differ on the musical direction of their famous band. The image-conscious Jagger was keen to follow the trends and keep The Rolling Stones current, while Richards wanted to preserve their reputation and roots. When Jagger was more interested in pursuing his solo career instead of touring for Dirty Work in 1986, Richards was stung by Jagger's move and began contemplating a solo project for the first time.

Teaming up with Steve Jordan, who had worked on Dirty Work, the pair wrote several new songs (one of which, "Almost Hear You Sigh", would be placed on The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels in 1989 with lyrical modifications by Jagger). Recording began in August 1987 in Montreal and continued sporadically until the following May with visits to Montserrat and Bermuda. In order to assert his independence further, Richards would sign with Virgin Records, while The Rolling Stones were currently under contract with Sony Music (although they'd switch over to Virgin themselves in 1991).

Of the friends and celebrities taking part, including Ivan Neville, Sarah Dash, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, and Patti Scialfa, the most famous is former guitarist for The Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor.

The songs recorded for Talk Is Cheap find Richards in a confident and carefree mood, with a very natural air to the proceedings. The only moment where the setting turns somewhat heated is in "You Don't Move Me", a thinly-veiled response to Jagger that was well-publicised by the media upon the album's unveiling.

Released in October 1988, Talk Is Cheap was released to a very receptive critical reaction (many reviewers jokingly called it the best Rolling Stones album in years) and it peaked at #37 in the UK and #24 in the U.S., where it went gold.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Keith Richards and Steve Jordan.

  1. "Big Enough" – 3:17
  2. "Take It So Hard" – 3:11
  3. "Struggle" – 4:10
  4. "I Could Have Stood You Up" – 3:12
  5. "Make No Mistake" – 4:53
  6. "You Don't Move Me" – 4:48
    • Written for and about Mick Jagger at the height of his and Richards' well-publicised feud
  7. "How I Wish" – 3:32
  8. "Rockawhile" – 4:38
  9. "Whip It Up" – 4:01
  10. "Locked Away" – 5:48
  11. "It Means a Lot" – 5:22

[edit] Personnel

  • Keith Richards: lead vocals, guitar
  • Steve Jordan: drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Waddy Wachtel: guitar
  • Charley Drayton: bass
  • Ivan Neville: piano, keyboards
  • Bootsy Collins: bass on "Big Enough"
  • Bernie Worrell: organ on "Big Enough" & "You Don't Move Me"; clavinet on "Make No Mistake" & "Rockawhile"
  • Maceo Parker: alto saxophone on "Big Enough"
  • Joey Spampinato: bass on "I Could Have Stood You Up" & "Rockawhile"
  • Mick Taylor: guitar on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
  • Chuck Leavell: organ on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
  • Johnny Johnson: piano on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
  • Bobby Keys: tenor saxophone on "I Could Have Stood You Up" & "Whip It Up"
  • Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural: accordion on "You Don't Move Me", "Rockawhile" & "Locked Away"
  • Michael Doucet: violin on "Locked Away"
  • Sarah Dash: background vocals
  • Patti Scialfa: background vocals

[edit] Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1988 UK Top 100 Albums 37
1988 The Billboard 200 24
1989 The Billboard 200 54

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1988 "Take It So Hard" Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
1988 "You Don't Move Me" Mainstream Rock Tracks 18
1989 "Struggle" Mainstream Rock Tracks 47
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