Keith Richards: Satisfaction [Paperback]

Christopher Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2004

When he first came before a judge in the 1960s, Keith Richards heard himself described as "a moron" and read newspaper headlines announcing UGLY LOOKS! UGLY SPEECH! UGLY MANNERS! Yet Richards's strangely flamboyant personality, filled with eccentricities and contradictions, suggested a more complex character than the "elegantly wasted" junkie who wrote and played the Rolling Stones' best-known songs. In an industry notorious for its high burnout rate, Keith Richards remains a legendary survivor. This candid look at the Rolling Stones legend is being published in conjunction with Richard's sixtieth birthday celebration. Keith Richards: Satisfaction looks at the career of a man who was as admired as he was feared. In this behind-the-scenes story, employing dozens of new sources, the author charts the life and music of the shy, half-educated boy from Dartford, the writer of pop classics like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Ruby Tuesday," and "Brown Sugar"; the kohl-eyed drug addict slumped on his mattress throne at the Ritz Hotel, and the more recently contented family man who nonetheless continues to be rock's most indomitable living practitioner. It's a hard, fast, sometimes shocking saga of a flawed but wildly creative life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having written books on Kurt Cobain, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Sting, among others, Sandford is no stranger to the rock bio and attacks his newest venture with skill and style. Despite limited access to "the Human Riff," Sandford taps into scores of sources to construct Richards's story. While his prose might be a little too English for some stateside readers ("Keith's hair was teased high as a guardsman's busby" might not resonate with everyone), Sandford does an expert job of capturing a complicated subject. Stones fans will cherish stories of the band coming together—such as when Richards met a bright young London School of Economics student named Mike Jagger—the genesis of their hits, bandmate Brian Jones's staggering self-destruction and their fateful Altamont performance. There's enough drugs, booze and sex to satisfy even the most lusty soul, with entertaining cameos from the likes of Clapton, the Beatles and Marianne Faithfull, the latter immersed in a tempestuous love triangle with the so-called Glimmer Twins. "Faithfull fell in love with Keith as she rejected Jagger's blundering sexual advances. Which he repeated with astonishing resilience," Sandford writes. "Only a day or two later Keith unselfishly confirmed what Marianne already knew. 'Mick's really stuck on you. Go on, luv, give him a bell. He's not so bad.' " While it's frequently difficult to tell who the author is quoting, his easy storytelling style and expert musical knowledge make for a satisfying read.
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Review

'Highly entertaining...Of this latest crop of Stones books, Sandford's affectionate, warts-and-all portrait of Keith is undoubtedly the best read' -- Charles Spencer, Sunday Telegraph 20031116 'A pungent, air-guitar twanging celebration of one of rock's true wild men' -- The Times 20031206 'A highly readable portrait of the irresistible millionaire minstrel' -- Independent 20031206 'An entertaining and gossipy litany of drugs, booze, sex, fights and more drugs, from which Keith emerges with a surprising amount of dignity' -- Independent on Sunday 20031207 'An unpretentious account of the life of a musical innovator' -- Irish News 20031115 'Great for completists and newer Stones fans alike' -- OK! Magazine 20031125 'Many biographers can't resist at least some moralising. This author has avoided that pitfall' -- Aberdeen Evening Express 20031115 'This penetrating and entertaining biography of Keith Richards reveals a life of brilliant talent, drugs, sex and lurid excess' -- Sunday Express 20031214 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786713682
• ISBN-13: 978-0786713684
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,508,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different angle on Keith Richards, April 2, 2005

By 

R.J. (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keith Richards: Satisfaction (Paperback)

Satisfaction isn't the rehashed bio that some would call it. Instead it approaches the subject of Keith Richards from a different perspective. It gives a good picture of the working class background he came from, especially as his hometown of Dartford was hit hard by the German bombers in WW2. Richards emerges as a bit of a mother's boy, alienated from his taciturn father, and not particularly interested in school. Music was a large part of his family from his mother's side, and as hard as it is to imagine, Richards was also a soloist as a boy at Westminster Abbey. So there's a good background of his childhood and youth.

As Richards met Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, the theme begins, of Richards being the most important part of what became the Rolling Stones. Certainly the author presents a strong argument; for all the influences he has had, such as Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry, Keith Richards crafted a sound with the Rolling Stones that became unique, and it's impossible to imagine another guitar player who could create such a sound. Much is written here of Richards' (and Jagger's) single-minded dedication as well, to adapt as necessary to success but never losing the fundamental core of what the band was all about.

The darker side of Richards is explored as well, and certainly Sandford pulls no punches in showing what happens to young men who come into a ton of money. Richards' drug use nearly wrecked the group in the 1970's, and unlike other writers Sandford rightly stays away from glamourizing any of this. After reading through this one is amazed that Richards is alive and well in 2005.

On the downside, the book does tend to cover familiar ground in the second half. Sandford also has written a book on Mick Jagger, but it's hard to tell since he is given so little credit or mention to the singer here. As much as Richards crafted the sound of the group, Jagger is just as vital to the group, it should go without saying.

It's interesting to read that while Richards was at the height of his rock and roll lifestyle, with the drugs, his house burning down, the cars he crashed fairly regularly, he still was a homebody who would go to his mother's for shepherd's pie and bangers and mash. The man who wrote "Sympathy For The Devil" also has become an old English uncle type in his 60's, and Sandford does a good job describing Keith's change into an elder statesman.

Overall a good read with some new perspectives.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Can't get no..., March 29, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keith Richards: Satisfaction (Paperback)

Keith Richards is a hard person to tie down into a biography, with his rollercoaster life and career. And not having access to him makes "biographing" even more difficult. Christopher Sandford's meandering focus and lack of new material make this an unsatisfying rock'n'roll experience.

Keith Richards was the pirate bad boy of the Rolling Stones. Without the outright sex appeal of Mick Jagger or the angel-faced nastiness of Brian Jones, Richards carved a niche by being himself -- strong, kind of shy, and devoted to making music. He rose to prominence as the brilliant guitar player and songwriter, ran off with Jones' much-abused girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, had two children, got hooked on heroin and finally turned his life around so he wouldn't lost it.

"Satisfaction" is anything but. Most of the information in "Satisfaction" is recycled from other books. And about halfway through the book, Sandford seems to get bored with his subject, writing a bunch of stuff about Bianca, Mick, and the other Stones, before meandering back to Keith, Anita and Patti Hansen. Not to mention that small errors pepper the text (Brian Jones had two illegitimate children who were older than Julian).

Most annoyingly, Sandford soft-pedals a lot of the controversy and news swirling around the Stones. He avoids talking much about the then-shocking music and statements they made, or the many small ways they tried to rub the anti-rock crowd the wrong way. It's like he doesn't want to admit that they were rock's bad boys at the time.

He does give good insights into different parts of Keith's life, such as his prematurely hard-edged son Marlon, or the appeal of ex-model/actress Anita Pallenberg. But his insights also seem recycled; it's as though he has difficulty understanding what motivates any of the people he writes about. His writing itself is dull and spiritless, almost patronizing, and the anecdotes tend to be either brief or garbled.

Keith Richards was better profiled in Victor Bockris's biographer. In this biography, you can't get no "Satisfaction"...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No Satisfaction, January 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Keith Richards (Hardcover)

As a collector of "all things Keith", from books to his guitar picks, this book was a big disappointment. It rehashed things I have known for many years and I sincerely wish I had not paid so much for this book. But it does fill my cabinet with another piece of Keith.
At the very end of the book, there was one thing which I did not know previously. If money is an issue with you at this time, please do not spend it here.