Talk Is Cheap

Talk Is Cheap is the debut solo album by English musician Keith Richards, the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released during a long-standing falling out with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received positive reviews upon its release.

For other uses, see Talk Is Cheap (disambiguation).

Talk Is Cheap
Studio album by
Keith Richards
Released3 October 1988
RecordedAugust 1987 – May 1988
StudioAir Studios, Montserrat; Le Studio, Morin-Heights, Quebec
Genre
Length47:01
LabelVirgin
Producer
Keith Richards chronology
Talk Is Cheap
(1988)		 Main Offender
(1992)

Background

Relations between Jagger and Richards had grown tense into the third decade of the Rolling Stones as they began to disagree on the musical direction of the band; "You Don't Move Me" would be written about their feud. 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 began a solo project for the first time.

Richards teamed up with Steve Jordan, who had worked on Dirty Work and eventually became the Rolling Stones' touring drummer following Charlie Watts' death in 2021, and 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 lyric modifications by Jagger). Recording began in August 1987 at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec, and continued sporadically until the following May with visits to Montserrat and Bermuda. In order to assert his independence further, Richards signed with Virgin Records, while the Rolling Stones were under contract to Sony Music (they followed him to Virgin in 1993).

The core of the band, called the X-Pensive Winos, consisted of Waddy Wachtel, Ivan Neville, Charley Drayton and Jordan, with many guest artists taking part in the recording, including Sarah Dash, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, the Memphis Horns and Patti Scialfa, and the only musician from the Stones to appear, guitarist Mick Taylor. Outtakes later surfaced that included an eight-minute version of "Struggle" and two passes at "Almost Hear You Sigh", as well as two unreleased jams, the 14-minute "She Put the Mark on Me" and the 12-minute "Breakin'".

A live version of "Make No Mistake" performed at the Hollywood Palladium was later featured in an episode of The Sopranos and on the 2001 soundtrack album The Sopranos: Peppers & Eggs: Music from the HBO Original Series.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
NME3/10[5]
Q[6]
Record Collector[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Uncut7/10[9]
The Village VoiceB+[10]

Released in October 1988, Talk Is Cheap was met with critical acclaim, with some reviews half-jokingly calling it the best Rolling Stones album in years. It peaked at No. 37[11] in the UK and No. 24 in the US,[12] where it went gold.[13]

Track listing

All tracks written by Keith Richards and Steve Jordan.

Standard edition

Side one

  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

Side two

  1. "How I Wish" – 3:32
  2. "Rockawhile" – 4:38
  3. "Whip It Up" – 4:01
  4. "Locked Away" – 5:48
  5. "It Means a Lot" – 5:22

2019 reissue bonus tracks
  1. "Blues Jam" (Keith Richards, Steve Jordan, Mick Taylor, Joey Spampinato, Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Leavell, Bobby Keys) – 4:39
  2. "My Babe" (Willie Dixon) – 3:13
  3. "Slim" (Richards, Jordan, Taylor, Spampinato, Johnson, Keys) – 10:18
  4. "Big Town Playboy" (Little Johnny Jones) – 4:19
  5. "Mark on Me" – 5:51
  6. "Brute Force" – 4:00

The 2019 reissue features six previously unreleased tracks.

Personnel

The X-Pensive Winos

Charts

Weekly charts
Year Chart Position
1988 UK Top 100 Albums[11] 37
1988 Australian (ARIA Charts)[14] 15
1988 The Billboard 200[12] 24
1989 The Billboard 200[12] 54
2019 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[15] 44
UK Top 100 Albums[11] 43

Certifications
Certifications for Talk Is Cheap
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Deming, Mark. "Talk Is Cheap – Keith Richards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. Rosen, Jody (April 2006). "Keith Richards: Talk Is Cheap". Blender. Vol. 5, no. 3.
  3. Thomas, John D. (12 January 2003). "Solo cuts". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. Waller, Don (2 October 1988). "Keef Rolls Alone". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  5. Staunton, Terry (8 October 1988). "Cheap and Nasty". NME. p. 44.
  6. Snow, Mat (November 1988). "Cherishable". Q. No. 26.
  7. Needs, Kris (April 2019). "Hot Gossip". Record Collector. No. 491. pp. 96–97. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  8. Fricke, David (1 December 1988). "Talk Is Cheap". Rolling Stone. No. 540. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. Bonner, Michael (April 2019). "Keith Richards – Talk Is Cheap". Uncut. No. 263. p. 44. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  10. Christgau, Robert (22 November 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  11. "KEITH RICHARDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  12. "Keith Richards - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  13. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  15. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  16. "Canadian album certifications – Keith Richards – Talk Is Cheap". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  17. "American album certifications – Keith Richards – Talk Is Cheap". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
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