Main Offender is the second solo studio album by Rolling Stone Keith Richards. It was released in 1992, while the Stones were on a break between the Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge albums.
Richards once again teamed up with collaborator and friend Steve Jordan - who worked with him on his first solo album, Talk Is Cheap - and the recording sessions with the group of musicians affectionately known as The X-Pensive Winos took place in California and New York between March and September, 1992. Mini European and North American tours followed the record's release. I almost saw a show at Massey Hall in Toronto, and to this day regret missing it.
The album received generally positive reviews, although it failed to match the success of Talk Is Cheap. And Main Offender would be Richard's last solo outing until 2015's Crosseyed Heart.
Richards has said that recording Main Offender was easier than recording Talk Is Cheap. “With Talk Is Cheap, we just kind of drifted from rehearsals into cutting tracks," he told Rolling Stone magazine. "You couldn’t really say where the rehearsing left off and the recording started. This one was two straight sessions of ten days each. We had the songs ready in front, and everybody was ready to expand on the thing.”
The core lineup was more-or-less the same as on Talk Is Cheap, with Richards and Waddy Wachtel handling guitar duties, Charley Drayton on bass, Steve Jordan on drums and keyboardist Ivan Neville. However, this time 'round the members of the band sometimes swapped instruments amongst each other, which added another texture to the sound.
The reggae track Words of Wonder, for instance, is a game of musical chairs. Richards plays bass, Drayton mounts the drums and Jordan picks up a guitar. And on Hate It When You Leave, Richards plays Neville's keyboards while Neville scoots over to bass.
Main Offender is neither a departure nor a stretch. It's a Keith Richards album and that's exactly what it sounds like. It feels more relaxed than Talk Is Cheap, which might be a reflection of Richards being less stressed when he made it. When he made Talk Is Cheap it was during a tense standoff with bandmate Mick Jagger. This record was made during a period of relative calm in the two mens' often stormy relationship.
Mick and Keith would patch things up and the Rolling Stones would record Steel Wheels before embarking on the most lucrative 30-plus years of the band's career that would see them perform on ridiculously massive stages in front of tens of millions of people.
On this solo outing - and on his two others, as well - Richards remains true to form and never strays too far from the blues, something that can't always be said for the Stones.
This album's followup, Cross-Eyed Heart ,might prove to be Richards' last solo run, although we are talking about Keith Richards here. So who knows? He may decide to record another solo record should a special enough occasion come around, like say his 100th birthday, perhaps?
It could happen, and it will be just as good as Main Offender. You can count on it!
The pressing I have is the original release and it sounds wonderful. Full and rich and sharp edges all the way around. Definitely …
Main Offender is the second solo studio album by Rolling Stone Keith Richards. It was released in 1992, while the Stones were on a break between the Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge albums.
Richards once again teamed up with collaborator and friend Steve Jordan - who worked with him on his first solo album, Talk Is Cheap - and the recording sessions with the group of musicians affectionately known as The X-Pensive Winos took place in California and New York between March and September, 1992. Mini European and North American tours followed the record's release. I almost saw a show at Massey Hall in Toronto, and to this day regret missing it.
The album received generally positive reviews, although it failed to match the success of Talk Is Cheap. And Main Offender would be Richard's last solo outing until 2015's Crosseyed Heart.
Richards has said that recording Main Offender was easier than recording Talk Is Cheap. “With Talk Is Cheap, we just kind of drifted from rehearsals into cutting tracks," he told Rolling Stone magazine. "You couldn’t really say where the rehearsing left off and the recording started. This one was two straight sessions of ten days each. We had the songs ready in front, and everybody was ready to expand on the thing.”
The core lineup was more-or-less the same as on Talk Is Cheap, with Richards and Waddy Wachtel handling guitar duties, Charley Drayton on bass, Steve Jordan on drums and keyboardist Ivan Neville. However, this time 'round the members of the band sometimes swapped instruments amongst each other, which added another texture to the sound.
The reggae track Words of Wonder, for instance, is a game of musical chairs. Richards plays bass, Drayton mounts the drums and Jordan picks up a guitar. And on Hate It When You Leave, Richards plays Neville's keyboards while Neville scoots over to bass.
Main Offender is neither a departure nor a stretch. It's a Keith Richards album and that's exactly what it sounds like. It feels more relaxed than Talk Is Cheap, which might be a reflection of Richards being less stressed when he made it. When he made Talk Is Cheap it was during a tense standoff with bandmate Mick Jagger. This record was made during a period of relative calm in the two mens' often stormy relationship.
Mick and Keith would patch things up and the Rolling Stones would record Steel Wheels before embarking on the most lucrative 30-plus years of the band's career that would see them perform on ridiculously massive stages in front of tens of millions of people.
On this solo outing - and on his two others, as well - Richards remains true to form and never strays too far from the blues, something that can't always be said for the Stones.
This album's followup, Cross-Eyed Heart ,might prove to be Richards' last solo run, although we are talking about Keith Richards here. So who knows? He may decide to record another solo record should a special enough occasion come around, like say his 100th birthday, perhaps?
It could happen, and it will be just as good as Main Offender. You can count on it!
The pressing I have is the original release and it sounds wonderful. Full and rich and sharp edges all the way around. Definitely …
BONUS TRACK
Excerpted from Guitar.com, originally published in 1997 …
His own phrase is “five strings, two fingers, one asshole”. But everyone else has their own description of the Keith Richards phenomenon: from ‘the human riff’ through to ‘the world’s most elegantly wasted human being’. Sitting after-hours in his New York headquarters, Richards displays his own distinctive brand of fitness, born out of nervous energy rather than intensive exercise. The famous lines are etched as deeply in his face as the photographs suggest – and they match perfectly the rips in his favourite denim jacket or the dents in Micawber, his beloved Telecaster. Keef’s not knackered, he’s just nicely worn-in.
His new album, Main Offender, proves that Keith loves making music, whether it’s with the Stones, blues musicians like John Lee Hooker and Johnnie Johnson, or The X-Pensive Winos. “The main thing that’s struck me about this album is how lucky I am that I’ve managed to get the same bunch of guys together again, because great musicians don’t tend to hang around for three or four years. And they’re pretty hot!"
Richards has frequently said he’d have been a drummer if he could have coordinated all four limbs, and his partnership with Steve Jordan defines the sound of the new album, just as much as his partnership with Charlie Watts delineates the elegant chaos of the Stones.
Richards’ ability to walk into a room, snap his fingers and work out if it will prove sympathetic to live recording is well known. So it’s no surprise that all the rhythm tracks for this album were laid down completely live. “We played in one room together. The drums were always in the same room. We put some amps in isolation booths, especially the bass amp, and usually slaved a small amp outside so we could still do it live. And we used a lot of ambient mics, so we had a lot of room sound.
“For studios, I’m more bothered about the room than the recording hardware, because we bring in a lot of our own equipment. Basically, I look for the room itself, how high it is, what shape it is and what kind of echo it’s got. When you find the right setup, it’s great. So, usually, when I start, I walk in the room and say ‘Are you going to be a friend or a foe?’
On this album, I'd say he found a friend.
MORE KEITH RICHARDS
Excerpted from Guitar.com, originally published in 1997 …
His own phrase is “five strings, two fingers, one asshole”. But everyone else has their own description of the Keith Richards phenomenon: from ‘the human riff’ through to ‘the world’s most elegantly wasted human being’. Sitting after-hours in his New York headquarters, Richards displays his own distinctive brand of fitness, born out of nervous energy rather than intensive exercise. The famous lines are etched as deeply in his face as the photographs suggest – and they match perfectly the rips in his favourite denim jacket or the dents in Micawber, his beloved Telecaster. Keef’s not knackered, he’s just nicely worn-in.
His new album, Main Offender, proves that Keith loves making music, whether it’s with the Stones, blues musicians like John Lee Hooker and Johnnie Johnson, or The X-Pensive Winos. “The main thing that’s struck me about this album is how lucky I am that I’ve managed to get the same bunch of guys together again, because great musicians don’t tend to hang around for three or four years. And they’re pretty hot!"
Richards has frequently said he’d have been a drummer if he could have coordinated all four limbs, and his partnership with Steve Jordan defines the sound of the new album, just as much as his partnership with Charlie Watts delineates the elegant chaos of the Stones.
Richards’ ability to walk into a room, snap his fingers and work out if it will prove sympathetic to live recording is well known. So it’s no surprise that all the rhythm tracks for this album were laid down completely live. “We played in one room together. The drums were always in the same room. We put some amps in isolation booths, especially the bass amp, and usually slaved a small amp outside so we could still do it live. And we used a lot of ambient mics, so we had a lot of room sound.
“For studios, I’m more bothered about the room than the recording hardware, because we bring in a lot of our own equipment. Basically, I look for the room itself, how high it is, what shape it is and what kind of echo it’s got. When you find the right setup, it’s great. So, usually, when I start, I walk in the room and say ‘Are you going to be a friend or a foe?’
On this album, I'd say he found a friend.
MORE KEITH RICHARDS
