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Talk Is Cheap
Studio album by Keith Richards
Released	3 October 1988
Recorded	August 1987 – May 1988
Studio	Air Studios, Montserrat; Le Studio, Morin-Heights, Quebec
Genre	Rock & roll hard rock roots rock funk rock
Length	47:01
Label	Virgin
Producer	Keith Richards Steve Jordan
Keith Richards chronology
Talk Is Cheap (1988) Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988 (1991)

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.

Background

Relations between Jagger and Richards had grown tense during the 1980s 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.

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
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Chicago Tribune
Los Angeles Times
NME	3/10
Q
Record Collector
Rolling Stone
Uncut	7/10
The Village Voice	B+

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. The Houston Chronicle noted that "if Richards can't sing and his songs are unexceptional, he co-opted those potential problems by providing these sessions with a looseness that borders on the feel of a demo tape, an ingenious antidote to the day's polished pop (why eight studios then?)." It peaked at No. 37 in the UK and No. 24 in the US, where it went gold.

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

Certifications

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. Racine, Marty (16 October 1988). "Talk Is Cheap Keith Richards Virgin". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 11.
12. ^ "KEITH RICHARDS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
13. ^ "Keith Richards - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
14. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
15. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
16. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". ZPAV. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
17. "Canadian album certifications – Keith Richards – Talk Is Cheap". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
18. "American album certifications – Keith Richards – Talk Is Cheap". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 23 August 2022.

• 1988 debut albums
• Keith Richards albums
• Virgin Records albums
• Albums recorded at Le Studio