Friday, November 9, 2012

The Rolling Stones: Keith Richards talks about 50th Anniversary concerts


Next week, The Rolling Stones will release “GRRR!,” a new greatest hits collection to mark the band’s 50th Anniversary.

“GRRR!” will be available in five different formats, including a three-CD 50-track version and a four-CD super-deluxe version that includes 80 songs. The package features two new tracks: “Doom And Gloom” and the just-released “One More Shot.”

The Stones are currently in Paris rehearsing for a series of four fall concert dates in London and New York.

The band will perform at London’s O2 Arena on November 25 and 29, and then the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on December 13 and 15.

The December 15 concert will be telecast live via pay-per-view at 9pm EST. Entitled “One More Shot”, the pay-per-view will be distributed by WWE.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Keith Richards was asked when he knew a Stones reunion looked possible this year.

“We did some rehearsals in New Jersey [in the spring],” says Keith. “To me that was the acid test, and when Charlie Watts clicked in, then I knew that the juggernaut would continue. We were rocking, and everyone's going, ‘Yeah, the energy's there.’ Music takes you over and above any of the petty little things, the bickering and all that crap.”

Keith went on to explain what fans can expect at the upcoming live shows.

“We'll have Bobby Keys in for a few horn things but we're not carrying sections. Charlie said, ‘We should have the stripped-down thing.’ I said, ‘Charlie, you realize how much pressure that puts on the guitar lineup?’ But at the same time, it's a challenge, and he's right,” agreed Richards. “The fact is that what we try and do onstage is deliver what's on the record, and there's a lot of horns and a lot of voices. OK, you want the blues band, you want the rock 'n' roll, stripped down? You're going to get it. It's going to be fun, man.”

There’s four concerts on the band’s current schedule, but can fans expect more live Stones in 2013?

“This juggernaut, once it gets rolling, is almost unstoppable,” replies Keith. “‘Oh, an extra gig,’ or, ‘Let's play somewhere you've never played before.’ So things go on. Right now, I'm just happy to have the thing rolling and moving. It'll be great, playing London and New York. The rest of it, it'll happen. Don't worry about it.”



The The Rolling Stones



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