Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says most rock bands sound like a “dull thud” – and he’s added that Metallica and Black Sabbath are nothing more than “great jokes.”
His comments come after he described the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as “a mishmash of rubbish,” and that the Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request, released the same year, was just as bad.
Richards tells the New York Daily News: “It sounds like a dull thud to me – for most bands, getting the syncopation is beyond them. It’s endless thudding away, with no bounce, no lift.
“Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath – I just thought they were great jokes.”
He goes on to describe rap music as evidence that “there’s an enormous market for people who can’t tell one note from another.”
And he believes the secret to making good music is to “find the spaces” between band members. “That’s the problem with most guitar players – they can’t shut up. They’re playing fantastic stuff, but if you don’t give it some room, you’re not going to appreciate it.”
Richards, who releases solo album Crosseyed Heart on September 18, adds: “If you’re in a band, you have to sublimate yourself to each other. What’s the point of being in a band if you want to be numero uno?
“It’s got nothing to do with flash, and all to do with keeping the pulse going.”
