3 Classic Rock Albums Keith Richards Doesn’t Think Very Highly Of

Updated:

November 16, 2023 10:24 am

We’ve always admired Keith Richards‘ ability to speak candidly about both his own career and that of his fellow musicians. He’s not shy with his criticism. Below, are three albums he has publicly put down. We might love these records, but Richards is not a fan.

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1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles)

The question of which band is better, The Stones or The Beatles, produces the same split answers that questions like “Coke or Pepsi” or “sweet or sour” do. There is no right answer. It’s a matter of opinion. For everyone but Richards that is.

During their heyday, the guitarist wasn’t shy about expressing the perceived shortcomings of his fellow English rockers. He had issues with several things about the foursome, but he had major beef with their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

“I think they got carried away,” Richards once explained. “Why not? If you’re the Beatles in the ’60s, you just get carried away—you forget what it is you wanted to do. You’re starting to do Sgt. Pepper. Some people think it’s a genius album, but I think it’s a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like Satanic Majesties.“

2. Willy and the Poor Boys (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival are both steeped in American blues, but they translate those influences in very different ways. Richards once said he was “bored” of their, in his opinion, same-old same-old sound.

“Yeah, I’m into a very weird thing with that band,” Richards told Rolling Stone in 1969. “When I first heard them, I was really knocked out, but I became bored with them very quickly. After a few times, it started to annoy me.”

That comment was a response to Willy and the Poor Boys playing during the interview. We have to assume that the album was an example of the kind of sound he was growing tired of if he decided to throw in his two cents after hearing it.

3. Their Satanic Majesties Request (The Rolling Stones)

Richards might have stark opinions, but he isn’t afraid to point that discerning eye at himself either. He once put the Stones’ album Their Satanic Majesties Request on the chopping block. According to the guitarist, the album was made in an effort to ride the coattails of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Though he wasn’t super impressed by the album himself, it was the sound to follow at the time. Moreover, the band was a little tired of their demanding recording schedule, causing them to more or less phone the album in– at least that’s how Richards sees it.

“None of us wanted to make [Satanic Majesties], but it was time for another Stones album and Sgt. Pepper’s was coming out, so we thought basically we were doing a put-on,” he once explained.