Talk Is Cheap

For other uses, see Talk Is Cheap (disambiguation).

Untitled

Talk Is Cheap is the debut album by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released beginning a long standing fallout with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received positive reviews upon its release.

Relations between Jagger and Richards had grown tense into the second decade of the Rolling Stones as they began to differ on the musical direction of their famous 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 was stung by Jagger's move and began contemplating a solo project for the first time.

Richards teamed up with Steve Jordan, who had worked on Dirty Work, 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 lyrical 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 Steve 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. Outtakes later surfaced that included an eight-minute version of "Struggle" and two passes at "Almost Hear You Sigh," as well as two unreleased jams, the 14-minute "She Put the Mark On Me" and the 12-minute "Breakin'."

Released in October 1988, Talk Is Cheap was released to a very receptive critical reaction (many reviewers half-jokingly called it the best Rolling Stones album in years) and it peaked at #37 in the UK and #24 in the US, where it went gold.

"Make No Mistake" 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.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Rolling Stone	link

Track listing

All songs by Keith Richards and Steve Jordan.

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

Personnel

• Keith Richards – lead vocals, guitar
• Sarah Dash – backing vocals, duet on "Make No Mistake"
• Charley Drayton – bass guitar
• Steve Jordan – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Ivan Neville – piano, keyboards
• Patti Scialfa – backing vocals
• Waddy Wachtel – acoustic, electric, and slide guitar, production consultant

Additional musicians

• Bootsy Collins – bass guitar on "Big Enough"
• Michael Doucet – violin on "Locked Away"
• Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural – accordion on "You Don't Move Me", "Rockawhile" and "Locked Away"
• Johnnie Johnson – piano on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
• Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone on "I Could Have Stood You Up" and "Whip It Up"
• Chuck Leavell – organ on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
• Maceo Parker – alto saxophone on "Big Enough"
• Joey Spampinato – bass guitar on "I Could Have Stood You Up" and "Rockawhile"
• Mick Taylor – guitar on "I Could Have Stood You Up"
• Bernie Worrell – organ on "Big Enough" and "You Don't Move Me", clavinet on "Make No Mistake" and "Rockawhile"
• Jimmi Kinnard – bass guitar on "Make No Mistake"
• The Memphis Horns – horns
• Willie Mitchell – horn arrangements

Production

• Produced by Keith Richards and Steve Jordan
• Engineers: Robert Berry (also assistant engineer), Joe Blaney, David Dorn (also assistant engineer), Richard Ealey (also assistant engineer), Joe Ferla, David Kennedy, Paul Milner (also assistant engineer), Julio Pena (also assistant engineer), Don Smith, Roger Talkov (also assistant engineer)
• Mixing: Joe Blaney, Don Smith
• Mastering: Greg Calbi

Sales chart performance

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1988	UK Top 100 Albums	37
1988	The Billboard 200	24
1989	The Billboard 200	54

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	"Take It So Hard"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	3
1988	"You Don't Move Me"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	18
1989	"Struggle"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	47