The fact that Keith Richards is still among the living today is one of the most abnormal feats of the human condition. After going through every single form of excess that the rock world had to offer, Richards has returned stronger for it, still standing to play on any stage that The Rolling Stones may occupy. Although Richards may have been on the other side of sobriety now, he admitted that a few Stones classics may have had some chemical assistance.
When talking about drugs in the rock scene, though, many claim that creativity and narcotics go hand in hand. Although the drugs themselves may not be a shortcut to excellent rock music, many artists have claimed that everything from alcohol to cocaine has served as the perfect springboard for making outstanding music.
Seeing how The Rolling Stones were meant to be the rough counterpart to The Beatles, Richards would often partake in any drug that he could get his hands on. Although he maintained that some drugs didn’t do much for him throughout his life, many of The Rolling Stones’ celebrated 1960s material tended to come from drugs as well.
Ushering in the hippy movement, the psychedelic experience of listening to albums like Their Satanic Majesties Request tended to be informed by the band’s flirtation with acid. As they started to get back in touch with their blues-infused roots on albums like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St, though, Richards had started his dance with the devil after picking a massive heroin habit.
Since former Stones guitarist Brian Jones had already been asked to leave because of his inability to gel with the rest of the band, it started to look like Richards was about to become another rock and roll casualty. Even though the band usually had to wait for Richards to come up with the basis of the song with one guitar riff, Richards believed that one of his most emotionally vulnerable songs came about because of heroin.
After the massive undertaking of Exile on Main St, Goats Head Soup saw the band getting back in touch with making punchy songs, including the controversial ‘Star Star’ and the heartbreaking ballad ‘Angie’. Although Mick Jagger may have been able to deliver some of the group’s greatest ballads, it would be Richards who took the reins on the song ‘Coming Down Again’.
While not openly about his drug abuse, Richards would later recall that he could never have written the song without the help of his heroin habit, telling Rolling Stone, “I wonder about the songs I’ve written: I like the ones I did when I was on (heroin). I wouldn’t have written ‘Coming Down Again’ without that. I’m this millionaire rock star, but I’m in the gutter with these other snivelling people. It kept me in touch with the street, at the lowest level”.
Even with Jagger’s sweet croon, Richards’ dejected tone is the perfect way to deliver the song. As opposed to singing about coming off of an uneasy relationship, Richards sounds weathered from the storm in this song, waiting for the subsequent withdrawal to pass before returning to his chemical muse. Although Richards has been on the road to recovery for years, ‘Coming Down Again’ is one of the most transparent songs he has ever made.
