News The secret behind The Rolling Stones best work
The question of what is the best work by The Rolling Stones is open to interpretation. To some, it would be the blues of their early works. To others, it is the swaggering rock of the 1970s and beyond. But for Keith Richards, the answer is simple.
Richards has never minced his words when it comes to judging The Stones’s music. He has previously declared their 1967 album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, “rubbish”. Mick Jagger hates it too and also deemed their seminal record Exile On Main St. “overrated”.
But thankfully, they can also see the good in their work. Luckily, they can celebrate the success alongside making jokes about their lesser moments. Richards sees one record in particular as their best work.
In a discussion with Anatomy of a Song author Marc Myers, Richards called Beggars Banquet their best work for one specific reason. From 1968, the band seemed to be releasing hit after hit. One of the tracks included ‘Street Fighting Man’, which earned them a top ten hit in both the UK and America, helping to expand their success on both sides of the pond.
It could be that Jagger and Richards had matured as musicians and songwriters, but instead, Richards credits someone else entirely for the success. “To his credit, our producer, Jimmy Miller, brought incredible enthusiasm to what we were doing on ‘Street Fighting Man’”, Richards said.
In the late 1960s, The Stones began working with Miller. He quickly became more than just a producer, though, as he played on the records, suggested song changes and essentially became part of the band. After Charlie Watts struggled to find a beat for ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, he requested that Miller play the drums instead. The stand-in drummer is heard on ‘Happy’, ‘Gimme Shelter’, ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ and more.
Miller produced not only Beggars Banquet but also stayed with the band for Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main St., and Goats Head Soup.
To Richards, this was the group’s best period. “We made our best records with him. He always knew when to engage and when to stay out of the picture,” he said, adding, “He knew I was going for something special on the song and interjected only when he thought we were losing it and needed a break.”
But more than a producer, Miller became an essential part of The Rolling Stones family as Richards said, “He was one of the warmest guys and an incredible friend.”
