Mick & Keith in Paris Working on New Album
Mood:  happy
Well, Mick and Keith are in France again working on the new album. Ronnie has a show coming up tonight and after his gigs are finished reportedly he and Bernard Fowler will also join the boys in France. We haven't heard much from the boys recently, so this is welcome news.

HAPPY NEW YEAR-A BIT LATE!
Mood:  happy
Happy New Year to all Stones Fans and visitors to The Keith Shrine. Thanks for your support of my web page and of the Rolling Stones Fan Club Office/Stones Planet Fanzine in 2004. Here's to a new album and tour in 2005! Start saving your $$$ and I'll see you on the road later in the year!

Nikki Sudden Treasure Island A Rare Find
Mood:  rushed
Thanks to CD for giving me the heads up via his own blog about the release of Nikki Sudden's new cd Treasure Island. I have since purchased this cd after listening to the online clips at www.nikkisudden.com and I have listened the cd daily on my car stereo to & from work. This is the best rock & roll/blues album I have heard all year. If you are a Stones fan or Dylan fan I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Nikki is a Stones fan, coincidentally we first "met" waiting in line for the Stones Shepherd's Bush tickets in London in 1999. Lastly I ran into Nikki in Amsterdam in the summer of 2003 during the Licks Tour. This is a fine piece of work and Nikki collaborated with some Stones connections-Mick Taylor & Ian MacLagan play on this cd. I give Treasure Island ***** 5 Stars

Wildwood Weekend 2004
Mood:  party time!
Now that the Memory Motel is just a memory (we had our fan gatherings there since '99), Stones fans from all over the country got together this past Labor Day weekend at the Adventurer Inn in Wildwood Crest, NJ.

And when Stones fans get together, they can party! Thanks to the organizational skills of Michaelene & Theresa, we spent the night together with 3 Stones tribute bands: Shattered on Friday, Hot Rocks on Saturday and Dead Flowers on Sunday. What a beautiful buzz! As the back of the Stones Planet t-shirts read.

It was great to party with ya'll. I think next summer we'll be on tour ;-)

Stones Fans Bar Crawl in Annapolis. MD
Mood:  chillin'
This past weekend I spent in Annapolis, MD. A highly recommended town for those of you who have never visited. Old world charm, history, water, boats, great bars & restaurants.

Met some Stones fans Saturday at Sean Donlon's Irish Pub. We had brunch in the garden and after 2 hours headed to the Acme Bar. After that we went further down the street to a dockside table at Pusser's Landing and then finished the evening at the Ram's Head Tavern. Phew!

Fun, sun & Stones fans, a great day was had by all.

More Stoned?
Let me recommend a bootleg 3 cd set if I may. This recommendation comes on the previous recommendation of a Stones friend, Denton, who posted news of this joyous release on the RS.COM official board. Since then, quite a few fans have followed his lead to Ebay and purchased this gem, including me.

Now many of these tracks are available elsewhere on other bootlegs, a few on official releases, but the package of all these songs together, not to mention the great audio quality is what makes this set a thrill to listen to. Plus, it really lets you see how the Stones "evolved" musically over a ten year period.

What is More Stoned(Then You'll Ever Be)?


MORE STONED THAN YOU'LL EVER BE - The Rolling Stones Anthology 1963-1971 (DigIt Discs DICD3-007) is a 70-track, 3-CD set.

DISC ONE 1963-1964 (Time: 75.07)

BABY WHAT'S WRONG* unreleased
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY* unreleased
ROAD RUNNER* unreleased
DIDDLEY DADDY* unreleased
I WANT TO BE LOVED* unreleased alternate version
COME ON* unreleased BBC
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE* unreleased BBC
ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN* unreleased BBC
THERE ARE BUT FIVE ROLLING STONES* unavailable
NOT FADE AWAY* unreleased alternate version
ANDREW'S BLUES* unreleased
AND MR. SPECTOR AND MR. PITNEY CAME TOO* unreleased
AS TIME GOES BY* unreleased alternate version
ROUTE 66 unreleased BBC
COPS AND ROBBERS unreleased BBC
YOU BETTER MOVE ON unreleased BBC
MONA unreleased BBC
STEWED AND KEEFED unreleased
TELL ME BABY unavailable
HIGH-HEEL SNEAKERS unreleased
DOWN IN THE BOTTOM unreleased
2120 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE* unreleased BBC
EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY TO LOVE unreleased stereo long version
BLUE TURNS TO GREY* unreleased alternate version
DA DOO RON RON* unavailable
HEAR IT* unreleased

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISC TWO 1965-1968 (Time: 77.19)

THE LAST TIME* unreleased BBC
PLAY WITH FIRE unavailable stereo version
(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION unavailable wide stereo version
MERCY, MERCY* unreleased BBC
THE SPIDER AND THE FLY* unreleased BBC
FANNIE MAE* unreleased BBC
GET OFF OF MY CLOUD unavailable stereo version
LOOKING TIRED unreleased
19th NERVOUS BREAKDOWN unreleased stereo alternate version
PAINT IT, BLACK* unreleased instrumental backing track (edit)
CON LE MIE LACRIME* unavailable Italian version
HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR MOTHER, BABY, STANDING IN THE SHADOW?* unreleased alternate version
RUBY TUESDAY unreleased backing track
YESTERDAY'S PAPERS unreleased backing track
GET YOURSELF TOGETHER* unreleased
TITLE 15 unreleased (edit)
BLUES 3 unreleased (edit)
GOLD PAINTED FINGERNAILS unreleased (edit)
2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME unreleased early backing track
CITADEL unreleased backing track (edit)
5 PART JAM (PART 1) unreleased
HAMBURGER TO GO unreleased
STILL A FOOL unreleased (edit)
BLOOD RED WINE unreleased

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISC THREE 1968-1971 (Time: 79.55)

(I'M A) HIGHWAY CHILD unreleased
NO EXPECTATIONS unreleased alternate version (edit)
SISTER MORPHINE unreleased alternate version
HONKY TONK WOMEN unreleased alternate version
YOU GOT THE SILVER unreleased alternate version
JIVING SISTER FANNY unreleased alternate version
I WAS JUST A COUNTRY BOY unreleased (edit)
DOWNTOWN SUZIE unavailable stereo version
WILD HORSES unreleased alternate version
BROWN SUGAR unreleased alternate Clapton version
"SCHOOLBOY" BLUES unreleased
LEATHER JACKET unreleased
WHO AM I? unreleased
GOOD TIME WOMEN unreleased alternate version
SHAKE YOUR HIPS unreleased stereo alternate version
ALADDIN STORY unreleased
TRAVELLIN' MAN unreleased
POTTED SHRIMP unreleased
SWEET BLACK ANGEL unreleased backing track
LET IT ROCK unavailable live

All tracks STEREO except *mono.
UNRELEASED means never an official release.
UNAVAILABLE is either a hard-to-find import or an out-of-print official release.



The Ebay seller is Nphelge and the current item # as of today is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=307&item=4032359667

Bernard Fowler On Tour With Tackhead
If you have never seen Bernard Fowler out on his own, without the Stones I recommened you do it. Bernard is such a talent, with such a vocal range, and you really can't get the full effect of his capabilites at a Stones show.

I have seen Bernard sing at a private crew party, with Charlie Watts on tour & most recently with Blondie Chaplin this past December.

I also recommend taking a listen to his work with the Peech Boys, Nickelbag and Tackhead, the latter of which he is currently touring with:

September 7, 2004: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, USA
September 8, 2004: Blackcat, Washington D.C., US
September 10, 2004: The Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL, USA
September 14, 2004: Casbah, San Diego, CA, USA
September 15, 2004: The Echo, Los Angeles, CA, USA
September 16, 2004: The Independent, San Francisco, CA, USA

http://www.tackhead.com/info/on_tour/

http://www.bernardfowler.com/

Catch him at a club near you!

So What If There Are No More Hits?
Mood:  a-ok
Keith Richards said in 1997:

"I want to make really good stuff. If we get hits out of it, fantastic, but if not they'll be damn good records, and they'll still last, and they'll be around a long time. The immediate gratification left me a long time ago. If you don't get it, you ain't been there, but maybe you'll get it further down the road."

I am so sick of people saying to me "The Stones haven't had a hit record since 1978 or 1981" etc. Who cares? Hit with who? Do you listen to the crap that's on the radio these days that is considered to be "hits"? A bunch of teeny boppers who don't play any instruments, don't write any of their own material and get choreographed dance moves. Or, worse yet, the ones that constantly "sample" other artists hits to make their own "hits" instantly recognizable.

I don't care if the Stones don't release what today's industry considers a "hit" album. What they do do is release consistently good albums.

The Stones are a "live" band. How many people heard "Out of Control" on Bridges to Babylon or "Don't Stop" on 40 Licks and said "Ah, it's an ok song" only to hear it live and go "Hey that's a great live track". That's what the Stones do best. They take a studio track and they push it into another realm on the stage. That's why we can go to hundreds of Stones shows and still get something new and refreshing, even if it's a song we've heard 100 times.

So what's with the fans on the boards actually bitching about another live album? I can't understand that at all. People try to infuse the reasoning that we all have bootlegs of the live stuff...but a well mixed polished official release can't compete with even the best bootlegs. I for one am looking forward to the live album, especially disc 2.

So as Keith said above: "If you don't get it, you ain't been there, but maybe you'll get it further down the road."

Maybe you won't, but then that's your tough luck.

A banner week for me
Mood:  not sure
Well, things started out on a sour note with the announcement of Charlie's throat cancer. Ironically, I had just posted an "ode to Charlie" in the appreciation column on RS.COM. I do wish you well Charlie and I think of you every day.

The week got better (well better for news, but not for my ability to act on it) when I was invited to the San Francisco Art Exchange to see Ronnie Wood's exhibit, which he is due to appear at on Sept. 2. Unfortunately for me, I am already booked to be in Wildwood for a Stones fan gathering from Sept 2-6.

And so that also cancels out my attending the Rod Stewart concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 30 at which Ronnie will be a special guest. Damn.

But then I got good news from RS.COM mid-week and also from Jane Rose yesterday, so things in my Stones world always seem to balance out.

This coming weekend I will be in Annapolis, MD and on Saturday I'll be meeting a few more Stones fans for a lunch get together. Should be fun!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone :-)

Prayers for Charlie Watts
As many of you have read, Charlie Watts, was diagnosed in June with throat cancer and has been receiving treatment since that time. He is doing well and a full recovery is expected. Please keep Charlie & his family in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through this difficult time. We LOVE you Charlie and look forward to seeing you on tour in 2005!