Keith Richards says he is yet to “nail” ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ live and calls the song “the beautiful challenge”.
Triple M’s Lee Simon spoke with Keith Richards in a lead-up to the Australian tour.
“I always love to play ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’”, Keith told Lee Simon. “I still haven’t nailed him and every time I say ‘tonight I’m gonna kill that mutha’. He is always the beautiful challenge to play. ‘Tumblin’ Dice’ is another one that I just love to play. It is just a sweet thing to play and you are never short of just finding different ways of doing it. As long as the song lives for me I love them all. ‘Street Fighting Man’ is an incredible thing to play. ‘Beast of Burden’, when it comes down to it I love them all”.
For all the great songs he has written, Keith says there are millions he wished he had written. “I wish I had written ‘Little Queenie’, Chuck Berry, or ‘Memphis Tennessee’ which I think is one of the most beautiful songs and records ever made,” he said. “I’d have loved to have written ‘Long Tall Sally’. There’s a million songs out there and I think it’s the ones that you wish you had written yourself are the ones that inspire you to go for it”.
Keith Richards sees himself more as a medium than a songwriter. “I never really felt like I wrote them or created them. They come to you and you order it up a bit and then you put it on. I feel like a medium when it comes to songwriting as if I’m receiving, I sort it out and then I transmit,” he told Lee Simon.
The Rolling Stones will kick off the 14 On Fire Australian tour in Perth on March 19, 2014 for Frontier Touring.
Rolling Stones Australian and New Zealand dates
March 19, Perth, Perth Arena
March 22, Adelaide, Adelaide Oval
March 25, Sydney, Allphones Arena
March 28, Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
March 30, Macedon Ranges, Hanging Rock
April 2, Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
April 5, Auckland, Mt Smart Stadium
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