Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)

As Good As It Gets

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Don't expect to see the Rolling Stones in concert or Keith Richards doing a five minute guitar solo. This is an informative look at the aged rock and blues musician who cut his teeth on early American musical influences who along with Mick Jagger, introduced audiences on this side of the Atlantic to some of the classic names of Chicago Blues. It was informative to hear Richards tell of his first meeting with Muddy Waters in the hallway of Chess Records - Muddy was there painting a ceiling! He regales the viewer with stories from early in his career, like getting bawled out by Chuck Berry for handling the strings of Berry's guitar. An interesting clip featuring Howlin' Wolf singing to a white audience confirmed the admiration of performers like Wolf, Muddy, and Buddy Guy toward the Stones for introducing their style of music to a larger audience who may never have known they existed without the Stones' bluesy sound. Joining Keith in this documentary are fellow musicians Steve Jordan and Tom Waits, who offer their perspectives on Keith's musical style and the way he wrote songs. Missing from the doc are any mention of the Stones engaging in their legendary excesses of sex, drugs, and even rock n' roll for that matter, as this is all about Keith and his love of music. Undeterred from performing, even at the age of seventy two when this film was put together in 2015, it's probably Richards who expressed it best when he said - "I'll play as long as I can get away with it."

I discovered Keith Richards - the musician, not the rock star - somewhat late in life. I'm a guitar player and I have a passion for blues, especially the raw, unpolished stuff recorded in the fifties and early sixties - but my love for this kind of unfiltered, emotional music only developed over time. As most young guitar players, I was originally far more interested in ultra-fast virtuosos and had little respect for guitarists who didn't engage in extended solos at 10 notes per second. Well, let's just say I'm glad I eventually broadened my horizon a little: because that's how I got into Keith's music.This documentary will probably disappoint many, because it's all about the music of Keith Richards and the music that inspired - and still inspires - him (which is also what the title refers to). It's not a film about the Stones or drug abuse, orgies and groupies: it's about a man who loves his art and respects and admires his peers. We get to hang out with him as he introduces us to his musical influences and contemplates his musical journey, and we get to see him jam and hang out with friends like Buddy Guy, Waddy Wachtel or Tom Waits, people who all share his passion and treat him like a fellow musician - not like a rock star. I absolutely adored this documentary and I appreciated the fact that it's not about the legendary junkie, but about the gifted songwriter and guitar player who - together with his band - played a key role in making America aware of some of its greatest talents by playing their music: Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Little Walther, John Lee Hooker and many more.This documentary is great stuff for blues aficionados and musicians; I give the film 9 stars out of 10, but I only recommend it to people who are less interested in Keith the rock star and more in Keith the musician. If you're among the latter, sit back and enjoy, because you're in for a treat. And Keith: stay well and keep rockin', you're the man.

Netflix has been making some award-winning documentaries over the past few years, and here is another original- a bio-doc about "Rolling Stones" guitarist, Keith Richards! This mostly features Keith talking about his many influences; a big part of which are American blues artists like Muddy Waters. I found it interesting as I was watching this, not being a "nationalist" by any means, but still swelling up with a little bit of pride hearing him talk about the great thing America gave to the world (as he puts it- not the "H bomb"). In spite of enjoying this documentary, I did have one big disappointment with it.. I mean, c'mon, you're interviewing Keith Richards for 90 minutes, and you don't get to hear about any of his great rock star party stories-???!!! LOL

"Under the Influence" is an intimate portrait of Keith Richards, the music lover. It is highly recommended to Rolling Stones fans and music aficionados. After over fifty years of Richards's career in pop music, this is the film that finally describes the music that made the man avoiding all the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll gossip. It is a significant and welcomed change from decades of accounts tainted by a meaningless narrative of debauchery that satisfied the lowest of rock'n'roll fans' desires and kept many others hungry for good and true music story. The 81 minutes of the film go very fast in a journey that brings the viewer through the main genres of American popular music: blues, country, rock'n'roll. Richards visits New York, Chicago and Nashville and recounts his fascination for American music and his encounters with the legends that inspired the Stones, from Muddy Waters to Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry. The interview briefly covers several other aspects of the musician's work like song-writing, recording processes, solo career and the use of different instruments. The film contains also precious footage of studio recordings with Tom Waits and Richards's house sessions in Jamaica with the Wingless Angels. Richards in his short, sometimes convoluted, phrases conveys all the devotion and deep appreciation for what music can bring into one's life. A strong sense of the passing of time and mortality brings in another novelty for a Stones documentary and makes Keith Richards's testimony somehow touching. Great little film on a great music soul.