Keith Richards & the X-Pensive Winds Keith Richards/WA,USA 1988

The Expensive Wines, led by Keith Richards, reunited for the first time in a long time at the “LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefiting God’s Love We Deliver” event. Items will be released for the first time in a long time from the 1988 tour, which was the starting point of their activities. The 1988 “TALK IS CHEAP” tour, which took place during the Stones’ hiatus and was a big hit as Keith’s first solo tour, produced many items in real time, but it cannot be denied that the release calmed down at once when the soundboard recording of the Hollywood Palladium, which was later promoted to official, appeared. Also, unlike the Stones, where arenas and stadiums are the norm, the tour was basically a concert hall, so the audience recording was noisy around the small venue, which is a dilemma of this tour, and the best example of this was the labyrinth “L.A. CONNECTION” made by Kinney, which was released at that time. However, the performance in Washington on November 27th, which will be released this time, is captured in a surprisingly easy-to-listen-to state without any of the noise that is common in audience recordings of this tour. The sound image has a good sense of distance, and the realism unique to small venues is transmitted without the stress mentioned above. Even if the sound image occasionally fluctuates, perhaps because the taper who recorded this sound source got on in front of Keith, the clarity of the performance is wonderful, and for example, in the second half of “How I Wish”, you can enjoy Keith’s solid play that is dedicated to backing. More than that, the way Keith’s singing voice reverberates in the theater with a large balance is very attractive. Furthermore, the performance is really clear at the end of “Too Rude” where the performance becomes quieter, and “Looked Away” where Keith sings. In fact, the quality is comparable to “BOSTON, YOU’RE BIG ENOUGH” from the second day of the Boston concert, which was considered the best audience album of this tour at the time, and since the excitement around the audience was noticeable as usual, this one may feel easier to listen to. Also, Boston, which was a standard audience recording, was a document from a month after the start of the tour, but this time it is still fresh, as it is the third day of the tour. In commemoration of the release of this title, the Memphis concert on November 25th, which was the previous live performance in Washington, will be released at the same time, and since Keith was in a terrible state at the beginning of the live performance, I am even more impressed by his revival here in Washington. And even the tension unique to the beginning of the tour when Keith is the frontman for the first time (he makes a mistake in the lyrics of “Happy”, which he should be used to singing). And until this day, “Little T & A” was not on the set list, so it is attractive that the length fits easily on one disc. In the first place, the sound quality itself is natural and mild, which is unique to cassette recordings. By the way, when the interlude begins with “Take It So Hard” and when the members are introduced, a different sound source is patched in, but the former is hardly noticeable. After all, the point is that you can hear the performance without being disturbed by the excitement around you with the audience recording of this tour. The first appearance audience from the nostalgic “TALK IS CHEAP” tour has been released for the first time in a long time! Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C., USA 27th November 1988 TRULY AMAZING SOUND (75:16) 01. Take It So Hard 02. How I Wish 03. I Could Have Stood You Up 04. Before They Make Me Run 05. Too Rude 06. You Don’t Move Me 07. Make No Mistake 08. Time Is On My Side 09. Big Enough 10. Whip It Up 11. Band introduction 12. Locked Away 13. Struggle 14. Happy 15. Connection 16. Rockawhile 17. It Means A Lot Keith Richards – Guitar, Vocals Waddy Wachtel – Guitar, Backing Vocals Ivan Neville – Keyboards, Guitar, Backing Vocals Charley Drayton – Bass, Backing Vocals Steve Jordan – Drums, Backing Vocals Bobby Keys – Saxophone, Percussion Sarah Dash – Vocals