Keith Richards: Under the Influence

Director: Morgan Neville
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 2.5

Neville talks with the legendary guitarist for the Rolling Stones, Mr. Richards, and discusses with him his musical influences, which range from Chuck Berry to Muddy Waters to Robert Johnson, and how those individuals - and many other blues musicians - helped shape his style. Keif is thoughtful and sagely - he's 71, by damn - and his passion for music is awe-inspiring, though naturally he's trying to play down his (incredibly well-earned) 'wild man' reputation, so there's little to no mention of all those drug busts or hard partying (Anita Pallenberg is never brought up, his nasty feud with childhood pal Mick Jagger gets mentioned and then blown by). It's only a sliver of the Richards biography, but offers a lovely sample of what he's been working on of late (a combination of new and old material): of course, liquor is ever-present, and that ashtray laughs in the face of emphysema.