"Keith Richards, Old Man Riffer The Rolling Stones' Enduring Guitarist"
By Richard Harrington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 19, 1997; Page G01

"At the moment, Keith Richards is sprawled on a couch in a room deep
within the bowels of Ericson Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers.
The room has been temporarily converted into a rock-and-roll laundromat -- a pair of Maytag washers and dryers roll with the Stones,
ready to rinse out each night's sweat. The Maytag slogan could just as
well be Richards's attitude about the group: "Needs No Repairs."

This may be Rolling Stone Time -- "Bridges to Babylon" opened at No. 3
on the charts last week and the tour has been selling out stadiums
around the country -- but Richards is also papa to a just-released project, "Wingless Angels." The album is a mesmerizing collection of
drum- and chant-fueled Rastafarian spirituals recorded in the front
room and garden of the hillside Jamaican home he's kept since the
Stones started recording in Kingston 25 years ago.

Richards produced the album and plays some very supple, low-key guitar
on it. The album is full of slow, transcendent grooves performed by
musicians who include ska legends Justin Hines and Winston Thomas.

"I was so fortunate to bump into those guys when I first went to
Jamaica," Richards says. "They kind of found me, like gurus. They
picked me up on the beach, had no idea what I did."

"Wingless Angels" reflects Richards's love for reggae and ska, as well
as blues. "It's something that connects way deep in the genes," he
explains. "You can never put your finger on it, but I know where it
is. I didn't realize what a privilege it was to be allowed [to play
with them], and then the music took me over immediately. It's been
running in me ever since. Once the feel is there, then you don't really
interfere with it, you just do it."

Much the same could be said for Richards's other group, which owes much
of its power to a different kind of primal groove. "Even though on the
surface it seems to be very different kinds of music, with very
different backgrounds," Richards says, "there's got to be a connection."

"I don't know why it resonates particularly within me, but something
does take over that's hard to identify. I don't know whether it has
something to do with synchronization or teamwork . . . . "