Ahead of the release of his first solo album in over 20 years, Crosseyed Heart, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has made his first two solo records available for digital streaming for the first time ever. Previously only available in physical form, 1988's Talk Is Cheap and 1992's Main Offender have received full digital releases via Richards' own Mindless Records label will stream starting today, August 14.
Talk Is Cheap saw its release around the same time as Mick Jagger's second solo album, 1987's Primitive Cool. In a 1988 interview with Rolling Stone concerning his solo work, Richards revealed that he felt uncertain of solo work. "It's kind of strange, because it was never in the cards for me," Richards said. "It was not something I wanted to do. Also, in the back of my mind, doing a solo record meant a slight sense of failure. The only reason I would do a solo album was because I couldn't keep the Stones together."
The iconic group, however, reconvened the next year to put forth 1989's Steel Wheels and most recently, they've wrapped up their North American Zip Code tour, in which they brought out a span of special guests including Ed Sheeran and Brad Paisley.
The 71-year-old musician's latest LP, Crosseyed Heart, will boast contributions from the late Bobby Keys, the Stones saxophonist who died In December, NME reports. Last month, Richards shared a relaxed studio video for his single titled "Trouble."
"I had a ball making this new record and working with [drummer] Steve Jordan and [guitarist] Waddy Wachtel again," Richards said in a recent statement. "There's nothing like walking into a studio and having absolutely no idea what you're going to come out with on the other end."
While Crosseyed Heart is slated for release on September 18, another project will debut the same day-- a Netflix documentary about the guitarist titled Under the Influence. The Morgan Neville-directed film will detail the music that brings Richards inspiration and the process in which he writes his own music.
