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The 1985 album Keith Richards wished never happened: “Not very inspired”
Keith Richards has long been open about his frustrations with The Rolling Stones' musical direction, and one particular sore point was Mick Jagger's 1985 solo debut, She's the Boss. Richards reportedly saw the record as a betrayal of sorts, feeling it lacked inspiration and that Jagger's energy would have been better spent on Stones material rather than a solo detour, however unusual the songs might have been.
Richards' irritation stemmed from a broader pattern of creative tension between the pair, with Jagger repeatedly pushing to evolve the band's sound while Richards favoured their bluesy roots. He was particularly scathing about She's the Boss, suggesting Jagger could have pursued almost any eccentric passion project and it would have been preferable to what he actually released. The fallout didn't end there: the Stones' follow-up album, Dirty Work, was similarly seen as underwhelming, and when Jagger refused to tour it, Richards' frustration with his songwriting partner deepened further.
In short
- Keith Richards disliked Mick Jagger's 1985 solo album She's the Boss.
- He felt Jagger should have focused on Rolling Stones music instead.
- Tension continued into 1986's Dirty Work and its cancelled tour.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Artists require creative freedom to explore different musical directions and pursue solo projects, which can refresh their artistic vision and bring new inspiration back to their collaborative work. Jagger's solo album was a legitimate artistic endeavour in its own right, commercially successful, and represents his right to develop his career independently rather than remain confined to a single band's output.
The case against
Richards' concern that Jagger's energy and focus should have remained with The Rolling Stones is understandable given their status as an active, world-renowned band with ongoing commitments to their audiences and artistic legacy. When a core member of an established partnership pursues solo work, it can fracture the band's creative momentum and diminish collective output, as the Stones' subsequent struggles appeared to demonstrate.
Explained simply
The Rolling Stones are a British rock band whose two best-known members, singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, have also been its main songwriting partnership. Their music draws on blues and rock, but the pair have often differed over how the band should develop.
In the 1980s, Jagger released solo music while the Stones continued making records together. Their next album, Dirty Work, came out in 1986, during a period of strained relations between the two musicians. Those tensions mattered because Jagger and Richards’ partnership had shaped the band’s sound and direction.