The Story Behind Keith Richards' 'Talk Is Cheap' (1988) — A Direct Response to Mick Jagger's Solo Moves

By the mid-80s, the Rolling Stones were barely a band. Mick Jagger had released two solo albums (She’s the Boss in 1985, Primitive Cool in 1987) while Keith Richards felt Jagger was ghosting the Stones. The tension boiled over, and Keith used his first-ever solo album as a shot across the bow.

The title Talk Is Cheap wasn’t subtle. Neither was the album’s centerpiece, “You Don’t Move Me” — a song Keith openly said was about Mick. The lyrics (“You don’t move me anymore / That’s what you say”) flipped Jagger’s dismissiveness back at him. Keith recorded the album with a new band, the X-Pensive Winos, partly to prove he could make a great record without Jagger, and partly to show what the Stones could be if Mick committed.

The album ended up being a critical and commercial success, hitting No. 24 on the Billboard charts and eventually going gold. It also helped push Jagger back to the table, leading to the Stones’ 1989 reunion and the Steel Wheels album. In a weird way, Talk Is Cheap saved the band by showing how much they needed each other.