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Main Offender
1992 studio album by Keith Richards

Main Offender is the second studio album by Keith Richards, released in 1992 between the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge projects.

Richards teamed with Talk Is Cheap collaborator Steve Jordan and added Waddy Wachtel to the mix both in composing and producing Main Offender. Sessions with Richards' group of musician friends known as "The X-Pensive Winos" took place in California and New York City from March to September 1992, with touring in Europe's autumn and early 1993 in North America.

Main Offender was released in October 1992 to generally positive reviews. However, it failed to match the commercial success of Talk Is Cheap, reaching No. 45 in the UK, and No. 99 in the US. After the Main Offender tour, Richards returned to recording exclusively with the Rolling Stones and did not release another solo album until Crosseyed Heart in 2015. In 2022 the album was reissued to mark its 30th anniversary. The reissue featured the previously unreleased concert album Winos Live in London ’92.

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Track listing

  1. "999" (Keith Richards, Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel) – 5:50
  2. "Wicked as It Seems" (Richards, Jordan, Charley Drayton) – 4:45
  3. "Eileen" (Richards, Jordan) – 4:29
  4. "Words of Wonder" (Richards, Jordan, Wachtel) – 6:35
  5. "Yap Yap" (Richards, Jordan, Wachtel) – 4:43
  6. "Bodytalks" (Richards, Jordan, Drayton, Sarah Dash) – 5:20
  7. "Hate It When You Leave" (Richards, Jordan, Wachtel) – 4:59
  8. "Runnin' Too Deep" (Richards, Jordan) – 3:20
  9. "Will but You Won't" (Richards, Jordan) – 5:05
  10. "Demon" (Richards, Jordan) – 4:45
  11. "Key to the Highway" (Charlie Segar, Big Bill Broonzy) – 3:21 (Japanese issue bonus track)

Winos Live In London ‘92

Released as part of the 30th Anniversary reissue.

  1. "Take It So Hard" (Richards, Jordan) – 4:15
  2. "999" (Richards, Jordan, Wachtel) – 6:45
  3. "Wicked As It Seems" (Richards, Jordan, Drayton) – 5:14
  4. "How I Wish" (Richards, Jordan) – 4:31
  5. "Gimme Shelter" (Mick Jagger, Richards) – 6:10
  6. "Hate It When You Leave" (Richards, Jordan, Wachtel) – 6:39
  7. "Before They Make Me Run" (Jagger, Richards) – 3:31
  8. "Eileen" (Richards, Jordan) – 5:42
  9. "Will But You Won’t" (Richards, Jordan) – 7:30
  10. "Bodytalks" (Richards, Jordan, Drayton, Dash) – 6:53
  11. "Happy" (Jagger, Richards) – 8:28
  12. "Whip It Up" (Richards, Jordan) – 8:33

Personnel

  • Keith Richards – lead vocals, backing vocals (1-3, 5-10), guitars, rattlesnake sounds (2), bass (3-5), percussion (5, 9), keyboards (7), acoustic piano (8)
  • Ivan Neville – organ (1, 4), clavinet (1, 2, 4, 9), acoustic piano (4, 8, 10), vibraphone (5), voice (6), bass (7), harpsichord (8)
  • Waddy Wachtel – guitars, backing vocals (1-4, 6-10), acoustic piano (3), celesta (7), percussion (9)
  • Charley Drayton – bass (1, 2, 6, 8, 10), backing vocals (3, 7), drums (4), baritone guitar (5), acoustic piano (7), Hammond B3 organ (7)
  • Steve Jordan – drums (1-3, 5-10), backing vocals, percussion (2, 4-6, 8-10), guitars (4), castanets (3), Farfisa organ (7), congas (7)
  • Jack Bashkow – woodwinds (7)
  • Crispin Cioe – woodwinds (7)
  • Arno Hecht – woodwinds (7)
  • Sarah Dash – backing vocals (1, 6)
  • Bernard Fowler – backing vocals (2, 4-10)
  • Babi Floyd – backing vocals (2, 4-8, 10), vocals (9)

Production

  • Steve Jordan – producer
  • Keith Richards – producer
  • Waddy Wachtel – producer
  • Joe Blaney – recording, mixing (4)
  • Don Smith – recording, mixing (3, 8)
  • Niko Bolas – mixing (1, 2, 4-7, 9, 10)
  • Ron Allaire – assistant engineer
  • Tom Fritze – assistant engineer
  • Carl Glanville – assistant engineer
  • Andrew Grassi – assistant engineer
  • Tim Hatfield – assistant engineer, additional engineer
  • David Merrill – assistant engineer
  • Steve Neat – assistant engineer
  • Julio Pena – assistant engineer
  • Kevin Scott – assistant engineer
  • Richard Scott – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
  • Robyn Lipp – recording coordinator
  • Linda Smith – recording coordinator
  • Tony Russell – production coordinator
  • Mick Haggerty – art direction
  • Dewey Nicks – black and white photography
  • David LaChapelle – color photography

Charts

Chart performance for Main Offender
Chart (1992)Peakposition
Australian Albums (ARIA)796
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)867
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)960
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)1043
UK Albums (OCC)1145
US Billboard 2001299
Chart (2022)Peakposition
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)1322
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)1458
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)15152
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)1655
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)174
Scottish Albums (OCC)1815
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)1913
UK Independent Albums (OCC)208

References

  1. "30th anniversary reissue of Keith Richards' second solo album, 'Main Offender,' released today". KSHE 95. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022. [dead link‍] https://www.kshe95.com/real-rock-news/30th-anniversary-reissue-of-keith-richards-second-solo-album-main-offender-released-today/ ↩

  2. Paul, Larisha (25 January 2022). "Keith Richards' 'Main Offender' Gets 30th-Anniversary Reissue With Bonus Tracks". Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/keith-richards-main-offender-30th-anniversary-reissue-1290181/ ↩

  3. Koda, Cub. "Main Offender - Keith Richards". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2018. /wiki/Cub_Koda ↩

  4. Kot, Greg (22 October 1992). "Keith Richards Main Offender (Virgin)/Izzy Stradlin Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds (Geffen)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2018. /wiki/Greg_Kot ↩

  5. Altman, Billy (6 November 1992). "Main Offender". Entertainment Weekly. http://ew.com/article/1992/11/06/main-offender/ ↩

  6. Gettelman, Parry (6 November 1992). "Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Izzy Stradlin". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 8 July 2018. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/11/06/keith-richards-ronnie-wood-izzy-stradlin/ ↩

  7. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 234. ↩

  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-31562 ↩

  10. "Swedishcharts.com – Keith Richards – Main Offender". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19921025/7502/ ↩

  12. "Keith Richards Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Keith-Richards/chart-history/TLP ↩

  13. "Austriancharts.at – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 March 2022. https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  14. "Ultratop.be – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2022. https://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  15. "Ultratop.be – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2022. https://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 March 2022. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Keith Richards – Main Offender" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2022. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-31562 ↩

  18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2022. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/20220325/40/ ↩

  19. "Swisscharts.com – Keith Richards – Main Offender". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2022. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Keith+Richards&titel=Main+Offender&cat=a ↩

  20. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2022. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/independent-albums-chart/20220325/131/ ↩