Keith Richards And BMG To Celebrate 30th Anniversary Of “Main Offender”

“Main Offender,” the second solo album by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, was released in 1992. To mark the record’s 30th anniversary, BMG is re-releasing “Main Offender” on March 18. In addition to CD and vinyl versions, the album will also be available in a deluxe and a limited super deluxe version. Beyond the original album, which has been remastered for the re-release, the deluxe versions also include the previously unreleased concert “Winos Live In London ‘92” as well as an 88-page book with never-before-seen photos, essays and reproductions of handwritten lyrics. Also included are replicas of promotional and tour materials from Richards’ archives. “Main Offender” is the third Keith Richards album to be released by BMG, following the re-release of Richards’ first solo album “Talk Is Cheap” (2019), and the live recording “Live At The Hollywood Palladium” (2020). 

“Main Offender” was originally released in October 1992, four years after “Talk Is Cheap,” and features Richard’s Band, the X-Pensive Winos, comprised of drummer Steve Jordan, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist Charley Drayton, keyboard player Ivan Neville, singer Sarah Dash, and backing vocalists Bernard Fowler and Babi Floyd. The album was produced by Keith Richards, Waddy Wachtel, and Steve Jordan, with the newly remastered edition under the supervision of Jordan. The bonus live album was mixed and produced by Jordan as well. The X-Pensive Winos accompanied Keith Richards from 1988 to 1993; he released two studio albums and one live album with them. 

Commenting on “Main Offender” thirty years later, Richards says: “This is the second time around and the Winos are kind of developing…If I hadn’t have taken the Winos on the road, this record would probably have been totally different than it is. I tried to avoid making too much sense on this record because to me that ambiguity and mystery, and a little provocation to make you think, is something far more powerful and more important than just wagging your finger and saying, ‘I know what he’s saying don’t do this, do that.’ If you’re a musician, silence is your canvas, and you never want to fill-in the whole thing because then you’ve just covered it all… One of the most interesting parts about music is where you don’t play.”