Frank Ocean Producer Om'Mas Keith Readies 'City Pulse' – Album Premiere

In January 2011, the singer-songwriter and producer Om'Mas Keith began working on his album City Pulse. Six months later, with the record nearly done, he put it away to concentrate on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange.

"There was no other alternative, really, in terms of knowing I was gonna immerse with an artist for that amount of time," Keith tells Rolling Stone in his Hollywood studio. "It really wasn't that hard a decision for me, knowing I had a body of work that was almost ready and that was just touches away from completion and in my possession."

50 Best Albums of 2012: Frank Ocean, 'Channel Orange'

That decision, of course, has paid off considerably: Ocean's critically-acclaimed album is one of the five finalists for Album of the Year at the 55th Grammy Awards. Keith, for one, is not surprised that he and the others behind Channel Orange will be attending the ceremony at the Staples Center on February 10th.

"After I was done producing, we took our listen and we kind of got that chill and we all said, 'Oh yeah, we're gonna be at the Grammys,'" he recalls. "We all said it, so we kind of manifested it to this experience."

Once he had finished working with Ocean, Keith returned to City Pulse, which you can hear exclusively below. Like Channel Orange, Keith regards City Pulse as a fully realized body of work, with a story. "It is somewhat of an exaggerated, somewhat fictional narrative; that's how it's done, that's how you make the good story," he says. "I think part of artistry, to me, is the blend of sharing your personal truth with people and then sharing your fictional idea. My album is definitely an album about love, sexual experiences, fun and touring the world."

For obvious reasons Keith says, "Now I think, timing-wise, this is the time for me to release this." He also plans to play live behind the record, starting with a European tour and then dates in Los Angeles, his current home, and beyond.

It will all have to be balanced with the continually increasing demand for his services as a producer. "What happens is now 16- to 18-hour days are just standard," he says.

Among his next projects, Keith is working with Azealia Banks on her forthcoming album. He envisions forging a similar working bond with her to the one he has now with Ocean. "She's probably going to be one of the artists that I go into a long-term working relationship with," he says. "We've already done a series of very intense sessions that I personally feel resulted in some of her best music to date. I think she feels that way too."

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Frank Ocean Producer Om'Mas Keith Readies 'City Pulse' – Album Premiere

In January 2011, the singer-songwriter and producer Om'Mas Keith began working on his album City Pulse. Six months later, with the record nearly done, he put it away to concentrate on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange.

"There was no other alternative, really, in terms of knowing I was gonna immerse with an artist for that amount of time," Keith tells Rolling Stone in his Hollywood studio. "It really wasn't that hard a decision for me, knowing I had a body of work that was almost ready and that was just touches away from completion and in my possession."

50 Best Albums of 2012: Frank Ocean, 'Channel Orange'

That decision, of course, has paid off considerably: Ocean's critically-acclaimed album is one of the five finalists for Album of the Year at the 55th Grammy Awards. Keith, for one, is not surprised that he and the others behind Channel Orange will be attending the ceremony at the Staples Center on February 10th.

"After I was done producing, we took our listen and we kind of got that chill and we all said, 'Oh yeah, we're gonna be at the Grammys,'" he recalls. "We all said it, so we kind of manifested it to this experience."

Once he had finished working with Ocean, Keith returned to City Pulse, which you can hear exclusively below. Like Channel Orange, Keith regards City Pulse as a fully realized body of work, with a story. "It is somewhat of an exaggerated, somewhat fictional narrative; that's how it's done, that's how you make the good story," he says. "I think part of artistry, to me, is the blend of sharing your personal truth with people and then sharing your fictional idea. My album is definitely an album about love, sexual experiences, fun and touring the world."

For obvious reasons Keith says, "Now I think, timing-wise, this is the time for me to release this." He also plans to play live behind the record, starting with a European tour and then dates in Los Angeles, his current home, and beyond.

It will all have to be balanced with the continually increasing demand for his services as a producer. "What happens is now 16- to 18-hour days are just standard," he says.

Among his next projects, Keith is working with Azealia Banks on her forthcoming album. He envisions forging a similar working bond with her to the one he has now with Ocean. "She's probably going to be one of the artists that I go into a long-term working relationship with," he says. "We've already done a series of very intense sessions that I personally feel resulted in some of her best music to date. I think she feels that way too."

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Olympics Organizers Ask Keith Moon to Play Closing Ceremony

Keith Moon at the Hollywood Palladium in 1977.Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who's manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.

"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'," the band's longtime manager, Bill Curbishley, told the Times. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."

Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32 from an an accidental overdose of prescription pills. The Olympics organizers wanted the late drummer to take part in the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture that will be part of the Games' closing ceremony on August 12th.

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Olympics Organizers Ask Keith Moon to Play Closing Ceremony

Keith Moon at the Hollywood Palladium in 1977.Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who's manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.

"I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old'," the band's longtime manager, Bill Curbishley, told the Times. "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."

Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32 from an an accidental overdose of prescription pills. The Olympics organizers wanted the late drummer to take part in the Symphony of Rock, a celebration of British pop culture that will be part of the Games' closing ceremony on August 12th.

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Keith Richards Apologizes to Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards together onstage in New York City.

In a new interview conducted for an upcoming documentary chronicling the Rolling Stones' 50-year career, Keith Richards addresses the derogatory comments he made about Mick Jagger in his 2010 memoir Life. Here is the exchange:

How have you both found surveying a journey that has already lasted 50 years? It must have been difficult at times, bearing in mind the nature of your relationship and especially the stories we have all heard about the tensions that resulted from the publication of Life.

Mick: Well, I’m glad you said 50 years as that sounds so much less than half a century (laughs). 

Looking back at any career you are bound to recall both the highs and the lows. 

In the 1980s for instance Keith and I were not communicating very well. I got very involved with the business side of the Stones, mainly because I felt no one else was interested, but it’s plain now from the book that Keith felt excluded, which is a pity. Time I reckon to move on.

Keith: Mick’s right. He and I have had conversations over the last year of a kind we have not had for an extremely long time and that has been incredibly important to me.

As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be, but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick and I regret that.

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Keith Richards Apologizes to Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards together onstage in New York City.

In a new interview conducted for an upcoming documentary chronicling the Rolling Stones' 50-year career, Keith Richards addresses the derogatory comments he made about Mick Jagger in his 2010 memoir Life. Here is the exchange:

How have you both found surveying a journey that has already lasted 50 years? It must have been difficult at times, bearing in mind the nature of your relationship and especially the stories we have all heard about the tensions that resulted from the publication of Life.

Mick: Well, I’m glad you said 50 years as that sounds so much less than half a century (laughs). 

Looking back at any career you are bound to recall both the highs and the lows. 

In the 1980s for instance Keith and I were not communicating very well. I got very involved with the business side of the Stones, mainly because I felt no one else was interested, but it’s plain now from the book that Keith felt excluded, which is a pity. Time I reckon to move on.

Keith: Mick’s right. He and I have had conversations over the last year of a kind we have not had for an extremely long time and that has been incredibly important to me.

As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be, but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick and I regret that.

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Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and More Celebrate Hubert Sumlin in New York

Matt Kent/Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Close to midnight last night at New York's Apollo Theater, Eric Clapton had just finished a thunderous take on classic blues number "Forty Four" when Keith Richards ambled onstage with no introduction. Wearing a dark blazer, long green scarf, fedora and a huge grin, he embraced Clapton and stood center stage to massive applause, delivering a smoky take on Wolf’s "Going Down Slow," a chronicle of a frail man who has savored life’s greatest pleasures. "Man, I've had things that kings and queens will never have," Richards growled. "In fact, they don't even know about them, let alone get ’em. And good times? Mmmm...." He hovered around Clapton and then stood sidestage by the piano while Clapton delivered a throaty verse and then weaved clean-toned solos with young Austin guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

There were many highlights at Howlin for Hubert – a tribute to guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who played in Howlin’ Wolf’s band for decades and passed away on December 4th due to heart failure – but that was the peak. It was Richards’ first major musical appearance since the Rolling Stones last toured five years ago, and he showed little rust. After "Going Down Slow,"  he sat down and played metallic 12-string slide while singing "Little Red Rooster," and then strapped on a Gibson electric guitar to sing and trade licks with Clapton on "Spoonful." "It’s good to be back," Richards said, peering up to the balcony before breaking into a cackle. "Goddamn, it’s good to be back."

The entire show, which featured all-stars including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Jimmie Vaughan, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II and Elvis Costello –  plus overlooked legends like Wolf’s former bandmates, harmonica player James Cotton, guitarist Jody Williams and saxophonist Eddie Shaw – was one for the history books. The event originated while Sumlin was still alive as a celebration to mark his 80th birthday. It stayed that way; Guest after guest recounted Sumlin’s unfaltering positivity and passion for his instrument. At one point, Toni Ann Mamary, Sumlin’s longtime manager and companion, tearfully recalled Sumlin tellling her, "I’m gonna be there. I don’t care if I play – I’m going to be there." She added, "Can you feel him?"

The night began with a film featuring classic Sumlin performance footage and a recent interview with him, where Sumlin humorously described how he found his own piercing signature sound after Wolf strongly urged him to lose the guitar pick. The stage lights then revealed two massive portraits of Sumlin behind the stage. His sunburst Stratocaster sat on a stand at center stage, with his trademark feathered cap hanging off of it. Clapton emerged – with short, slicked-back hair and wearing a blazer – with Cotton, Sumlin’s old musical partner.  Clapton kicked the night off howling an acoustic, stomping "Key to the Highway," complemented by Cotton’s razor-sharp harp fills.

Each set came and went in a flash. Performers were backed by an incredible house band including Steve Jordan and Jim Keltner, two of the best drummers alive, bassist Willie Weeks and pianist Ivan Neville. An early highlight was Jimmie Vaughan performing an electric solo version of "Six Strings Down," a tribute to fallen gunslingers. When he sang "Albert Collins up there / Muddy and Lightnin’ too / Albert and Freddy / playing the blues," it was easy to feel more than one spirit in the room. Kenny Wayne Shepherd and 77-year-old Jody Williams jammed on Williams' ferocious 1957 instrumental "Lucky Lou," Shepherd unleashing flurries of loud, screeching notes.  The New York Dolls’ David Johansen – who sang lead at many of Sumlin’s shows in recent years – emerged for "Evil," replicating Howlin' Wolf’s vocals with a weathered cat-scratch howl.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and More Celebrate Hubert Sumlin in New York

Matt Kent/Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Close to midnight last night at New York's Apollo Theater, Eric Clapton had just finished a thunderous take on classic blues number "Forty Four" when Keith Richards ambled onstage with no introduction. Wearing a dark blazer, long green scarf, fedora and a huge grin, he embraced Clapton and stood center stage to massive applause, delivering a smoky take on Wolf’s "Going Down Slow," a chronicle of a frail man who has savored life’s greatest pleasures. "Man, I've had things that kings and queens will never have," Richards growled. "In fact, they don't even know about them, let alone get ’em. And good times? Mmmm...." He hovered around Clapton and then stood sidestage by the piano while Clapton delivered a throaty verse and then weaved clean-toned solos with young Austin guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

There were many highlights at Howlin for Hubert – a tribute to guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who played in Howlin’ Wolf’s band for decades and passed away on December 4th due to heart failure – but that was the peak. It was Richards’ first major musical appearance since the Rolling Stones last toured five years ago, and he showed little rust. After "Going Down Slow,"  he sat down and played metallic 12-string slide while singing "Little Red Rooster," and then strapped on a Gibson electric guitar to sing and trade licks with Clapton on "Spoonful." "It’s good to be back," Richards said, peering up to the balcony before breaking into a cackle. "Goddamn, it’s good to be back."

The entire show, which featured all-stars including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Jimmie Vaughan, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II and Elvis Costello –  plus overlooked legends like Wolf’s former bandmates, harmonica player James Cotton, guitarist Jody Williams and saxophonist Eddie Shaw – was one for the history books. The event originated while Sumlin was still alive as a celebration to mark his 80th birthday. It stayed that way; Guest after guest recounted Sumlin’s unfaltering positivity and passion for his instrument. At one point, Toni Ann Mamary, Sumlin’s longtime manager and companion, tearfully recalled Sumlin tellling her, "I’m gonna be there. I don’t care if I play – I’m going to be there." She added, "Can you feel him?"

The night began with a film featuring classic Sumlin performance footage and a recent interview with him, where Sumlin humorously described how he found his own piercing signature sound after Wolf strongly urged him to lose the guitar pick. The stage lights then revealed two massive portraits of Sumlin behind the stage. His sunburst Stratocaster sat on a stand at center stage, with his trademark feathered cap hanging off of it. Clapton emerged – with short, slicked-back hair and wearing a blazer – with Cotton, Sumlin’s old musical partner.  Clapton kicked the night off howling an acoustic, stomping "Key to the Highway," complemented by Cotton’s razor-sharp harp fills.

Each set came and went in a flash. Performers were backed by an incredible house band including Steve Jordan and Jim Keltner, two of the best drummers alive, bassist Willie Weeks and pianist Ivan Neville. An early highlight was Jimmie Vaughan performing an electric solo version of "Six Strings Down," a tribute to fallen gunslingers. When he sang "Albert Collins up there / Muddy and Lightnin’ too / Albert and Freddy / playing the blues," it was easy to feel more than one spirit in the room. Kenny Wayne Shepherd and 77-year-old Jody Williams jammed on Williams' ferocious 1957 instrumental "Lucky Lou," Shepherd unleashing flurries of loud, screeching notes.  The New York Dolls’ David Johansen – who sang lead at many of Sumlin’s shows in recent years – emerged for "Evil," replicating Howlin' Wolf’s vocals with a weathered cat-scratch howl.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

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