Keith: Standing in the Shadows

Booth (Rhythm Oil) here professes to set the record straight on the life of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, the ``ultimate rock 'n' roll survivor.'' Booth's quibbles with previous biographies of Richards seem petty, but his own book is noteworthy because he draws on interviews conducted over a decades-long friendship to let Richards speak for himself. The result, falling between biography and autobiography, is interesting and largely successful. Richards's own account of the energy and excitement of the London music scene in the 1960s and Booth's evenhanded assessment of Richards's well-documented history of substance abuse make for particularly compelling reading. But as a definitive biography, Keith is ultimately sketchy. Virtually disappearing as a subject in the middle of the book as Booth digresses into other topics, Richards remains enigmatic throughout as a result of Booth's reluctance to probe into the life of a subject who is also a friend. Photos not seen by PW. (Mar.)