Keith Richards - Talk is Cheap (1988)

It made sense that Keith Richards's first solo album offered better Chuck Berry-derived rockers than Mick "Keep Up with the Times" Jagger's, but who knew that Richards would give up more of the funk, too? His X-Pensive Winos (with estimable drummer Steve Jordan filling the Charlie Watts role) lay it down in a tight-but-loose fashion, and it doesn't hurt that Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell drop by, either. The best surprise of all, though, is the rueful, Cajun-tinged ballad "Locked Away." --Rickey Wright