Rolling Stones
Jamming With Edward

What would happen if the rhythm section of the Rolling Stones, just for once, told Jagger/Richards to go to hell and instead invited two old friends like Nicky Hopkins and Ry Cooder? They would play blues full blast, you can bet on it! That's somewhat what happened one night in April 1969 during the recording sessions of "Let it bleed," while waiting for Keith Richards, who was busy enjoying some "brown sugar" somewhere. Well, Messrs. Watts and Wyman decided to stretch their hands in the company of the two luxury session men, Nicky Hopkins on piano and the great but then-unknown Ry Cooder on guitar. That prima donna Jagger heard the notes floating in the studio and settled in with a few grunts and his harmonica just to pass the time. In the recording room was also Ian "Stu" Stewart who let the tapes roll and thus a half-hour of "practice" was bequeathed to posterity, more spectacular than many other "official matches" held nowadays.

Understand, the record is often cataloged as a Rolling Stones release but in fact, it is to be credited to Nicky Hopkins (the Edward in the title) and Ry Cooder accompanied by the Stones' rhythm section, and this is evident through listening to the six tracks where the keyboardist and guitarist take the lead.

Okay, it starts with the usual Stones' cadenced blues: "The Budoir Stomp" is led by the "saloon" piano of the late Nicky, accompanied by the echoes of Jagger's harmonica and Cooder's almost funky guitar, while the panting rhythm progresses to a frenzied finale. When the track ends, Wyman is still strumming his bass, and there's a chatter of voices with Ian Stewart asking where the hell Keith is!

"It hurts me too" is the only cover, and here Elmore James’ piece is rendered in the lazy Stones style, with Mick making up the words compared to the original. Needless to say, the slide of Ry Cooder is formidable in enhancing the song's indolence. It's incredible, but it seems like he's right there, in the dimly lit room tapping his foot in time with the tired beat of the even more tired Watts, whom I imagine with a cigarette at the corner of his mouth. The honky-tonk piano solo accompanied by the slide makes the piece one of the best on the album, along with the subsequent "Edward ‘s Thrump Up" which begins with the rhythmic base in unison and then Nicky Hopkins soars in a long boogie improvisation that could make even the paralytics dance. It's impossible to resist the rhythm of the jam with piano and guitar duetting, accompanied by Mick's wheezing harmonica and the pounding rhythm of those two marvelous mummies, Watts and Wyman.

Cooder's slide starts the long "Blow with Ry" alone, and then progressively the other instruments join in and Jagger's voice that seems to come from backstage. Again he invents lyrics, talking about death and cemeteries: "I went to the graveyard and I looked at my woman's face"... Guys, this is the pure pleasure of making music, without constraints, without pressures, as we would do if we gathered in the condo basement.

The closing "Highland Flying" seems like a classical piano exercise by Hopkins who then launches into a long boogie blues solo supported by Bill Wyman's bass which I swear I've never heard so frantic and in full expressive freedom!

Consider that these recordings saw the light only in 1972, but the LP remained in the catalog for a short time. I caught a reprint on Virgin compact disc in 1995 and I don't know what listening means you will use, but if you like blues and you like the Stones, I recommend you don't miss it.

And who knows where the hell Keith had ended up?!?