We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
The recording of this one dates back a couple of years…The Rolling Stones, along with pianist Nicky Hopkins and young guitar player Ry Cooder were in the Olympic Studio in London in 1969 during the recording sessions for “Let It Bleed”. Keith Richards wasn’t there. There is some dispute as to why…some say he was pissed that Cooder had been brought in to augment the guitar sound on the album.
While they waited…they started jamming and producer Glyn Johns rolled tape. It sat in the files until late 1971 when Johns mixed it and the band released it in 1972 as “Jamming With Edward”. “Edward” was Hopkins nickname and he really cooks on these cuts…as does Cooder whose slinky slide guitar pre-sages his later work for many different artists as well as his solo records.
Watts and Wyman lay down a solid bottom ( I’ll bet this made even Watts crack a smile) and Jagger pulls out his harmonica as well as adding some slurred vocals buried in the mix.
The session includes a cover of the Elmore James song “It Hurts Me Too” but it’s the too longer jams that stand out… “Edwards Thrump Up” and “Blow With Ry” are hypnotic even though the playing is loose and free.
Even the improvised “Highland Fling” that closes the record is a slice of bluesy feel good. If you’re an early Stones fan…you will dig this…if you’re not a Stones fan I bet you’ll did it too…
