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About Jamming With Edward!: The Rolling Stones’ 1972 “Piece Of Bullshit” Collaborative Album
Released in 1972 on Rolling Stones Records, Jamming With Edward! is one of those curious side notes in The Rolling Stones universe that feels more like a late-night experiment than a proper album. Born out of a missing Keith Richards during the Let It Bleed sessions, the remaining players—Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, alongside Nicky Hopkins and Ry Cooder—filled the gap with an impromptu jam at Olympic Studios. What followed was a loose, keyboard-driven session later packaged as a “budget” release, complete with tongue-in-cheek apologies and a sense of spontaneity. For fans, it’s less a hidden masterpiece and more a fascinating glimpse into the band’s chaotic, unfiltered creative moments.
“Budget” album released on Rolling Stones Records on Jan. 7 1972 (also called: Nicky Hopkins, Ry Cooder, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts—Jamming With Edward) featuring a jam session produced by Glyn Johns at Olympic Studios, London, with all of the above musicians. As gistory has it, Keith didn’t show up one night during the 1969 Let It Bleedsessions, rumoured to be due to his feud with Ry Cooder, but three-fifths of the band played on without him. The album came complete with a letter of apology from Mick making reference to this “piece of bullshit,” cut in London while “waiting for our guitar player to get out of bed,” and noting that Glyn Johns and Marshall Chess unearthed the soon-forgotten tapes and felt that Stones fans might want to hear this “historic” jam session.
SIDE A: 1. The Boudoir Stomp/ 2. It Hurts Me Too/ 3. Edward’s Thrump Up SIDE B: 1. Blow With Ry/ 2. Interlude A La El Hopo/ 3. The Loveliest Night Of The Year/ 4. Highland Fling
More about Jamming with Edward!
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni While many fans believe the Rolling Stones truly shined when they embraced a loose, unpolished rock & roll vibe—like in Exile on Main St., this 1972 release on Rolling Stones Records doesn’t quite hit the mark. The album’s unrehearsed, rough-around-the-edges style, which some might view as a badge of authenticity, ends up feeling more like a stumbling block than the raw, rebellious energy fans expect.
A Jam Session Disguised as an Album
That said, although released on Rolling Stones Records with band members on it, this album isn’t a true Rolling Stones release (meaning it’s not by the band) though it does feature three of the five main band members—Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts—along with session musician Nicky Hopkins and guitarist Ry Cooder. Together, they shuffle through some keyboard-heavy original tracks like The Boudoir Stomp and Edward’s Thrump Up, and throw in a more straightforward bluesy cover of Elmore James‘ classic It Hurts Me Too. Unfortunately, these songs never rise above the feeling that they were hastily thrown together after a few too many drinks at a late-night rehearsal.
For fans hoping for a hidden gem from the band’s glory days, Jamming With Edward! falls flat, leaving you with the feeling that it might’ve been better left unreleased altogether. Mick Jagger didn’t refer to it as “piece of bullshit” for nothing, you see, but ten you can always take that with a pinch of salt.
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