Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
Rolling Stones unreleased: English Rose
A LITTLE ROSE IN THE ROUGH English Rose isn’t some hidden masterpiece, but that’s what makes it cool. Recorded during the Black and Blue sessions in ’75, it’s barely a minute long and feels more like a rough sketch than a finished track. Still, that raw vibe gives us a peek into the Stones’ creative messiness—trying out ideas, chasing moods, and sometimes leaving things unfinished. It’s a forgotten scrap, but one that tells its own story.
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Rolling Stones Mobile, Rotterdam, Holland, Jan. 22-Feb. 9 1975 (Black and Blue sessions)
From Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012: A slow song with an unidentified guitar player other than Keith Richards playing. There are some vocals but the outtake is only a minute long, so not a lot can be concluded.
Among the many hidden treasures in The Rolling Stones’ vast archive, English Rose stands out as a curious fragment rather than a fully formed song. Recorded during the Black and Blue sessions in Rotterdam in early 1975, it clocks in at barely a minute, leaving fans more intrigued than satisfied. The track drifts along slowly, carried by a gentle mood that hints at possibilities never fully realized. Vocals do appear, though they’re fleeting—like shadows of lyrics rather than complete thoughts. What makes English Rose even more mysterious is the uncertainty surrounding the guitar work.
It isn’t Keith Richards, at least according to session notes, but exactly who played those soft lines remains unknown. In many ways, that’s the charm of this unreleased piece: it feels less like a song and more like a glimpse into a private creative moment, frozen in time, never meant for the world but fascinating nonetheless.
A Forgotten Piece of the Black and Blue Puzzle
According to Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962–2012, the outtake doesn’t reveal much—yet its very existence adds another layer to the story of this transitional period for the band. Black and Blue was already an experimental album, marked by lineup changes and stylistic shifts, so a fragile sketch like English Rose fits perfectly within that restless atmosphere. Even though it lacks polish, it hints at the Stones’ willingness to try different moods and directions, even if only for a fleeting minute. Fans who stumble upon this recording often see it less as a lost masterpiece and more as a rare window into the band’s creative process—an unfinished page from the notebook of Jagger and Richards, carrying the faint perfume of what might have been.
Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
