Rating: NNN
In the early 60s, Mick and Keith delivered the harsh news to their keyboardist Ian “Stu” Stewart: he couldn’t be a Rolling Stone – he just didn’t look the part. The jutting-jawed Scot accepted his place on the periphery. He was never photographed with the band but recorded with them and played live, remaining integral to the group’s sound until his death in the mid-80s. No member’s loss, and that includes Brian Jones, affected the Stones more than Stu’s, which is why this tribute by young boogie piano player Ben Waters is absolutely star-loaded.
Keith, Ronnie, Charlie, Mick and even Bill Wyman all make appearances, plus legendary Stones engineer Glyn Johns (Exile On Main Street) and Brit talk show star Jools Holland. There’s even cover art by Sgt. Pepper creator Peter Blake. Waters, 35, holds his own and chooses his cuts carefully, including tunes originally covered by Rocket 88, the band Stu founded in the 70s and which later featured Waters. Jagger steals the show with his vocal over Bob Dylan’s Watching The River Flow, but there’s no missing Waters’s cousin P.J. Harvey doing her breathy bit on Lonely Avenue.
Top track: Watching The River Flow
