Eagle Records

If the much-touted reunion of Stones past and present is the thing that attracts many mainstream listeners to Boogie 4 Stu, then good. Maybe the Stones can feel they’re paying back an old colleague for years of service, guidance, and friendship.

The fact of the matter is, the real heroes of Boogie 4 Stu are pianist Ben Waters – who not only masterminded the project but plays his ass off on it – and the late Ian “Stu” Stewart himself, who manages to upstage his old chums … but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Stewart’s story has been oft-repeated over the years; the short version is, he was there when the Stones became the Stones, but was deemed by management not to have the right “look” to be a rock ‘n’ roll star. The beefy, rugged Stewart did not give a sweet Scottish shite, though. As Keith Richards recalled in Life, Stewart’s reply to the decision was, “Okay – I’ll just drive you around.”

That may be an over-simplification of Stewart’s role as road manager (which he held until he died of heart failure in 1985), but the fact remains that he was dedicated to the Stones. And Stewart’s influence remains, 26 years after his passing. As Richards puts it: “I’m still working for [Stu]. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organization … we’d be nowhere.”

Besides his talents on the road, Stewart was a hard taskmaster when it came to keeping the Stones on the straight-and-narrow sound-wise. If he felt they were straying too far off the mark of what they were supposed to be about as a rock ‘n’ roll band, he’d tell them. And the Stones listened – partly because Stewart was a hellish keyboardist in his own right. Check out the liner notes for any of the albums the band recorded during his lifetime – chances are you’ll find Ian Stewart’s name in there somewhere. The man really was as much a Stone as anyone who had the spotlight shone on them.

As Ben Waters himself accounts in the liner notes to Boogie 4 Stu, Stewart was a “massive influence” on him as a pianist. The project itself was originally intended simply as a way for Waters to say thanks to his mentor, with the proceeds from the album’s sale to go to the British Heart Foundation. What started out as a solo tribute album by Waters began taking on a life of its own when Stones drummer Charlie Watts expressed an interest in playing on it. The snowball of players grew from there, with a roster that included members of Stewart’s own boogie band Rocket 88, P.J. Harvey, Jools Holland – and, yes, the aforementioned Rolling Stones (including original bassist Bill Wyman). The result is an album chock-full of goodtime boogie-woogie piano, bluesy guitar, wickedly cool horns, big smiles, and more than a few moments of sweet sadness.

Hats off to Waters: first, for making the project happen; secondly, the man is a hellish piano player himself. If there’s any justice in this ol’ world, Boogie 4 Stu will inspire folks to dig into Waters’ back catalog of music and keep their eyes out for future efforts. He leads the way out of the gate with a flat-out solo romp through “Boogie Woogie Stomp”, then takes the helm for a full-band rip (including Richards on guitar and original Stone Bill Wyman on bass) through “Rooming House Boogie”.

Speaking of Richards, he lays down his axe and takes a turn at the mic on “Worried Life Blues” – one of his most impassioned vocal performances in a long while. Fellow Stone Ronnie Wood trades verses with Richards and lays down some nasty guitar – a total Muddy Waters-toned performance.

Jools Holland pulls off some great piano duels with Waters, including the title track. His vocal on “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor” sounds like the work of a bluesman several decades older … but true in vibe and spirit. Harvey’s atmospheric vocals on “Lonely Avenue” at first seem out of place on the album, but in the end, her sweet sax break and Waters’ keys keep things in the groove.

And what about the Mick/Keith/Ronnie/Charlie/Bill Stones reunion, you ask? Well, it’s good – a swaggering take on Bob Dylan’s “Watching The River Flow” which is so fun to listen to that it’s easy to pretend that they were all on the same continent when they recorded their various parts. Jagger is as prominent on the cut as anyone, with a classic Mick slurred-up, drawled-out, lip-smacking vocal and a hip blues harp break.

The big payoff, though, comes at the end of Boogie 4 Stu when we’re treated to an archival recording of Stewart himself leading Rocket 88 through a raucous version of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me”. The whole band is hot – from the horns punching it out to Roger Sutton doing double duty on bass and soulful vocals – but it’s Stewart’s piano that’ll spin your head around. There’s nothing delicate about it, but it’s not heavy-handed, either … just right there and right.

Waters did a good thing by leaving this track until the end; as much talent as there is spread throughout the album, it’s this performance by Stewart and his band that tops them all.

For when it comes right down to it, nobody boogies quite like Stu.

Amen.