(Credits: Far Out / Press)

The blues is the only genre there has ever been in Mick Jagger‘s eyes. The Rolling Stones frontman might be the epitome of modern pop culture, but he’s never truly swayed too far from its roots. It was, in fact, the blues that brought the band together in the first place.

In an act of fated kismet akin to Robert Johnson bumping into a buddy at the crossroads, Keith Richards was drawn back into Jagger’s circle years after the childhood friends had ventured to different schools at 11. Richards told Rolling Stone: “This is a true story – we met at the train station. And I had these rhythm and blues records, which were very prized possessions because they weren’t available in England then. And he said, ‘Oh, yeah, these are really interesting’. That kind of did it. That’s how it started, really”.

The duo loved the drama, mysticism and soul of the blues. Shortly, their only aim in life was to be the best blues cover band in London—that was the extent of their vision, and they would’ve been more than happy to have simply gotten to it. Soon, however, their style began to mutate and evolve, in part because they knew that they couldn’t fully compete with some American blues at its purest.

These are the albums that Jagger has continued to adore—the rare gems where technical prowess and soaring soul collide. Albums like In Session saw Albert King join Stevie Ray Vaughan for a jam. “They did a duet album which they recorded in Canada. So, every track is just a knockout, I think,” Jagger said on Planet Rock radio when playing his favourite records.

The album is a simplistic thing of beauty, marked by spontaneity, flow, and creative freedom. King and Vaughan barely seem to think about the notes they’re playing—unburdened by typical concerns like keys and modes, they pluck notes from the air and weave them together effortlessly. When the Stones are at their best, they talk about a certain “magic” in their playing. Here, that force is undeniable—more obvious than a trick at a Penn and Teller show.

Jagger picks out ‘Pride and Joy’, a “Stevie Ray Vaughan tune”, as his favourite cut on the record. It exemplifies the blend of chops and class that he loves about it. Though Vaughan was only 29 when the session was first recorded in 1983, and King was 60, they both seem firmly on the same page, elevating the younger guitarist’s original effort.

As it happens, the first time Jagger ever encountered Vaughan at a small show in Texas, he was sent into a frenzy. “It was the first time I met him,” Vaughan later recalled. He was blinded by the lights on a little stage, but he says he “attacked” the concert with all his might “and kept seeing somebody I thought I recognised from Texas. This guy jumping up and down, acting like he was playing with us. Come to find out about an hour later that it was Jagger I’d been staring at. Every time we’d stop, Jagger would scream, ‘Keep playing! Hell with it, I’ll buy this place!‘”

It is far from a bad first impression, and Jagger has scrutinised his lauded work ever since.