Nicky Hopkins is one of the best kept secrets of music, active from the early 1960s to his death, aged 50, in 1994.
The ultimate ‘session man’, this pianist and organist played on recordings for British and American bands from the “grand slam” of The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles to Art Garfunkel, Rod Stewart and many more.
The sound was amazing on all of them. This man added to what was already excellent on a recording and made it just that bit better. And so, this film, written and directed by Michael Treen, gives him his due at last.
With contributions from musicians who worked alongside him and a chronology from the days of Lord Sutch’s Savages and Cyril Davies’s All Stars through to most of the big names of the time, The Session Man is an accomplished documentary
We hear examples of Hopkins playing from various points of his career, highlighting his versatility, intitution, and skill to blend into any band at the right time.
This is definitely a love letter to music and this particular musician, who achieved all this despite chronic physical illness diagnosed early on and bravely managed at a time drug treatment was rare.
As a session artist in the studio, he didn’t need to constantly cope with the excesses of touring, but was absolutely crucial to so many songs that have since achieved legendary status.
A survivor of alcohol and drug addiction, Hopkins is clearly loved and admired by his peers, and rightly so. The ultimate sideman, a pure musician, The Session Man is more than just a footnote in popular music.
At 90 minutes, there is scope to delve deep into the craft of the session player as well as explore the significance of this one particular artist to the music of his time.
In archive footage, Hopkins is modest about his achievements, with no sense at the time of his work having any longevity. He could do it all, soul, blues, rock, with a classical discipline.
Released just ahead of the 80th anniversary of Hopkins’s birth, The Session Man is technically rich, deeply informative, and truly affectionate.
For more information on the film please visit its website: https://thesessionmanfilm.com/
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Image credit: Michael Ochs/Session Man Film website