The Times have given the new Stones album Foreign Tongues five stars in today’s paper. The band reference their career in their songs on an album which is a “career high”. I paraphrase the reviewer, ‘Mick wants anything new, Keith wants to play classic riffs and Ronnie just wants to keep it all together.’
Reviewer Will Hodgkinson gives a lot of credit to their producer, 35 year old Andrew Watt.
If it lives up to the hype that’s going to be a cracking album better than Hackney Diamonds.
You know you’re in for a surprise when even Robert Smith makes an appearance.
Because the guys that used to do the covers for the Stones’s albums are all dead (old age). There’s only Keith and Mick left and they ain’t got a clue what they’re doing or probably got Ronnie to do it who thinks he’s an “artist”!
The album will be an absolute belter, if “In the Stars”, the single, is anything to go by.
I still love The Stones’ trademark sound, where, long before Mick starts the vocal, you instantly know it’s The Stones as the riffmeister does his thing.
This is coming from someone brought up listening to The Rolling Stones who saw them first at 14 but honestly I don’t think they have made a decent record since Tattoo You, after the first 5 seconds of both these singles you know it’s them and know how it will progress.
The best you can hope at this point is that it at least it sounds good and it does which is why a 35 year old was drafted in to produce it to give that same sound a bit of an edge. I suppose if it ain’t broke and all that.
I understand what you mean about knowing what you are going to get. That is always part of the joy of listening to an artist you like, playing the style of music you also like.
I think if they suddenly changed the ingredients that make a Stones album then we would be disappointed for that reason.
From the first note on the new single I had a huge smile just because nothing has changed, and there is something magical about that.
In the days when I worked I was out with a German colleague and he asked what was my favourite Stones album. I reply Black and Blue and he said Ah yes recorded in Munich.
Black & Blue is a great record as are Sticky Fingers, Exile in Main St, Goats Head Soup, Some of Some Girls and lots of Tattoo You after that is all a bit downhill.
