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THE ROLLING STONES Foreign Tongues( Polydor)
After waiting 18 years for an album of original songs to follow 2005’ s A Bigger Bang, the Rolling Stones delivered Hackney Diamonds in 2023. The band’ s prior handful of albums have their charms and supporters, but most longtime fans don’ t rank them among the cream of the Stones’ crop. Accordingly, expectations for Hackney Diamonds were eager but not stratospheric. Today, a Stones disciple can make a convincing case for Hackney Diamonds as an ace in the deck. Now comes the band’ s 25th album, Foreign
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Tongues, less than three years later. As the band did when selecting Hackney Diamonds track“ Angry,” this writer’ s unsolicited opinion is that the team could have chosen a more classically Stonesy single to introduce the album. However,“ In the Stars” exudes more bona fide character and soul to accompany producer Andrew Watts’ pop-savvy inflections. Mick Jagger delivers an arresting vocal while Keith Richards’ riffs and rhythm guitar play ping pong with Ronnie Wood’ s own rhythm and lead licks. It’ s just that it sounds a bit deliberate, like an effort to fill a slot akin to singles like“ Rock and a Hard Place.” But afterward, the Stones take glorious flight as if the emcee has just bellowed,“ Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones!” Foreign Tongues will thrill fans of the band’ s‘ 70s and‘ 80s output even more than the worthy Hackney Diamonds. It’ s fair to now call Foreign Tongues the Rolling Stones’ most satisfying collection since 1989’ s underrated Steel Wheels.“ Jealous Lover” would have been the lead single in a more perfect world. It’ s not as riff-forward in the vein of“ Start Me Up”( a role“ Angry” seemed to attempt) as“ In the Stars,” but it’ s a soulful Curtis Mayfield-influenced crooner wherein an age-defying Jagger purrs in silky falsetto. The song connects favorably to gems like“ Miss You” and“ Emotional Rescue.” Prince himself would have surely approved. It’ s followed by“ Mr. Charm,” and here we’ re smacked blissfully across the chops with Some Girls-styled Stones attitude – the kind that ripples through Cage the Elephant material |
like“ House of Glass.” Jagger spills rapid-fire spoken lyrics with maximum sass à la“ Shattered” while Richards and Wood bob and weave. In your headphones, Keef is on the left, Woody’ s on the right. The chorus erupts with spirited harmony from Naärai Jacobs, delivering flashes of Merry Clayton’ s famous contribution to“ Gimme Shelter.” Jagger spins a hot-blooded come-on to an erudite beauty and fires a potshot at Elon Musk for good measure. It works.“ Divine Intervention” is a shot of adrenaline, not far from the mark of“ She Was Hot.” It’ s a wittier companion to a song like“ Doom and Gloom.” In one lyric, Jagger asks a psychic in seedy Hollywood for a glimpse of his future.“ She threw up and then broke down and cried,” sings Jagger, who nonetheless promises to dance in the flames as his world burns down.“ Ringing Hollow” is a perfectly shambolic country honk a la“ Sweet Virginia.” The song takes a sympathetic but critical outsider’ s look at a perceived revocation of the American dream and national disharmony.“ Lady Liberty don’ t look so good when there’ s a tear in her gown,” sings Jagger while Richards sings rough-hewn harmony and Wood plays weeping slide guitar. After missing the Hackney Diamonds sessions, Chicago native and longtime Stones bassist Darryl Jones returns with a strong presence on Foreign Tongues, adding smooth and catchy disco-adjacent low end to“ Never Wanna Lose You.” A guest spot by the Cure’ s Robert Smith was on nobody’ s bingo card, but Smith is a surprisingly sympatico part of the song’ s vocal harmonies. He reappears to play guitar on“ Divine Intervention.” Paul McCartney returns to play bass on“ Covered in You,” a track left aside from the Hackney Diamonds sessions. Jagger’ s troubled character is unlucky in love and weighed down by the world.“ Me and you were separated like Korea,” |
Jagger laments. Benmont Tench and Steve Winwood offer top-flight contributions on organ and piano throughout the album. Erstwhile Expensive Winos drummer Steve Jordan received Charlie Watts’ blessing and personal choice as his successor. Jordan’ s performances throughout the album are muscular and rock solid. He never mimics Watts’ jazz-influenced touch, but his mastery of gritty blues, rock and soul grooves is evident. The beloved Watts returns from the Great Beyond with his own heavy-hitting contribution, propelling the slashing punk of the slyly nihilistic“ Hit Me in the Head.” The band pays tribute to the late, lamented Amy Winehouse with a cover of the unfaithful and self-destructive“ You Know I’ m No Good.” The soul revival flourish, originally rendered by Sharon Jones’ backing band The Dap- Kings, is skillfully adapted into the Stones’ blues-based rock arrangement. Richards offers the downtempo and reflective“ Some of Us” with nicotine-etched vocals. Melancholy and reflective verses glide into a gospel-influenced chorus embellished by Winwood’ s piano, Tench’ s shimmering Hammond organ, and Jagger’ s vocal accompaniment.“ You know that we can’ t get everything, but some of us are on our knees,” sings Richards, longing for warmth from a distant lover. Jordan and Jones provide resolute propulsion as Jagger suffers from addiction to desire as if it were chemically induced. Lovelorn country ballad“ Back in Your Life” follows a similar thread, with Jagger climbing skyward in aching melody. The album is bookended with homages to formative influences. The swaggering blues of“ Rough and Twisted” launches the fun with a reminder of how steeped the Rolling Stones are in the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Jagger doesn’ t often get the recognition he deserves as a terrific
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