Mick Jagger sounds like a young man: the Rolling Stones’ new album is a feast for the ears | Show

Some extra delay after so much time was also possible. The run-up to the latest studio album Hackney Diamonds, which comes out next Friday, was a bumpy one. The corona pandemic halted work, and the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021 plunged the band into mourning and forced the remaining three members to reconsider.

She has succeeded in the latter, as is evident when listening to the twelve songs on the album, which kicks off with the first single Angry, a striking rock song with a recognizable guitar riff that stays away from unnecessary musical fuss. Frontman Mick Jagger (80) and guitarists Ronnie Wood (76) and Keith Richards (79) found Steve Jordan an obvious and excellent replacement for Watts, but they also had a good eye for a producer.

Andrew Watt (32) previously worked with Pearl Jam, Justin Bieber and Iggy Pop, among others, and appears to have a good feel for the Rolling Stones, resulting in an excellent record that does not reveal all its secrets on the first listen. Producer Watt’s greatest achievement is the first studio album with his own music since a Bigger bang (2005) to sound like a unity while still containing a lot of variation.

Also in musicians, by the way. For example, Charlie Watts can still be heard as drummer on Mess it up and Live by the sword and a colorful procession of guest musicians passes by. Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Elton John for example, although it is a mystery why the latter appears on the song Get Close the played the piano. The keys are completely covered in production. On Live by the swordon which, in addition to Watts, former bassist Bill Wyman also plays, Elton John’s honky-tonk piano fortunately comes into its own.

What else stands out Hackney Diamonds is how good Mick Jagger still sounds. Of course there are plenty of tools in the studio to enhance the sound, but Jagger sounds like a young man with the flying hours of a veteran. ‘I’m too young to die, and too old to lose’, he sings Depending on youa soulful pop song with an atmospheric setting of strings and steel guitar by Wood.

To the energetic punk song Bite my head off the Stones get help from Beatle Paul McCartney, who, with the help of the amplifier, overdrives his bass so much that it sounds as if his instrument could explode at any moment. The song exudes fun, a common thread throughout the album.

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The album reaches its peak towards the end, with Sweet sounds of heaven, like almost all songs on the album, a joint composition by Jagger and Richards. Like Angry This soul ballad is a well-chosen single, on which Jagger vocally merges beautifully with Lady Gaga. After the drawn-out song, a feast for the ears, the Stones conclude with a cover of Muddy Waters’ Rolling Stone Blues. Jagger and Richards at their bareest, with only an acoustic guitar and harmonica, the sound of the Delta blues. An ode to the 1950 song from which the band would take its name a decade later.

The Stones do not go out of their way to prove themselves, they do not reinvent themselves, but play with the carefree relaxation of men who know exactly what they are good at. That makes Hackney Diamonds into an unpretentious, honest and wonderful record to listen to.

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