by Madeline Bocaro
Get in your car, start it up and drive down the rough and twisted road, past the Chelsea Drugstore, down Main St., past the movie house on 42nd Street, Fun City and Memory Motel, through “Alabam” and Bakersfield… Traces of all of these places and songs can be found on the Stones 26th album, and it’s a helluva non-stop road trip!
From Puerto Rico to Mississippi, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Sicily, Rome and a trailer park in Naples, Foreign Tongues takes us even further from Hackney. Can you believe it has been three years since the release of Hackney Diamonds?
The fusion of faces on the album cover (by artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, in his own inimitable surrealist composite style) is titled Stones Trinity. Jagger calls the unholy amalgam “Mr. Ugly.” It actually makes the Stones look more flattering in real life!
As usual, the popular complaint is, “The Stones have not evolved since (insert year).” How much can the band evolve without losing its’ primeval appeal? The Cockroaches have endured without compromise! Other than Andrew Watt’s louder, cleaner production (also on Hackney Diamonds) the Stones’ multi-genre approach remains fresh and authentic.
Ten of the fourteen songs were recorded in London in four weeks. Some are from prior sessions, including the McCartney collaboration. The guest-list also includes Steve Winwood, Robert Smith of The Cure (whom Jagger spontaneously invited when he spotted Smith outside the studio “wearing a gown and lots of lipstick”) and Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The killer blues track ‘Rough and Twisted Road’ (much unlike the Beatles’ epic ‘Long and Winding Road’) starts with a ‘Midnight Rambler’ vibe… The Stones’ “muddy water” sounds crystal clear. This song (which lends the album its title) was the first one to be released in May. Jagger described it… “About a woman promising you the world, but you get delivered bad food, bad air, bad clubs, bad politics, bad everything… It’s a blues fantasy, really.”
‘In the Stars’ was the second digital release. It veers throughout from punchy rock verses to pop choruses – almost like two songs in one, as the hand of fate bears down once again. The music video attempts to depict the Stones in their prime. The video will likely be viewed in retrospect as a primitive attempt at manipulative technology – as they don’t exactly resemble themselves at times. These two songs are a diverse (Blues / Pop) double-whammy to blow us all away. Watt has made Jagger’s voice sound rich and strong.
The second pair of songs released was ‘Jealous Lover’ / ‘Divine Intervention.’
The first is an R&B ballad. This is their ‘Tops’ / ‘Miss You’ / ‘Emotional Rescue’ of the album – with Jagger ditching his lover in a falsetto vocal. It’s appealing, until we see the ridiculously contrived, ultra-commercial video. There are no other worthy new sounds for the Stones to adapt, so they just do “The Stones” on the rest of the album – thankfully!
The “B-side” is the fantastic ‘Divine Intervention.’ It busts out of the gate like a slick ‘Respectable,’ giving us the adrenaline rush we had upon first hearing that song. Mick defies the apocalypse, dancing in the flames as we rock out to the doom and gloom of the lyrics. The steady beat is nicely contrasted by some great drum fills before each verse. This has a wonderful blues solo by Ronnie.
Two days before the release, Mick and Ronnie acoustically performed ‘Ringing Hollow’ (a gorgeous country style folk song addressing the band’s fluctuating relationship with America) at a fan event. A massive drone light show featuring a huge tongue logo lit up the London sky.
With a risky 14 total tracks (+ at least one bonus track so far – ‘Bad Luck Hideaway’ with Mick and Keith trading vocals ), there were still plenty of songs to anticipate at the album release on July 10th. And now here they are…
On ‘Mr. Charm’ our singer seduces yet another rich woman to a steady beat. When Mick sings, “Life’s too short…” this time, it really is!
‘Never Wanna Lose You’ has a funky bass line and synths by The Cure’s Robert Smith. Another one with a mis-matched killer verse, breaking suddenly into a disco-fied chorus. The very fast ‘Hit Me In The Head’ hails from 2021, with Charlie Watts on drums.
‘You Know I’m No Good’ takes the Amy Winehouse song from the lounge to the street. Mick sings in a higher key than Amy did. This fits perfectly in the Stones’ canon – about a toxic relationship; cheating and guilt. Although the guy blatantly advises that he is bad news, the woman can’t escape his allure. It reminds me of the March 1964 headlines in Melody Maker, contrived by their manager (“Would you let your sister go with a Rolling Stone?” / “Would you let your daughter marry one?”)
Keith takes the emotional lead vocal on ‘Some of Us,’ giving voice to the down-trodden. Mick’s vocal style alternates from melodic to an odd rap style on ‘Covered in You’ with Paul McCartney on bass.
Instead of the usual song about drugs, we now have one about withdrawal – from drugs, and from an addictive relationship. “I can’t stop / I can’t get enough / Is it real or is it chemical?” ‘Side Effects.’ reminds me of the speedily litanies of warnings on the ridiculous amount of drug adverts on daytime television in America – including “thoughts of suicide” and “DEATH!”! It’s Anarchy in the FDA!
‘Back In Your Life’ is my favorite of all. When Jagger says, “Come on Ronnie.” (reminiscent of Iggy Pop beckoning Ron Asheton on ‘No Fun,’ “Come on Ronnie, tell ‘em how I feel.”) Wood plays something sublime and beautiful that I wish would never end. In fact, it’s annoying when Mick sings a bit over it. Ronnie told Jimmy Fallon that his solo was originally 9-minutes long, done in one take. It was edited to half the length. Wood cites being especially emotional that day in June 2025 due to the passings of Brian Wilson and Sly Stone within one week, and was over-taken by his guitar. No wonder it sounds so sincere! Let’s hope the full solo surfaces one day.
‘Beautiful Delilah’ is a Chuck Berry cover with an Exile vibe. The Stones used to play this live early on. This sliding beauty (sans drums) has a great Jagger vocal. It fittingly closes the album, since their very first single ‘Come On’ was a Chuck Berry tune.
Full circle, full-on Stones, fulfillment of our wishes!
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