The Rolling Stones are teasing their new album, Foreign Tongues, with a new single, “In the Stars.” That song, along with the bluesy “Rough and Twisted,” which they teased with a grassroots campaign billing themselves as the Cockroaches, lead off the LP’s 14 tracks. The album, due July 10, follows up 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, which was a Number Three hit in the U.S. and won the band a Grammy.
The lead single, “In the Stars,” first presents itself as a pop-rock song in the mold of early Eighties Stones. But there’s a unique melody to the chorus, when Jagger sings, “It’s in the stars, it’s our destiny,” and the backing vocals “oooh” around them, with a little added piano that show a new side to the Stones, before they settle back into an instantly recognizable Keith Richards riff. “Do you wanna dance ’til the roof caves in?” Jagger sings. “Yeah, and the guitars cream and the choir still sings.”
“Rough and Twisted,” meanwhile, is a bluesy, foot-stomping rocker, laden with slide guitar, boogie-woogie piano, and saxophone, recalling the Stones’ early Seventies recordings. “Why don’t you drive me down that rough and twisted road?” Jagger bellows at the beginning, as the band settles into its signature swagger. He also plays harmonica with his inimitable whine on the song.
The band recorded the album at West London’s Metropolis Studios. Producer Andrew Watt, who helmed Hackney Diamonds, led Foreign Tongues as well. In addition to Jagger, Richards, and guitarist Ron Wood, the album features the return of bassist Darryl Jones (who wasn’t available for Diamonds), keyboardist Matt Clifford, and drummer Steve Jordan. The album also features an appearance by the late Stones drummer Charlie Watts, which was recorded during one of his last sessions before he died in 2021. Guest artists on the album include Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, the Cure’s Robert Smith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith.
“I love doing these recording sessions in London at Metropolis,” Jagger said in a statement. “It was a very intense few weeks recording Foreign Tongues. We had 14 great tracks, and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it’s not too big so you can feel the passion in the room from everyone.”
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“The Foreign Tongues album has a continuity from Hackney Diamonds, and it was great to be working in London again, and to have that London vibe around us,” Richards added. “It was a month of concentrated punch. To me, it’s all about the enjoyment of it. I’m blessed to be able to do this and long may it last.”
“The atmosphere in the room was so creative, and the whole band was on top form throughout the whole process,” Wood said. “Very often we nailed it on the first take. I hope everyone loves it.”
The album art features illustrated slices of Richards’, Wood’s, and Jagger’s faces stacked on top of each other as created by Nathaniel Mary Quinn. The album will be available on CD, deluxe CD, cassette, and multiple vinyl edition, as well as digitally. The single “In the Stars” will also come out on CD and vinyl.
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The band previously issued “Rough and Twisted” as a white-label promo 12-inch billed to the Cockroaches, a pseudonym they previously used when performing in 1977, around the time they recorded Love You Live and the recently released El Mocambo 1977.
The Stones currently have no tour dates scheduled but Jagger, Richards, and Woods are set to make an appearance in Brooklyn on Tuesday to launch Foreign Tongues.
