ROLLING STONES - Foreign Tongues

Eighteen years passed between the forgettable “A Bigger Bang” and “Hackney Diamonds” to complete a new album of original material, then less than three to arrive at “Foreign Tongues”. It's not simply a matter of a third or fourth youth (for the Rolling Stones the second one arrived decades ago already…), as Keith Richards made clear in a recent interview: “The only reason 'Foreign Tongues' came out is that we did so much work on 'Hackney Diamonds' that Andrew (Watt, the producer, ed.) and I looked at each other and realised that, in practice, that had been a double album, only we preferred to take a break first”. Clearly, over eighteen years, plenty of hay had been stacked in the barn, but “Foreign Tongues” isn't a B-side collection compared to its predecessor, nor a dumping ground for leftover sessions: quite the opposite. That much is clear from a close listen to some of the brightest songs crowding the record: “In The Stars”, “Divine Intervention”, “Covered In You” and “Side Effects” have a pop infectiousness, a renewed vitality that few would have expected from the Rolling Stones in 2026, in spite of the melancholy over time inexorably slipping away.

Then, across the fourteen songs of “Foreign Tongues”, there are plenty of other familiar ingredients that somehow make the record both comforting for the fan and appealing to the newcomer: formidable blues'n'roll (“Rough And Twisted”, “Mr Charm”), Mick Jagger's falsetto on “Jealous Lover” taking us back to the soft disco of the Seventies, the usual little corner reserved for Richards' voice (“Some Of Us”), the trademark guitar solos, among which one by Ronnie Wood stands out on “Back In Your Life”. And then there's a personal tribute to Amy Winehouse, a kindred spirit to the Stones, whose “You Know I'm No Good” they cover, and “Ringing Hollow”, essentially the record's “political” song, which turns the groove heard up to that point into an interlude that looks to country to speak of America and a growing disaffection with a country that many years ago held an altogether different allure.

There's no shortage of star-studded guest appearances, the kind only the Rolling Stones can afford: Paul McCartney on bass in “Covered In You”, Robert Smith of the Cure on keyboards and backing vocals in “Never Wanna Lose You” and on guitar in “Divine Intervention”, plus Steve Winwood, Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers, Bruno Mars (on cowbell in “Never Wanna Lose You”) and Chad Smith (bass on the closing track).
There's also Charlie Watts on “Hit Me In The End”, one of his last recordings, while rounding out the core lineup are Darryl Jones on bass and Steve Jordan on drums.
Will this be the last Rolling Stones record? The closing statement entrusted to “Beautiful Delilah”, a cover of Chuck Berry, could well prove to be the most fitting ending imaginable, but Keith Richards himself sounds skeptical: what if Andrew Watt has quietly set aside enough material to release another project in a couple of years? Meanwhile, talk of yet another money-spinning tour is already swirling…

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17/07/2026