Album Review: The Rolling Stones – 'Foreign Tongues'

The Rolling Stones

FUN FACT: Mick Jagger will turn 83 shortly after this album drops on 10 July.

The Rolling Stones formed over six decades ago, and they’re ageing disgracefully, as well they should: “So pass around the fenty/ Pass around the coke…” – yep, these are actual lyrics from the band’s forthcoming 25th studio LP!   

Foreign Tongues’ album trailer – starring Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood (the youngest Stones member, aged 79) alongside their Grammy-winning producer, Andrew Watt (who also helmed the band’s previous set, 2023’s Hackney Diamonds) – finds them playing air guitar (Jagger), dropping f-bombs, dad dancing and generally living it up in the studio while laying down these 14 tracks.

The twin-guitar sound of Richards and Wood – weaving in, out and around – is as much a part of The Stones’ sonic identity as Jagger’s cocksure vocal delivery. 

Having posthumously appeared on two Hackney Diamonds tracks, the immaculate drumming of Charlie Watts is also spliced into Foreign Tongues. Watts’ contributions to Hit Me In The Head – a searing punk-rock track – were lifted from one of his final recording sessions, in LA back in 2019.   

“One, two, one, two, three and…” – from Jagger’s Hit Me In The Head count-in, we feel like we’re right there in the studio with them, wearing a matching shit-eating grin. Cheeky harmonica hammers home the humour in this one, which features a hat-tip to Elvis (“I’m all shook up”). 

Watts personally suggested Steve Jordan – a core member of The X-Pensive Winos (Richards’ solo backing band) and friend of The Stones – as his replacement, should anything happen to him, long before he died in 2021. 

There can only be one Watts and his presence on Hit Me In The Head invites comparison. While Watts favoured an effortless, debonair, jazz-influenced style, Jordan thwacks the kit with maximum power. 

Guest appearances: Steve Winwood contributes organ to Jealous Lover, Paul McCartney plays bass on Covered In You, and on Delilah – the record’s closing Chuck Berry cover – Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) contributes drums. Robert Smith laid down some BVs after Jagger bumped into him in the studio.

Don’t expect these high-profile guest appearances to slap you across the face, though – they don’t dominate the tracks, by any means.   

Sassy, strutting guitars – the dangerous, duelling riffs of Keef and Ronnie never cease to amaze – are joined by thunderous drumming on the album opener, Rough And Twisted. Jagger hollers, “Yeah!” and they’re off and racing: “Why don't you driiiiiiive me/ Down that rough and twisted road?”

During an interview with Associated Press, Jagger described Rough And Twisted as “a blues fantasy”. “All I drank was Muddy Waters/ As lonely as a saxophone” – Muddy Waters, whose song inspired their band name, is namechecked.

Around the two-and-a-half minute mark, Jagger’s rambunctious harmonica solo takes us where we wanna go.

“Why don’t ya teach me/ Teach me all those foreign tongues?” – Jagger’s delivery is more vainglorious than ever here; we visualise him wearing a bright silk shirt in luxurious fabric, both hands on his hips, leaning forward, wide-eyed and lashing his tongue around.  

FUN FACT: Wood played the same guitar (“still in Open E”) on Rough And Twisted that he used to record The Faces’ Stay With Me (1971). 

“Do you wanna dance ‘til the roof caves in?”

Energetically and riff-wise, In The Stars is giving Beast Of Burden – The Stones in softer, pop-rock mode. 

Although Jealous Lover is dandyish (“You pray like a mantis/ You’re feeding off me”), it drips with soulful grooves. Tonally, this one conjures Fool To Cry and Jagger’s passagio is effortless.

“Life’s too short for just makin’ money… Life’s too short to waste it livin’ on your own” – warm up those spirit fingers for Mr Charm, which features killer female BVs that are almost as awesome as Merry Clayton’s memorable work on Gimme Shelter.  

Wood’s bluesy solo elevates the stomping Divine Intervention. In the lyrics, Jagger asks a Hollywood psychic, “What’s my future?” Her response? “She threw up and then broke down and cried.” Brass is a classy touch here.   

The Rolling Stones’ “love song to America”, Ringing Hollow, is more like a country lament: “Lady Liberty don’t look so good when she’s wearing a scowl…”

Jagger is fully loved/lusted-up on standout track Never Wanna Lose You (“...never will refuse you”), which brings the boogie. Swaggering riffs, funky bass, honkytonk piano, jaunty tambourine, crisp drumming, midsong clapalong, bongo break and beseeching harmonies (“Promise me/ Promise me/ You’re always gonna stay”) – it’s basically a summation of everything that makes The Stones untouchable. 

You’ll recognise Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good from the opening melody, played brilliantly on harmonica – who’s the genius that suggested that? Inventive “Oo-oo-oo-oo” harmonies echo the harmonica melody, but the brass stabs remain true to Winehouse’s version. “I told ya/ I was trouble” – Jagger has an absolute ball with it. We never knew we needed this rendition in our lives, but it’s exceptional! *hits repeat several times*  

This record’s most tender moment follows in the Richards-sung Some Of Us – talk about a vibe shift! “All we need is a little loving… You know that we can’t have everything/ But some of us are on our knees…” – Keef’s gravelly, world-weary delivery is joined by Mick’s distinctive timbre for the choruses.

In a recent interview with Alex Petridis, Richards revealed this song dates back about two decades, but was “cherrypicked from the can” by Watt to be included on Foreign Tongues. 

An acoustic-and-slide take on Chuck Berry’s Beautiful Delilah closes Foreign Tongues with a nod to where it all began.

FUN FACT: When Jagger was 18, he bumped into an old school friend named Keith Richards while waiting for a train. The two connected over the Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters albums Jagger had under his arm. 

The penultimate track, Back In Your Life – a pensive rock ballad – ponders, “Is this how our story will end?” We sure as hell hope not, ‘cause they’ve still fucking got it in spades. The Rolling Stones prove rock’n’roll keeps you young. Ageism begone! The alchemy between these players is undeniable.  

Foreign Tongues drops on 10 July through Polydor/Universal Music.