In a summer heavy with nostalgia-driven releases from veteran artists, the Rolling Stones have taken a different path. Their 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, is not a sentimental look back but a defiantly immediate and forward-facing collection. Recorded by musicians in their 80s—Ronnie Wood, at 79, is the band's youngest member—the album could have been an exercise in legacy-building. Instead, it delivers a set of hooks that would make bands half their age envious.
The album opens with the double punch of 'Rough And Twisted' and 'In The Stars', immediately establishing a richer, more rambunctious sound than their 2023 comeback, Hackney Diamonds. While that album was a welcome creative resurgence, its songs now feel comparatively restrained. On Foreign Tongues, the guitars of Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood take centre stage, the bluesy licks hit harder, and the band's verve sounds genuinely revitalised.
A Political Edge and a Breakup with America
The album is not just a collection of rock gems, funky pop, and stadium anthems. It also carries a sharp political edge. On 'Mr. Charm', the band takes a jab at “mad mogul Mr. Musk,” and on 'Covered In You', they bemoan how autocrats “seem to be breeding like a swarm of dirty rats with their missiles on parade.” The most striking track is 'Ringing Hollow', a honky-tonk breakup song in which Jagger sings about falling out of love with the United States. “Well I was madly in love with you before we ever met / Watched all your movies, smoked your cigarettes...” he begins, before noting “there’s always a scoundrel trying to whip up the crowd.” The line “Lady Liberty don’t look so good when there’s a tear in her gown” leaves little doubt about the target. This sentiment echoes recent comments by Keith Richards, who has called America a disappointment.
The much-publicised guest spots—Paul McCartney on bass, Bruno Mars on cowbell, and The Cure's Robert Smith on guitar and backing vocals—are solid but feel inessential. Similarly, the album's two cover songs, of Amy Winehouse's 'You Know I'm No Good' and Chuck Berry's 'Beautiful Delilah', are competent but would not be missed if omitted. The only clear misstep is the syrupy 'Jealous Lover', which tries too hard to emulate the band's own 'Emotional Rescue'.
These minor flaws are overshadowed by the album's consistency and polish, thanks to returning producer Andrew Watt, aged 35. Jagger delivers his strongest vocal performance in years on 'Back In Your Life', and the standout track 'In The Stars' is the band's most infectiously catchy song since 1994's 'You Got Me Rocking'. “Do you wanna dance until the roof caves in? / Yeah, and the guitars scream and the choir still sings,” Jagger hollers. The guitars are still screaming, and the choirs are still singing.
Foreign Tongues is not only a step up from Hackney Diamonds but also a potent reminder that it is not the years or the mileage that count for Jagger, Richards, and Wood—it is the desire to keep their enthusiasm alive. There is one worrying line in 'Some Of Us', where Richards discloses that “some of us are on our knees.” But given that Foreign Tongues may be their best album since 1981's Tattoo You, it is clear they are still standing tall. For a deeper dive into this week's cultural highlights, see our roundup of European culture.
