The Rolling Stones Still Have Something to Prove

Their satanic majesties request your attention to this breaking news. The Rolling Stones have announced that their new album, Foreign Tongues, will be released on July 10. The singles “In the Stars” and “Rough and Twisted” are already available for a listen, which come from a complete 14-song tracklist. The core trio of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood are once again joined by Steve Jordan on the drums to round out the band, who was a successor chosen by Charlie Watts prior to his death in 2021. And just to list a few more enviable names: Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Robert Smith, and Chad Smith will all appear on the album in some capacity.

At a press conference in New York City earlier today, the chaps sat with moderator Conan O’Brien to discuss why they continue to work and record new material six decades into their careers when many of their contemporaries choose not to. “That’s the way we operate,” Jagger responded. “We put it together because we love to do it. There’s always something more. I love a challenge.” 

Foreign Tongues was speed-recorded in London over the course of one month — “we call it ‘leafy Chiswick,’ Jagger joked of the environment — with Andrew Watt returning to oversee the production following the band’s well-received 2023 album Hackney Diamonds. (Watt is a bleach-blonde studio oracle these days for rock legends, with a current roster that includes McCartney and Michael Stipe.) Richards referred to him as “the referee” who “kicks us up the arse” when something isn’t working, which was bound to occur here and there with the quick turnaround time. “Only having four weeks gave us an urgency,” Jagger admitted. “It was very intense … we’re having fun most of the time in the studio, but it’s a lot of concentration, too. You’ve really got to make five minutes count.”

McCartney’s guest appearance, the first Beatle on a Stones song who once dismissed them as a “blues cover band,” was due to a logistical godwink: He was next door at another studio on the same day as a Foreign Tongues session. “He wanted to tick that box,” Wood joked. “He said, ‘Now I can say I’ve played with the Rolling Stones, wow!’” Robert Smith’s involvement, though, is a bit more amusing. As Jagger recalled, he turned up one day at the studio to do his vocals and “there was this bloke standing there with his back to me with his long gown on, and when he turned around he was covered in lipstick.” Jagger immediately identified him as the co-founder of the Cure, who was presumably there to tackle his own workload. “He said, ‘Yeah, we’ve never met.’ And then I said, ‘Well, while you’re here then you’d better go and do something.’ That’s how collaborations work sometimes. Go out and sing the backing vocal.” Ticketmaster’s worst enemy obliged.

While there was no confirmation whether the Rolling Stones will tour or not to support the new album — Richards didn’t address rumors that he vetoed a stadium tour due to stress — Jagger was emphatic that the band has no intention to stop and continue to be inspired by genres beyond the basic constraints of rock. He also was proud to reveal that Foreign Tongues’s cover, which he affectionally nicknamed “Mr. Ugly,” wasn’t created with any AI tools. “You say ‘you’ve got nothing to prove,’ but the Stones have the ability to do ballads and country music and dance music,” Jagger explained. “We run the gamut of all of these styles. We’re not stuck in one particular style. We love all kinds of music so we express that in the way we record.” (O’Brien, who estimates he listened to the album over 20 times to prepare for the launch event, said “it kicks ass.”) Looking out at the audience, Jagger smiled and added: “There’s still more in there. That’s what we do.”