Review: The Rolling Stones, ‘Foreign Tongues’ – Another Boisterous And Joyful Triumph!

The venerable Rolling Stones have returned a mere three years after Hackney Diamonds with their new album Foreign Tongues and it is a stupendous, joyous rock n roll record. These guys are rocking with an energy unmatched by men half their age. It sounds like they’re reinvigorated and have rediscovered the joy of making new music.

It’s hard to believe it’s only been three years since Hackney. Prior to that it had been 18 years since their last album of originals, the superb A Bigger Bang, and seven years since their album of blues covers, Blue And Lonesome. 

I thought Hackney might be their swan song, but it certainly appears they’ve got a lot more in the tank… well, I hope so. Time is undefeated. I know a few of these songs were started during the Hackney sessions… I hear they might have enough left over for another record… fingers crossed.

Mick Jagger’s vocals are a timeless miracle. He’s still singing at the top of his game. His harmonica on this record elevates every track he plays it on. Ronnie Wood plays some of the best lead guitar of his career on this record. Keith Richards remains the soul of the Rolling Stones. We get Keith on the left and Ronnie on the right with Mick in the middle on the headphones as God intended.

Foreign Tongues once again finds the lads working with producer Andrew Watt. Whether Watt is working with Paul McCartney (the recent LP The Boys Of Dungeon Lane), Iggy Pop or Pearl Jam he seems to bring the best out of any artist he produces.

Foreign Tongues reads as a companion piece to Hackney, they share the same DNA. But as I loved what they did on Hackney, they’ve really expanded on that for Foreign Tongues. They sound bigger and more expansive here, like they turned everything up to 11. I like Foreign Tongues even more than Hackney Diamonds and I loved that album.

With the Stones, he manages to make them sound modern which is what Mick has always wanted (to be current) and classic which is what Keith wants. He gets the Stones doing everything they do best – blues/blues rock, straight up rock n roll, ballads, country and even a little soul. It’s certainly a more adventurous record than any of us had a right to expect.

There are a few guest stars but they come across as more adornment than anything else. Steve Winwood plays a lot of keyboards here, in the tradition of Nicky Hopkins, and he adds the most to the album in terms of support. Although erstwhile Heartbreaker Benmont Tench is playing keyboards on a couple of tracks as well.

Robert Smith of the Cure (and I love the Cure) plays guitar and does some backing vocals. Bruno Mars supposedly plays cowbell on a track… although I was challenged to hear any cowbell. They used a bass track McCartney laid down while they were recording Hackney. And  they reverentially resurrect a drum track from the late Charlie Watts on a song. All of that is nice, but make no mistakes, the Stones are the star of the show.

Per usual the band is augmented with Steve Jordan on drums and Darryl Jones on bass. Matt Clifford, it seems, has supplanted Chuck Leavell as the Stones’ main keyboard player. Andrew Watt also jumps in and plays some guitar and keyboards.

The four tracks we had as singles before the album was released dominate the first half. We get the superb blues (Mick’s harmonica!) of “Rough And Twisted.” I like that song more each time I hear it. “In The Stars,” the first “official” single is spectacular pop rock. “Jealous Lover” remains one of my favorite slinky soul tracks the Stones have ever done and “Divine Intervention” is great rock n roll.

After hearing all four prereleased songs I was thinking we had another Emotional Rescue on our hands and I mean that as the highest compliment. But for the most part this is a straight-up rock record. The soul, blues and country tracks we get are on the more adventurous end of the pool, but there is a lot of rock n roll too.

To fill out the first half of the record after the four singles, we get two rockers, the superb “Shattered” style track “Mr. Charm” – which may be a personal favorite – and the wonderful “Never Want To Lose You.” The keyboards on the latter track create a wonderful groove.

But the other song on the first half of the LP that is just a standout is “Ringing Hollow,” a country song that Jagger describes as “a love letter to America.” It ranks up there with “Wild Horses” for me as one of their best country weepers. “Lady Liberty don’t look so good, when she’s wearing a frown.” Mick has said he slips a few political thoughts in songs and this would be one.

At the midpoint of the record I was thinking, “Wow, what a journey. Let’s go!”

“Hit Me In The Head” starts the back half of the record and is a probably the heaviest track here… a feisty slab of rock n roll. We get a great rock song, “Covered In You” and it’s a great Stones track. Mick playing the desperate lover. “Side Effects” is one of the strongest tracks on the album and it’s deep on the back half of the record. “I’m taking pills, and I drink like a lush, It must be side effects…” Indeed.

Like all classic Stones records, there are ballads. “Some Of Us” is the brilliant Keith song on the album. I can listen to Keef croon broken hearted anthems all night long. On this one we get the rare Mick backup vocal – he’s usually not even in the studio when Keith records his tracks.

“Back In Your Life” is the epic ballad a la “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” on the last album. It’s over six minutes and boasts one of Ronnie Wood’s best solo’s of all time. When Mick yells, “Come on, Ronnie” you’re in for a treat.

There are two cover songs on the album. I must admit, even I was surprised when I saw they were covering Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good,” but the Stones kill it! Mick’s harmonica takes the track to the next level. I heard Mick tell a story about Amy when she guested on a song at a Stones’ show…”Amy, we all know there’s vodka in the water bottle, pull yourself together and get ready to sing…”

The second cover, and last track, is Chuck Berry‘s “Beautiful Delilah.” On Hackney they ended with a Muddy Waters‘ track and it makes sense they’d nod to Chuck on this one – the blues and Chuck Berry were the Stones’ North Stars back when they started.

“Beautiful Delilah” is a track they used to do live – it’s on their live BBC compilation On Air – but this time it’s very lo-fi. It sounds like Mick is singing through a harmonica mic. I dig it, but I’m a huge fan of their history.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention – if you’re going to download the album vs buy a physical version – get it from the dreaded iTunes. There’s a bonus track version with the song “Bad Luck Hideaway” and if I have any complaints it’s that the Stones didn’t include it on the proper album. It’s Mick and Keith duetting and it’s a remarkable song, one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.

I can’t stress enough how delighted I am that we get another Stones record some 60+ years after they started this journey. If you’d told me in 1978 when I bought my first album, Some Girls, that I’d still be cranking new Stones albums in 2026, I’d have kissed you on the mouth.

Crank this one up and celebrate life. It’s just a wonderful, celebratory time when we get new Stones’ music. The rest of the world is on fire, let’s rock to the end…

Cheers!