It’s confirmed: the new Rolling Stones album is to be called Foreign Tongues and it’s out on July 10.
Their twenty-fifth studio album was launched yesterday in Brooklyn, inside the converted Williamsburg Savings Bank, where the three surviving Stones – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – were introduced by host Conan O’Brien. “I think this is the one, after years of toiling in obscurity,” O’Brien said of the album, tongue placed firmly in cheek. “This is their time.”
So what do we know about the album? Well, it’s got fourteen tracks, guests on the record include Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Chad Smith of the Chili Peppers and, most intriguingly, Robert Smith of the Cure. According to Jagger, it’s one of the Stones' more varied albums: “The thing about this record is – the Stones are a rock band that also has the capacity to do ballads, country music or dance music. So we don’t get stuck in one kind of style.”
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Unlike many other Stones albums, which have had long gestation periods, Foreign Tongues was banged out quickly over a month. “Only having four weeks gave us an urgency,” said Jagger. “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 (a song’s) five minutes count.”
“It was great to be working in London again, and to have that London vibe around us,” Keith Richards added. “It was a month of concentrated punch. To me, it's all about the enjoyment of it. I'm blessed to be able to do this and long may it last.”
The lead single is In The Stars and is out now, with a physical release coming at the end of next week. Initial verdict: yes, the main riff is a variant on one Keith’s churned out many many times before, but hey it’s audibly the Stones. It rocks. Some sweet backing vocals, too. They’ve released a lot worse lead singles down the years.
However, the less said about Foreign Tongues’ cover, the better. It features a painting that’s a nightmarish amalgamation of the three remaining Stones’ faces. “I call him Mr. Ugly. He’s painted by a famous new artist called Nathaniel Quinn,” said Jagger before pointing out that “it’s not computer-generated.”
The run up to yesterday’s official announcement has included a ‘secret’ vinyl single, Rough And Twisted released under the name ‘The Cockroaches’ and a teaser ad campaign, which has featured posters with the words ‘Foreign Tongues’ translated into a number of different languages going up in cities around the world.
What else? The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon will feature Mssrs Jagger, Richards and Wood on three nights this and next week. Mick appears on tonight’s show (May 6), Keith is on May 7 and Ronnie Wood on May 13.
As for live dates, there’s no news as yet. “I would love to tour the album,” said Jagger. “I absolutely would love to. I hope to do it as soon as that’s possible.”
