Stevie Wonder plays Rhodes, piano and Moog as he and Lady Gaga cut loose with The Rolling Stones on new single Sweet Sounds Of Heaven

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Mick, Keith and co hit the heights on the second track from forthcoming album Hackney Diamonds

If recent comeback single Angry was The Rolling Stones reclaiming their blues-rock crown, new song Sweet Sounds Of Heaven has them harking back to their glory days of gospel-soul balladry.

Here, Mick, Keith, Ronnie and drummer Steve Jordan are joined by Lady Gaga - who’s seemingly channelling Merry Clayton’s stunning vocal performance on classic Stones cut Gimme Shelter - and Stevie Wonder, who’s happy to take a back seat as he contributes Rhodes, piano and Moog parts.

And the good news? What could have been an overblown mess ends up sounding like a triumph, with Gaga providing the perfect vocal foil for Jagger as he delivers the kind of vocal that you might have thought would be beyond him these days.

And Keith? He just does what Keith does.

It all bodes well for the rest of Hackney Diamonds, the new Rolling Stones album that will be released on 20 October.

Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.