The Rolling Stones are a blues rock trio from London, England, United Kingdom comprised of rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood, lead guitarist Keith Richards & frontman Mick Jagger. A band who dropped some of the greatest rock music recorded throughout the late 60s-early 70s like Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. & Some Girls. Their previous full-length Hackney Diamonds under Geffen Records made for a tolerable comeback after 2 decades & the Stones joining Capitol Records for their 24th studio LP had me intrigued since the material dates back to 2019.
“Rough & Twisted” begins with a blues rock single incorporating further elements of electric blues & boogie rock singing about flashing jewelry being a false pretense to them whereas “In the Stars” takes the pop rock route stylistically with some bluesy undertones admitting to feeling a heavy hand meddling with their plans. “Jealous Lover” goes completely smooth soul singing about a relationship going sour while “Mr. Charm” starkly reminding the world of life being as short as it is.
Meanwhile on “Divine Intervention”, we have the Stones singing about our existence being a gamble within it side just before “Ringing Hollow” brings a bit of a country twang into the fold observing all the political turmoil in the United States for a year & a half. “Never Wanna Lose You” reaches the halfway point of the full-length taking back to the pop rock style not wanting to lose the love of their lives whiles “Hit Me in the Head” has a more traditional rock flare acknowledging they won’t be here eternally.
“You Know I’m No Good” takes back to their blues rock origins reminding this woman who’s interested in them cautioning that they were trouble from the very beginning & after “Some of Us” brings a summery atmosphere to the table singing about all of us needing some love in troubling times like these, “Covered in You” continues to make it clear that they’re fed up with the rise of fascist autocracy. More specifically Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder, Twitter owner & Nazi Elon Musk.
The song “Side Effects” hits us with a powerful rock ballad singing about there being a price to pay for literally everything pondering whether if it’s the drugs fucking with their mood or not while the 6 minute “Back in Your Life” treads the Americana waters a bit singing about doing whatever it takes to for this individual to let them in their good graces once more. The closer “Beautiful Delilah” sends off the album with a passable cover of the late Chuck Berry’s track of the same name.
If I have to be serious with myself, Hackney Diamonds still remains a decent comeback for The Rolling Stones after nearly 2 decades exclude the Blue & Lonesome covers but I came away from Foreign Tongues confident that it could be the most gratifying entry in their extensive catalog since Tattoo You. The bluesy pop rock production refines what they tried to do 3 years earlier mixing elements of electric blues, boogie rock, smooth soul & hard rock for a politically charged hour.
Score: 4/5
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