Ticket 2 Ride

Just three years after Hackney Diamonds comes Foreign Tongues, the twenty-fifth studio album by the Rolling Stones.

Mick, Keith and Ronnie are joined by a variety of musicians/singers. Steve Winwood, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney, Benmont Tench, Chad Smith, Robert Smith, in addition to Steve Jordan, Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford, Ron Blake and James King who are regular contributors to Stones albums. Once again, Andrew Watts is behind the glass turning knobs and adding some musical overdubs.

Sessions stretched back to 2019, when Hackney Diamonds was recorded. One song even goes back to the album Dirty Work. Jagger and Richards did some work in 2025, selecting and shaping songs, before the full sessions began.

Steve Winwood was one of the guests. He said Ronnie Wood called him to play on a song and it turned into playing on numerous tunes.

“Nicky Hopkins and I were on a similar journey, in a way,” Winwood told ABC Audio, referring to the legendary pianist who contributed to some of the Stones’ biggest hits and briefly toured with the band. “I think the Stones knew that, and I suspect that they wanted that sort of feel.” Jagger didn’t want to play piano on a track so we thought, ‘Who’s a good soul piano player?’ I just thought of Steve,’ Jagger told Uncut. Great that Stevie got out of the house, he tours, but only limited outings.

Robert Smith of The Cure was invited by during the sessions and was asked to contribute, but feeling a bit overwhelmed, he declined at first. Mick Jagger asked if he “fancied doing something on the album, play a bit of guitar?” Later, after a couple of drinks, Smith was game.

All songs Jagger/Richard unless otherwise noted. Woody gets shut out again.

Some good tunes, a few throwaways, fine playing, very polished sound. A very pleasant listen. I won’t even bring up the subject of autotune or A.I., which we will wonder about when any artist releases new music.

Here are my comments.

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“Rough and Twisted” 4:40 – Good opener, Chicago bluesy.

“In the Stars” 4:13 – The first single from the album, but not the best song, but a polished prototype of what a Stones hit sounds like.

“Jealous Lover” 3:50 – A 70s type ballad.

“Mr Charm” 4:34 – Driving beat, late 70s groove. The song would have been at home on Some Girls.

“Divine Intervention” 4:46 – Rockin’ tune. Hopefully no hips were fractured in the recording of this song. Robert Smith contributes guitar and synth.

“Ringing Hollow” 5:18 – Country song with Woody playing the dobro.

“Never Wanna Lose You” Jagger/Richard/Matt Clifford 4:31 – Very good song, a singalong, sounds derivative of past Stones songs. Could be the song remembered from this album. Cowbell provided by Bruno Mars.

“Hit Me in the Head” 2:57 – A thrashing, bluesy moment. Snarling guitars.

“You Know I’m No Good” Amy Winehouse 4:54 – This could be a song from a late 60s Italian Western. That’s my take. It’s funky and bluesy.

“Some of Us” 4:01 – The tobacco growl of Keef, a slow, boozy ballad. Fine guitar playing.

“Covered in You” Jagger/Richards/Clifford
4:32 – Hard-edged guitar. Paul McCartney provides bass. Perhaps the least sounding Stones song on the album.

“Side Effects” Jagger/Richards/Andrew Watt – Nice tune. Rockin’ and one of the top songs on the album.
4:35

“Back in Your Life” Jagger/Richards/Watt
6:13 – An old time Stones song with both acoustic and electric instruments. Fine guitar playing as usual, especially Woody.

“Beautiful Delilah” Chuck Berry 3:29 – Bluesy, low tech recording. Yes, the Stones don’t want you to forget they are a blues band. Berry adapted song from a song by Mississippi Fred McDowell. Like on Hackney Diamonds, they want to end with a traditional blues song. I can’t fault them for that, even though I can think of one or more songs from above that I would have sequenced last.

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Foreign Tongues is a very competent, contemporary sounding album. After it finished playing, I thought the album was very promising. To be honest though, it sounded similar to their last album, which wasn’t a surprise given the overlapping sessions. Other reviews heaped great praise on this album so I was looking for that wow factor right out of the gate. Naturally, I listened again the next day and my impressions about the album became clearer.

The Stones had some work to do when they made Hackney Diamonds, not having released an album of new material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. The result was quite satisfying. As the Stones often do, they didn’t finish everything they recorded, so they had a big head start when they convened for what became Foreign Tongues. In fact, Ronnie Wood has indicated that there are 10-12 good tracks available for their next album. They’ve taken this approach to recording for many years – start with the leftover song ideas when it’s time to head back into the studio. Nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, on second listen, I enjoyed the album even more. I wouldn’t place this album in the Stones’ top five albums ever, but there are several really good songs, and it was enjoy from start to finish. A classic Stones album? I wouldn’t go that far. The Stones set that bar very high.