Review of The Rolling Stones’ 24th album “Hackney Diamonds”

On shelves and on digital platforms is the first studio album from the British band The Rolling Stones since 2005. With a sinking heart I opened the envelope Igor Gavrilov.

Hackney Diamonds is the first album of original studio material by The Rolling Stones in the 18 years since the release of A Bigger Bang. All these years, The Rolling Stones remained in the public eye, primarily thanks to their endless concert tours. And it cannot be said that their performances attracted attention only as a longevity attraction. Well into their 70s, the musicians retained the ability to generate live energy unlike anything in the stadium industry, their peers, or the younger generation.

But there were more than just concerts. In 2012, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the group, the collection “GRRR!” The Rolling Stones released their testosterone-fueled new song, “Doom and Gloom.” In 2015, they released a cover album, Blue & Lonesome, paying tribute to their teachers – the old bluesmen. The album’s sound was polished, but still felt like an optional extra, a digression. Moreover, Mick Jagger, who had moved away from the album format, regularly released brilliant, almost flawless solo singles, and also participated in the underrated supergroup SuperHeavy. Finally, in 2020, The Rolling Stones responded to the global lockdown with the single “Living in a Ghost Town.” The Stones found something to say without lapsing into self-repetition. At the same time, they systematically reworked and reissued their old recordings and turned this process into a separate successful business.

Recording for the Hackney Diamonds album began in December 2022 and was completed by Valentine’s Day. The Stones are proud of the pace of work, although it is clear that a number of sessions have been waiting in the wings for a long time. For example, the songs “Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword” feature drums from Charlie Watts, who died in August 2021. However, the song “Living in a Ghost Town” was not included in the album and joined the list of the group’s underrated off-album masterpieces.

If in the 1990s The Rolling Stones collaborated with the production team The Dust Brothers, known for their ability to handle samples, then later only Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were responsible for the sound, and even their old comrade, producer Don Was. Ubiquitous producer Andrew Watt was brought on board to record Hackney Diamonds. The new song “Bite My Head Off” features Paul McCartney on bass, and it was he who advised the Stones to involve Watt in working on new songs. The album “Hackney Diamonds” was released on the birthday of Watt, who by the age of 32 had already mastered, it seems, all living rock classics, being by nature a pop producer who created best-selling albums by Justin Bieber and Post Malone.

No matter who is behind the studio console, knowing the potential of The Rolling Stones, from the new songs you expect first of all the hard-to-define, but always present rock and roll truth that is in the recordings made by the group in the new century. Their groove cannot be confused with anything else, and the departure of Charlie Watts, even though he personally handed over the drumsticks to Steve Jordan, as well as the involvement of a fashionable producer, raised doubts. And in vain. Even the naive design of the cover with a blade cutting a diamond heart suits this record quite well.

The album begins with the standard Rolling number “Anger”, which has catchy guitar riffs, animal passion in Jagger’s vocals, and even a bass guitar solo. By the way, it was played by Keith Richards, and the arrangement includes his own guitar solo. On an intuitive level, it is felt that it was not Watts who played the drums, but this is probably important only to the most inveterate fans.

Speaking of bass guitar, it is worth noting the presence on the album of one of the members of the classic line-up of The Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman. He’s 86 years old and plays on the song “Live by the Sword,” which also stars Elton John. The pianist has been saying goodbye to the world on his solo tour for several years now, but rarely refuses collaborations with his colleagues. But Wyman did not appear in the company of Jagger and Richards for 30 years. Apparently, he could not resist the power of the proposed number – rock and roll sweeping away everything in its path. Another bassist, Paul McCartney, took part in the recording of “Bite My Head Off,” apparently for the same reason – he himself had not written such rich, overtly sexual and loud rock and roll for a long time.

There were rumors that his Beatles colleague Ringo Starr did not stay away from the album, but in the end, instead of a “fit” with The Rolling Stones, Starr released his own EP “Rewind Forward” – a sweet, as always, slightly over-sugared record with perfect Beatles harmonies. Even the rumor of his participation added to the attention of Hackney Diamonds. And if all of Ringo Starr’s latest music, with all his and her charm, is directed to the past, then The Rolling Stones are absolutely of the present day.

In addition to Paul McCartney and Elton John, Lady Gaga took part in the recording of “Hackney Diamonds”. She sings the blues of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” and does a good job, but any of the Rolling Stones’ backing singers would have done just as well, and regular keyboardist Chuck Leavell would have been as good as Stevie Wonder on this song. The Hackney Diamonds promotion put an unprecedented emphasis on guest stars and they certainly brought extra attention to it, as did Paul Smith’s new range of band-themed clothing and the use of the band’s tongue-out logo in a Barcelona FC uniform. But most importantly, the album is based on natural musical substance. This album is an opportunity for real passion with a plus sign in the midst of an era with a minus sign.

The final song, simply titled “Rolling Stone Blues,” is authentic to such an extent that it’s hard to imagine what might come after. But it wasn’t written by The Rolling Stones, it’s the blues of Muddy Waters. But The Rolling Stones did not say their last word. There are still a dozen unreleased songs left from the winter sessions with Andrew Watt.