The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
The Rolling Stones
Hackney Diamonds
Release Date: October 20th, 2023
Label: Polydor/Geffen
Review by Jared Stossel
In an interview with Apple Music to discuss the release of their most recent album, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger said about producer Andrew Watt, “He kicked us up the ass.” Watt, a 33-year-old producer from New York, has been known for working with pop superstars (Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Bebe Rexha) while bringing out the best in the artists that preceded them in the cultural zeitgeist. His collaborations with artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, and Iggy Pop have yielded some of their best work to date, and no collaboration with Watt has proven to be a better match than Hackney Diamonds, The Rolling Stones’ twenty-fourth full-length album and arguably their best work in decades. Despite missing their longtime vital drummer Charlie Watts (who passed in 2021 at the age of 80), the work of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Ronnie Wood on Diamonds sounds like a band that has not only been kicked in the ass but has been reinvigorated by the spirit of the music that got them started in the first place.
With drummer Steve Jordan getting behind the kit in place of Watts (who did record two tracks in 2019, before his death), the Stones sound rejuvenated and the most energetic they’ve been since the 70s. The blues-dance guitar riff that kicks off album opener “Angry” is a stadium-ready lick, and several songs on Hackney Diamonds follow in similar suit: energetic bluesy riffs paired with some truly outstanding vocal performances from Mick Jagger. Songs like “Get Close”, “Whole Wide World” and “Live By The Sword” feel like what the Stones were trying to achieve in the 1980s, when they tried to push themselves to fit the mold of the current musical trends. This time, they’re making the music trends fit them, passing through the Rolling Stones filter to produce some truly inspired work. “Live By The Sword” is one of the album’s more nostalgic moments, as it features posthumous drum tracks from Watts and a bass line by longtime former member Bill Wyman. In a way, it is truly the last time that all of the classic Rolling Stones are together again in recorded form.
And Hackney Diamonds isn’t just a partnership between Jagger, Richards, and Wood; this is a family affair that features collaborations with longtime friends and some of the biggest names in music. Paul McCartney lends a buzzy bass line to “Bite My Head Off”, James King lends soulful sax to “Get Close” and the epic “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”, and Elton John drops by for “Get Close” and “Live By The Sword”. The penultimate track on Diamonds, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”, is a blues-gospel saga that features not only King but dazzling vocals from Lady Gaga and piano accompaniment from none other than Stevie Wonder. The musical royalty that can be found throughout this album is astounding, even if they’re only there for a moment or two.
Only history will tell how Hackney Diamonds will be regarded in their collective discography, but having listened to every Stones album before this one for a separate piece, I have to say that I think it ranks among their best efforts. It feels like the Rolling Stones have finally become the band that they’ve always wanted to become: a band that can fill stadiums at a whim, playing exactly the kind of music that they want, whether it’s over-the-top glamorous rock and roll, revolution-leading riffs, or blues-roots-rock that would fit in both arenas and dingy dive bars in the hot and humid south. The album closer “Rolling Stone Blues” is a Muddy Waters cover, harkening back to their days as the faces of the British Invasion alongside acts like The Beatles, releasing albums solely comprised of covers from the likes of Waters and Chuck Berry. It’s the perfect bookend to nearly seven decades of music.
The Rolling Stones have never shown any signs of slowing down, despite taking a few breaks here and there. There’s no doubt in my mind that this band will tour until they’re 100 years old - and probably well after that- but if they decide to make this their last album, then Hackney Diamonds is one helluva note to go out on.
