ROLLING STONES - Hackney Diamonds
October 22, 2023, 7 months ago
(Geffen)
It seems like in most cases, you can pinpoint a personal 'cut-off point' where you tap out with veteran rock bands. In the case of yours truly concerning the Rolling Stones, anything post-Tattoo You is a personal no-no (and if I'm to be totally frank, Some Girls was the last true front-to-back classic Stones offering).
And with only three true Stones still in their line-up (after the passing of Charlie Watts in 2021, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood remain) and all in either their late ‘70s or early ‘80s, it would be understandable to assume that the Stones' 26th studio effort overall, Hackney Diamonds, wouldn't exactly rock.
I am happy to report that the album is certainly one of their most rocking and inspired in quite some time. With production handled by the Glimmer Twins (i.e. Jagger and Richards), Don Was, and Andrew Watt, Hackney Diamonds – whose title is a reference to shattered glass on a street after a break-in via a window – the album also includes guest spots by the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Lady Gaga.
And it turns out that it's McCartney's contribution (the surprisingly punk-ish “Bite My Head Off”) and Gaga's (the soulful “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven”) which prove to be the album's highlights, as well as the slashing album-opener/lead-off single, “Angry.” Kudos certainly are in order to the Stones for offering such a pleasant surprise of an album – it's only rock ‘n' roll but I like it, indeed!
