★★★☆☆
After 18 years, The Rolling Stones, perhaps the most iconic rock band of all time, are back with a new album. The much-anticipated album, Hackney Diamonds, was released on Oct. 20, providing fans from all generations 12 new tracks.
While Hackney Diamonds is certainly rooted in the Stones’ established rock sound, the album falls flat in the band’s attempts to take on a more contemporary sound. The best tracks are the ones where the Stones lean into their standard bluesy sound.
“Angry” and “Bite My Head Off (feat. Paul McCartney)” are the most intense, rock-heavy songs on the album. Surprisingly, these songs are also the ones where the band sounds the least like itself.
While the guitar solos are quite interesting and often exciting, these two songs create the impression that the band has followed a template for creating a rock song as opposed to crafting an original piece itself. The lyrics in “Bite My Head Off” are particularly lackluster.
“Why you bite my head off? / Why you get so pissed off? / Why you bite my head off now? / Yeah, c’mon,” lead vocalist Mick Jagger sings again and again.
“Whole Wide World” and “Get Close,” on the other hand, are much easier songs to listen to than the other hard-core rock songs, though they too are among the most hard rock-focused tracks on the album.
The Stones also feature Elton John on “Live By The Sword” and Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder on “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven.”
These collaborations are some of the brightest spots on the album. “Live By The Sword” has a funky beat that, combined with the clapping sounds in the background, creates an exciting mood. It feels like one of the Stones’ older songs with lots of intense emotion.
“Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” is certainly a song that stands out on the album. The piano-driven song is written as a prayer. When Lady Gaga’s voice comes in on the second verse, it creates an interesting soft and angelic contrast against Jagger’s. But later, her voice explodes on the chorus as she flaunts her powerful vocals.
“Depending On You,” “Dreamy Skies,” “Tell Me Straight,” and “Mess It Up” are some of the most bluesy and folkish songs on the album. Here, the Stones don’t sound like they’re trying too hard to be contemporary or anything they are not, but they really lean into their roots. “Depending On You” has a dreamy melody, as does “Dreamy Skies,” creating a resting place in the album, as they are more calm than the other songs.
It’s in these two more folk-esque songs that the lyrics deliver the classic sound of The Rolling Stones. A number of The Rolling Stones’ older songs have introspective lyrics that tell a story, including “Angie” and “Sympathy For The Devil.”
“Dreamy Skies” is a track where The Rolling Stones’ songwriting shines again.
“And I got to break away from it all / From thе city and the suburbs and sprawl / And the small town chatter and thе know-it-alls / To a place where no one can call,” Jagger sings.
The beauty of these lyrics and their similarity to the introspection present in the band’s older songs help to make “Dreamy Skies” a standout on the album, as opposed to the repetitive and unintelligent lyrics of songs like “Bite My Head Off.”
The final song on the album, “Rolling Stone Blues,” is a cover of Muddy Waters’ song titled “Rollin’ Stone.” It is an incredible ending to the album, with clear folk influences. “Rolling Stone Blues” feels so authentically Rolling Stones. This is where Hackney Diamonds is the strongest—when the Stones are the Stones.
