The Rolling Stones are one of the most prolific rock bands of the 20th century, their ever developing sound constantly surprising critics and pleasing fans. Hackney Diamonds is the band’s first original studio album since their record A Bigger Bang in 2005, and since sadly losing their iconic drummer Charlie Watts in 2021. The single ‘Angry’, and its accompanying music video featuring Sydney Sweeney, set us up for a guitar heavy album full of Mick Jagger’s personality and features from musical icons Paul McCartney, Elton John and Lady Gaga. Although the album is rather lyrically repetitive, which is where it falls, there are some stand out lyrics that let us know The Stones are nowhere near finished with greatness.
‘Bite My Head Off’, featuring Paul McCartney, and ‘Mess It Up’ are incredibly passionate and angry songs; anger is the real star of the show for the record. ‘Mess It Up’, one of the two tracks recorded in 2019 with Watts on the drums, had great potential in the verses, the chorus just not having the same impact, but ‘Bite My Head Off’ was an experience. You could tell they were having fun, no rivalry between the bands here, with Jagger just saying whatever he wanted to throughout the track, and Paul’s chaotic touch excelling the bass. ‘Depending On You’ is an all-round favourite, a slightly acoustic, very emotionally intense tune reminiscent of previous ballads like ‘Wild Horses’, off the 1971 album Sticky Fingers. ‘Depending on You’ and ‘Driving Too Hard’ show that Jagger can still carry a tune, Keith Richards’ voice is also stunning on ‘Tell Me Straight’, a heartbreaking, melancholic break in an album full of upbeat highlights.
There’s a great appreciation for the blues, following the band’s 2016 blues cover album Blue and Lonesome, heard in beautiful, grounded tracks like ‘Dreamy Skies’ and ‘Rolling Stones Blues’, the latter concluding the album in warm nostalgia. A contender for the best song on the album, a difficult contest, has to be ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’ with Lady Gaga. Focusing on the track, and not just the sheer power and talent in Gaga’s voice, it’s an intense marriage of blues, jazz, and rock that builds up emotionally throughout and leaves you with no words. This is a band that lives, loves, and breathes music, and it’s adoring to see the influence that American genres such as blues and jazz have on such English rock n roll icons.
‘Live by the Sword’ is the fault in such a shining record. As it harnessed the power of two iconic voices in music, The Rolling Stones and Elton John, the expectations were set high and it just didn’t deliver. Aside from this slight disappointment, Hackney Diamonds is a tumultuous whirlwind of rock n roll, blues and anger. As for the future, guitarist Keith Richards recently said that the band “have another album in them”; these rock icons won’t become rock veterans anytime soon.
9/10
