Four hours after the announcement of the new Rolling Stones album Foreign Tongues and the release of the single In the StarsConan O'Brien took the stage at the Weylin in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in front of an audience of Leonardo DiCaprio, Christie Brinkley, Andrew Watt, Odessa A'zion and virtually every New York music journalist.
«Let me describe the scene. In 1962 a group of young people got together in London. They play in tiny clubs, but have big dreams. They move to slightly larger venues and hope that one day they will achieve great success. Unfortunately, that day never came. They didn't make it. This album will change things. It's the right one, I'm convinced. After years of effort and anonymity spent opening for Oingo Boingo, Bananarama and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, this is their moment.”
At that point Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood took to the stage for a Q&A hosted by O'Brien: lots of jokes, few revelations, and also some audio problems. But any event involving the Stones is by definition monumental. Here are the things we learned.
For the video for 'In the Stars' Jagger was digitally rejuvenated
At the end of the event, when many journalists and guests were already starting to leave, the video of the new single was shown In the Stars. It shows a radically rejuvenated Jagger, looking more or less as he did in the '60s while singing the song in a club with musicians who don't look like the Rolling Stones. Actress Odessa A'zion (Marty Supreme) is next to him in the video and enthusiastically followed the first session next to the album's producer Andrew Watt.
Charlie Watts is also on the album
In the last years of his life, Watts recorded new songs with the Stones. Two of these, Mess It Up And Live by the Swordthey ended up Hackney Diamonds. A third, titled Hit Me in the Headwas recovered for Foreign Tongues. “We did that in LA with Charlie,” Jagger said. «It's a very fast, super fast punk song». Steve Jordan plays on the other songs. “He was recommended by Charlie,” Richards said, “he passed the baton to him.”
Four songs, including one with McCartney, are old
Hit Me in the Head it's not the only piece recorded before the sessions Foreign Tongues. There are three more recovered from the recent past, including one featuring Paul McCartney. “It would have been so much fun if you had had him audition,” O'Brien joked, “it would have been hilarious.” Richards said that McCartney simply happened to be working in the studio next door while they recorded the previous album. “He wanted to try playing with the band,” Richards said, “he wanted to indulge himself.”
Yes, Robert Smith is also on the album
Many Stones fans were surprised to learn that Robert Smith of The Cure is featured on the album, despite never having hung out with the group. Jagger explained how it happened: “I arrived in London one day to record my vocals and there was this guy from behind wearing a long robe. He turned around, he had lipstick on. I said, “We've never met before, but you're Robert Smith from The Cure.” And he: “Yes”. So I told him: “Since you're here, you might as well start doing something”. The Cure singer was recruited for backing vocals. O'Brien joked: Maybe it wasn't really Smith, “maybe it turns out he was the guy who had to fix the air conditioning.”
The album was recorded in four weeks
The Stones and Andrew Watt put the album together in a month, as had happened before Hackney Diamonds of 2023. «We used to spend months and months in the studio, which is another way of working», said Jagger. Much of Hackney Diamonds was recorded in America, Foreign Tongues it was made in London. They told O'Brien that they wanted to capture «the vibe Londoner.” «We call him leafy Chiswick», Jagger said of the posh neighborhood in west London. “We weren't in the middle of the East End or anything like that.”
The studio was very, very small
“We had worked in that studio before,” Jagger said of Metropolis Studios. «It used to be a power plant. However, we had never recorded in that room. It's definitely small. Big enough, but not huge. You didn't even have to look around to see everyone else, you could always tell what they were doing, what they were thinking. It worked well, the sound was great.”
Keith Richards has a microphone problem
We understood approximately 65% of the things Richards said and this was partly due to his accent, the constant laughter and the tremendous echo of the room – a former bank that hosts large events – but above all because he continued to move the microphone away from his mouth. At one point O'Brien got impatient and brought it closer to him. “Next time we'll give you a better microphone or we can stick this on your face.”
No mention of a tour
It's been since the days of Steel Wheels 1989 that the release of a new Stones album also means a world stadium tour. However, the Stones have canceled a European tour scheduled for 2025 and another that had initially been scheduled for next summer. It's been almost two years since they last played live in any form and there's nothing to suggest that they'll be back to doing so any time soon. During the event there was no mention of concerts. Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Wood will go separately to the Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallon on various nights throughout the week (today, tomorrow and May 13). Apparently they won't be doing a single song live during this promotional tour. It is possible that their days from touring band are finished and have now become a studio band. However, it is not excluded that they could do concerts in the future, they just haven't announced it yet. So, Fallon, in case you're reading this, can you ask at least one of them about the tour? Fans are dying to know if the greatest live band in history has quietly retired from the scene.
From Rolling Stone US.
