HACKNEY DIAMONDS
Track by track, lick by lick: inside The Rolling Stones’ new album Hackney Diamonds
Led by the octogenarian Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones bring new meaning to the term ‘80s rock’ with Hackney Diamonds. 60 years since their first single, and 40 since the New York Times allegedly began preparing Keith Richards’ obituary, the Stones have nothing left to prove but plenty still to say.
Hackney Diamonds features the last recordings of original drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 having laid down two tracks for the album. One of those, Live By The Sword, also features original bassist Bill Wyman, the first studio recordings of the Stones’ original rhythm section since 1989’s Steel Wheels.
Although many assume this will be the Stones’ last studio effort, Mick Jagger insists it won’t be: “We have a whole album of songs we haven’t released!” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Hackney Diamondssees the Stones collaborating with 32-yearold producer Andrew Watt, who has helmed recent releases by Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne and Eddie Vedder. Watt is a credited writer on the first three tracks, marking just the seventh time in 60 years that Jagger and Richards have collaborated with an outside writer. Whether it’s down to Watt’s contribution or the band’s determination to go out on a high, the album shows the Stones in rejuvenated, fighting form.
Angry
With those unmistakable Keef chords and a video that draws on Stones footage from the band’s ’60s and ’70s peak, this song recaptures the glory days. The guitars are gritty and covered in fuzz. Richards, of course, wrote (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, the first ever fuzz-driven hit single, and the rhythm tones on Hackney Diamondsoften rely more on fuzz than just broken-up amp tones. The solo section sees the dynamics dropping down, as Keef weaves blues licks around the backing vocals while still keeping the riff going. Ronnie trades licks with Keef as the track builds back to its climax.
Get Close
Driven by Steve Jordan’s propulsive drum groove, the riffs here are full of beautiful chords with major 6ths and 7ths. With those evocative harmonies, the song is highly melodic but the groove keeps it from ever sounding too mellow. The interplay between Keef and Ronnie’s guitars has that classic loose quality where they play their own takes on the same part, an approach that was so influential on early Guns N’ Roses. Their parts are panned left and right, so it’s worth listening on headphones to hear the guitars bouncing off each other. The guitar tones are dynamic, and you can hear the cleaner tones when they pick more softly, contrasting with the crunch when t
