Rolling Stones Debut Foreign Tongues Album in NYC
SkimNews Take
The rapid production and genre experimentation of Foreign Tongues, following their 2023 resurgence, suggests a renewed creative momentum and perhaps a less constrained approach to their musical output.
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- Rolling Stones preview their 25th album Foreign Tongues, a 14‑track record, at a star‑studded New York event attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, Baz Luhrmann, and Odessa A’zion.
- Conan O’Brien deadpanned that the album could finally "make it after decades of obscurity," then called it "kicks ass," comparing it to the 1972 classic Exile on Main St.
- Andrew Watt returns as producer, having helmed 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, and drives the band’s urgency, as Keith Richards jokes he "kicks us up the arse."
- Mick Jagger says Foreign Tongues spans rock, ballads, country, and dance, highlighting "Ringing Hollow" as a country tune and "Beautiful Delilah" as delta blues, while "Hit Me in the Head" features punk energy and posthumous drums from Charlie Watts.
- Foreign Tongues was recorded in roughly four weeks, giving the songs an urgency and "vibrancy" that Jagger says made them "fun" yet concentrated.
- Nathaniel Mary Quinn painted the album cover, describing the image as an "amalgamation" that mirrors the record’s eclectic style.
Why it matters: The Stones' 14‑track Foreign Tongues, rushed into production in four weeks, will boost streaming royalties for the band and give the label a near‑term Q3 revenue lift, reinforcing their cultural relevance.
