After six decades of rock ‘n’ roll, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood are at it again. The Rolling Stones‘ long-awaited new album, “Hackney Diamonds,” is out this Friday. It’s the band’s first album since longtime drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021.
“Hackney Diamonds” also marks the Stones’ first album of original songs in 18 years.
When the Rolling Stones ended their tour last year, Jagger issued a challenge to his bandmates – to set a deadline to record an album: “So, I said to Keith, ‘Let’s try and do that. And we’re going in this, we’re going here, and we finished by Valentine’s Day.'”
“It’s called Blitzkrieg,” said Richards.
They did it. “You don’t really need a lot to start, to kick off a song,” Jagger said.
Wood said, “We’re lucky, because we bounce, me and Keith. If somebody’s got a riff. And we weave. You see lots of people say, ‘What is this weaving?’ But it’s fantastic because it provides a net for Mick to fall into.”
Wood said making a record now is no different for them than it was 20 or 40 years ago. “Because you can’t lose that element of camaraderie and live music,” he said. “Something happens which is magic, and we never try to examine it that closely. We just let it rock on.”
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Richards said he still gets excited when writing a song. “Even if it turns out to be lousy, you know, the minute you say, ‘Oh, I’ve got something here,’ or you’re playing it … even the teasing thread that this could be fantastic. Yeah, that’s the joy of it, man,” he said.
Jagger said he has lots of processes for songwriting. “Like, ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven.’ So I just, I wasn’t trying to write a song. I was just playing the piano for fun. And then suddenly, you’ve written ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’!”
Lady Gaga joined Jagger on the vocal for the new song.
“It’s a very satisfying thing to do. It’s one of my favorite things to do,” Jagger said. “To write a song, you just need your recording device, and you need, you know, your voice. And in 10 minutes you can create something that didn’t exist before, and maybe should never exist! But sometimes they’re worth it, you know?”
Jagger and Richards are one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time, with such classics as “Start Me Up,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Honky Tonk Women,” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The group has sold more than 250 million records.
But back in 1962, they started as a blues band that played only covers, like “Time Is On My Side.” “I’d never considered myself to be a songwriter,” said Richards, “until somebody yelled up, ‘We need a song and somebody’s got to come up with it.’ And so, Mick and I sort of went in the kitchen and started and learned how to write songs for the Rolling Stones.”
In the video for their new song, “Angry,” the vintage Stones from every era come to life again through animation and artificial intelligence. “What I loved about it is that we didn’t have to do anything,” said Jagger.
“You know, when we’re all gone, there will still be AI,” Jagger replied. “So, you won’t be able to get rid of us.”
Another supergroup, ABBA, though no longer together, is still performing in hologram concerts. When asked if they were considering the hologram route, Jagger said, “We definitely have thought about that, and we’ve been asked to. It’s going to happen, I’m sure.”
But Jagger (at age 80), Richards (soon to turn 80), and Wood (76) don’t seem to be contemplating their own mortality …. nor are they considering their legacy.
“I know that other people can think about that,” Richards said. “I’m sure there’d be several different versions!”
After six decades, they’re talking about touring again next year. The band, Richards says, is bigger than all of them: “Because in a way, it’s the Rolling Stones that keep pulling Mick and me and Ronnie back together. There’s something about that that I really admire about the whole bunch, you know?”
“That you’ve made it through?”
“Yeah, yeah. It was a rough trip here and there!” he laughed.
Read more of Anthony Mason’s conversation with The Rolling Stones.
