The Rolling Stones have finally confirmed their forthcoming album, Hackney Diamonds, will be arriving on October 20 -- with full details shared in a Jimmy Fallon-hosted livestream.
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Along with the official release day details offered up, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood also premiered their music video for the album’s first single, “Angry,” starring White Lotus and Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney.
On Wednesday, September 6, The Stones' Mick, Keith, and Ronnie joined Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon at a special album launch event from Hackney in East London that was streamed exclusively on YouTube to update fans on their 24th album plans. “We wouldn’t be putting this out now if we didn’t really like it,” Jagger explained. “We didn’t want to make just any record and put it out. So, we wanted to make a record. Before we went in, we said we all want to make a record that we really love, ourselves. People may like it, other people may not. But we must say this, we are quite pleased with it. … We hope you’ll like it.”
Details about the 12-track record, laid to tape at Los Angeles’ Henson Recording Studios, London’s Metropolis Studios, Nassau, Bahamas’ Sanctuary Studios, and New York‘s Electric Lady Studios and the Hit Factory/Germano Studios were also discussed, with Jagger saying the band actually recorded a total of 23 songs during the sessions.
Ronnie Wood also revealed that Pop icon Lady Gaga sings on the track “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” and Keith Richards admitted that he has “no idea” what the song “Tell Me Straight” -- one that he sings -- is even about. Pointing to Jagger, he joked, “He tried to steal it, so it must be good.”
Prior to the announcement, the Stones teased the new single with a link to a broken website initially offering a chance to hear a clip of the new song. However, after a whole lot of loading an error page finally lets you down. Get it? Well, some didn't, and a few fans who complained actually got a response from the band simply saying, “Oh don’t get angry with me.”
All of this news is, of course, on top of the already exciting details shared earlier this year that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr of The Beatles would be joining the Stones on their upcoming Charlie Watts tribute album helmed by super-producer Andrew Watt, as well as the inclusion of former member Bill Wyman.
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Following the band's cheeky newspaper ad coyly announcing their upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds, a list of twelve all-new song titles, each credited to Michael Philip Jagger and Keith Richards with three also adding producer Andrew Watt to the roster, were registered with the music publishing company ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
The all-new titles were officially confirmed during the band's September 6 press conference with Jimmy Fallon as well. You can check out the full tracklisting below.
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds tracklisting:
1. “Angry”
2. “Get Close”
3. “Depending on You”
4. “Bite My Head Off”
5. “Whole Wide World”
6. “Dreamy Skies”
7. “Mess It Up”
8. “Live by the Sword”
9. “Driving Me Too Hard”
10. “Tell Me Straight”
11. “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”
12. “Rolling Stone Blues”
It's worth mentioning that one of the recently registered titles, "Morning Joe Cues," is missing from the original list discussed in depth on the Hang Fire podcast -- likely changed to the last track, "Rolling Stone Blues," but we'll just have to wait and see.
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The Stones' 2016 covers album Blue & Lonesome was the group's most recent official release, with the forthcoming Hackney Diamonds marking the first collection of newly recorded material since 2005's A Bigger Bang.