\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div><\/div> \n\tAfter all, the Stones know what a Stones record should sound like. Their fidelity to the blues, R&B, and early rock & roll remains intact \u2014 and in case they stray, they have Andrew Watt<\/a>, who also helmed Hackney Diamonds<\/em>, guiding them. He\u2019s listed as producer and even got a handful of rare writing co-credits alongside Jagger and Richards, but he should\u2019ve probably also gotten one for \u201cconscience,\u201d as well, since, as superfan extraordinaire<\/a>, he helped remind them of their quintessence: warm, bluesy riffs paired with Jagger\u2019s scabrous irony.<\/p>\n \n\tThe album\u2019s only real \u201cWhat are they doing?\u201d moments are Jagger\u2019s rap on the otherwise great \u201cCovered in You\u201d \u2014 which finds McCartney playing an upbeat groove on bass as Jagger says something about \u201cwait till you see the whites of their asses\u201d \u2014 and a fairly conventional cover of Amy Winehouse\u2019s \u201cYou Know I\u2019m No Good,\u201d the best part of which is Jagger mimicking Mark Ronson\u2019s production on his harmonica. And all that\u2019s missing are lengthy jams, a midnight ramble or a \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d tempest, but the album largely gives what Stones fans need.<\/p>\n \n\tAs with Hackney Diamonds<\/em>, the guest list runs deep: McCartney, Smith, Steve Winwood (who sticks to piano and organ), the Heartbreakers\u2019 Benmont Tench (on organ), and Bruno Mars, who plays practically inaudible cowbell on the baby-please-don\u2019t-go disco party rave-up \u201cNever Wanna Lose You.\u201d As with Hackney Diamonds, <\/em>the most notable appearance is by the late, great Charlie Watts<\/a> on the \u201cHang Fire\u201d-style death wish \u201cHit Me in the Head,\u201d recorded in 2021 \u2014 and that\u2019s no disrespect to Jordan, who swings differently and hits harder.<\/p>\n \n\tThe album sounds a little overly slick at times, but mostly Foreign Tongues <\/em>stays faithful to the Stones\u2019 signature sound, or at least Watts\u2019 idea of how the Stones should sound. There are no Dust Brothers beats of burden on this album, as there were on Bridges to Babylon<\/a><\/em>. Jagger, Richards, and Wood know they\u2019ll never top the winning streak that ran from Beggars Banquet<\/a> <\/em>to Exile on Main St<\/a>.<\/em> (not to overlook Aftermath<\/em> or Some Girls <\/em>or Tattoo You<\/em>), so why not best Dirty Work<\/a> <\/em>and Voodoo Lounge<\/a><\/em>, which they do exponentially here. Jagger\u2019s voice is a modern marvel, sounding as good as it did 40 years ago; he even sings \u201cYou Know I\u2019m No Good\u201d in a higher key than Winehouse did. And Richards\u2019 and Wood\u2019s \u201cancient art of weaving\u201d yields dense textures, especially on \u201cRinging Hollow,\u201d that allow each of them to step out here and there with guitar showcases.<\/p>\n \n\tIn some ways, Foreign Tongues<\/em> is an improvement on Hackney Diamonds<\/em>, in that the latter occasionally sounded a little too much like a Jagger solo record in its emphasis on vocal melodies; this one feels more guitar-centric and holistically Stones-y. The goal, as Watt has said, was to create songs that could translate well to the stadium stage, and the single \u201cIn the Stars\u201d and \u201cNever Wanna Lose You\u201d could both do that should the band want to tour again.<\/p>\n \n\tAs always, best songs happen when the Stones let it loose. On \u201cJealous Lover,\u201d a funky soul number that recalls \u201cEmotional Rescue,\u201d Jagger breaks up with his lover in falsetto because she\u2019s too jealous of other women (and, incidentally, he also never says he\u2019s not cheating on her). And he embraces the fuckboy ethos on the playful \u201cMr. Charm,\u201d on which he seduces a rich woman, telling her, \u201cLife\u2019s too short for just making money\/Show me how to spend it, honey.\u201d (In a rare acknowledgement of his own age, he admits on the song that while he once dreamed of roving Mars, he now prefers to stay home and \u201cdo anagrams, spew epigrams.\u201d) Then there\u2019s Richards\u2019 \u201cSome of Us,\u201d a moving declaration of devotion whose origins as a song date back to the Eighties, on which he sings, \u201cSome of us are on our knees, begging, baby.\u201d There\u2019s deep emotion and vulnerability in Richards\u2019 voice, which occasionally interlace with Jagger\u2019s, in a way that reflects a level of dedication that only comes with enduring love.<\/p>\n