In-Review: Hackney Diamonds, 12 tracks add to Rolling Stones goodness

by Jim Runyan
Columnist

The new Rolling Stones album was released on October 20 th and it is truly a love letter to Stones fans everywhere. Hackney Diamonds is the 26th Rolling Stones album released in the United States and the first album of original material released by the band in 18 years.

A full-fledged marketing blitz ushered in the release. They really checked all the boxes on this one:

1. Worldwide live album announcement with Jimmy Fallon (check);
2. Star-studded musical collaborations (check);
3. Two successful singles released in the weeks leading up to the release (check);
4. Band members appearing on talk shows, Saturday Night Live, and making themselves available for multiple interviews (check);
5. A myriad of special album colors and cover versions (check):
6. Teaming up with Major League Baseball with special album art for each MLB team (check);
7. Surprise gig at an intimate New York hotspot on the eve of the release (check).

You can almost hear Mick Jagger in a marketing meeting asking, “What else can we do?”

Ok, so what? Is the music any good? Yes, it is. It is exceptionally good in fact.

The Stones have been around so long that their catalog of music includes many genres of music. There’s Rock and Roll, of course, but you will also find blues, gospel, reggae, psychedelic, punk, country, pop, R&B, and yes, even disco.

A great Rolling Stones album typically has a mix of several of these elements and this one does not disappoint. There are happy love songs and angry love songs, soaring gospel voices, punk-tinged rock and rollers, classic blues, harmonicas, horns, and more.

You know Keith Richards is going to sing a song with his raspy and gravelly voice. He does, and it’s wonderful.

You know Ronnie Wood is going to add some Steel Guitar twang to at least one song. He does, and it’s wonderful.

You know Mick Jagger will sing his heart out. He does, and it’s wonderful.

In conjunction with Mick, Keith, and Ronnie, there is some serious talent on this album. Paul McCartney rips one of the coolest (albeit short) bass solos you will ever hear and Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga lend their talents to the instant gospel classic, Sweet Sounds of Heaven. Elton John tickles the ivories on Live by The Sword - does that make three knights on this album?.

Ex-band member Bill Wyman lends some bass and even the beloved Charlie Watts adds drums, may he rest in peace.

All that being said, I’m coming back to Ronnie and Keith. The Rolling Stones have always had great guitar tracks and this album is full of them. Ronnie and Keith really deliver here and their guitar weaving and riffs are superb. From the opening chords of Angry to the closing blues of Rolling Stone Blues, guitar fans will be happy and satisfied.

Hackney Diamonds track list:

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 (Muddy Waters Cover)

This all adds up to approximately 48 minutes of Rolling Stones goodness.

If you’re looking for something new and fresh from a band that’s been around for over sixty years, go ahead and give this one a spin, preferably with headphones on to really soak it all in. There’s a lot going on here and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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Jim Runyan is an avid tennis player, BBQ enthusiast and dart player. He enjoys craft beers and writing fiction and is the author of Ravage the Moon and Other Short Stories available on Amazon.

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The Rolling Stones are still Rocking!

by Jim Runyan
Columnist

Full disclosure, I am a Rolling Stones fan and have been since the summer of 1978 when the album “Some Girls” came out. Now, some 45 years later, The Rolling Stones have a new album being released. On October 20th, Hackney Diamonds will be the 26th Rolling Stones album released in the United States, and it has been 18 years since they last released an album of original music (they snuck in an album of blues covers in 2016 called Blue and Lonesome).

In true Rolling Stones fashion, they announced the album with a worldwide event hosted by Jimmy Fallon. The event was streamed live around the world and could be seen locally at 8:30am on Wednesday, September 6th. You can watch a replay of the announcement at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSzJhzfDtS4.

The interview and event with Jimmy Fallon are fun to watch. The Rolling Stones consist of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood (80, 79, and 76 years old, respectively). Their longtime band mate, Charlie Watts, passed away in 2021 and Hackney Diamonds is their first album without him, although his work will be heard on several tracks.

The band seems relaxed, happy, and glad to be producing new material. They explain in the interview that “Hackney Diamonds” is slang for something like “smash and grab,” like when a windshield (or “wind screen” as Mick calls it), is broken and the bits of glass on the street are called “Hackney Diamonds.” Hackney is a district in London and the announcement came from the Hackney Empire Theater in East London. After all, as Keith puts it, “It’s a London band.”

Following the event came the debut of the first single and video from the album. “Angry” is a straightforward rocker with a classic Stones guitar hook, vocals about a confused lover whose partner, for unknown reasons, is angry with him, and of course, a bluesy, ripping guitar solo which is often a hallmark of Rolling Stones rockers.

As expected, the video for the song is done with high production value and is very clever. A woman (Sydney Sweeney) is frolicking on the back of a cherry-red Mercedes Benz convertible rolling down Sunset Boulevard while passing billboards that have come to life with Rolling Stones scenes and performances.

The classic theme of the billboards reveals a bit of history in that Rock & Roll billboards were once an iconic staple on the Sunset Strip in the late 1960s with the first one advertising The Doors’ first album. The older videos are synchronized to seem as if they are playing the current song and the whole thing comes together seamlessly and should appeal to tried-and-true fans and newcomers alike.

Overall, having a new Stones song, and a new Stones video, and a new Stones album just seems right. If nothing else, it is worth celebrating a band that has been in existence for 61 years (1962-present) and has seen a thing or two on their times around the block. Keep an eye on this space for a full review after the October 20th release of Hackney Diamonds.

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Jim Runyan is an avid tennis player, BBQ enthusiast and dart player. He enjoys craft beers and writing fiction and is the author of Ravage the Moon and Other Short Stories available on Amazon.