Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Rolling Stones: Hackney Diamonds (2CD)
Rolling Stones: Hackney Diamonds (2CD)
The Rolling Stones
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1962
Charlie Watts
drums1941 - 2021
With the blessing of their co-founder in place for the presence of musician/producer
Steve Jordan
drumsb.1957
Keith Richards
guitar, electricb.1943
Boz Scaggs
guitarb.1944
John Mayer
guitarb.1977
Still, there's an all too palpable atmosphere of ambivalence arising from Hackney Diamonds. The Stones' first studio album of original material since A Bigger Bang (Rolling Stones Records, 2005) betrays a tentative approach most evident on the very up-tempo numbers like "Angry," where the group should be playing and singing with unhesitating panache. It's as if they can't (or won't) let loose with the abandon that used to come naturally with Watts (literally) behind them.
In particular, the guitar riffing between Richards and fretboard partner
Ronnie Wood
guitar, electricMick Jagger
vocalsAfter all, the twelve-track collection produced by Andrew Watt—a former collaborator of Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Miley Cyrus, notably also credited with co-writing three songs with the longstanding Jagger/Richard team— wasn't created to provide product, but instead conjure up inspiration for another such work (after some false starts in recent years preceding its completion).
It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the highlights of this roughly forty-minute set are those farthest removed from the hard-rocking, guitar-oriented sound of the Rolling Stones. Proffering the absurd image of Jagger chopping wood as part of his need to get away from it all, the country blues slant of "Dreamy Skies" sounds effective on its own terms, but also as a set up for the cacophonous "Mess It Up:" here the musicians strut as they play together, their saucy gait no doubt inspiring that inimitable yawp of Jagger's.
Richards' sole lead vocal is similarly fitting on "Tell It To Me Straight." Slight gospel inflections in the changes of the reflective tune render the indefatigable musician's inner dialogue an ever clearer depiction of the misgivings he (and the other bandmembers?) held in regard to this project.
But this particularly frank, subdued moment also works as an ideal segue to "Sweet Sounds of Heaven." That said, this vintage r&b styled tune might better have concluded with a flourish of the exalting horns rather than extend into the orgiastic vocal give-and-take between Lady Gaga and Jagger. Perhaps the presence of
Stevie Wonder
vocalsb.1950
Original Stones bassist
Bill Wyman
bass, electric
Paul McCartney
bass, electricb.1942
Elton John
pianob.1946
Benmont Tench
keyboardsThe famous names are thus just slightly more than mere marketing. As is the double-CD set (adding to multiple other configurations) released on a limited basis some three months after the initial issue of Hackney Diamonds: one disc contains the entire set played at New York's Racket Club on the eve of the LP's original release .
Mixing vintage and new material, the Rolling Stones circa late-2023 sound lively enough and certainly more sure of themselves than on much of the corollary studio work. Accordingly, these seven cuts also achieve what its companion piece does not: fortify Steve Jordan's membership in the group.
It's not just the power of Jordan's playing on new songs like "Angry" or the way he gooses the ensemble during chestnuts like "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The subtleties of his snare and kick drum work on "Tumbling Dice" add to the visceral and emotional impact, all the more so as such playing sounds similar to his predecessor's, sans any apparently overt attempt to copy.
The same might be said of the acoustic rendition of
Muddy Waters
guitar1915 - 1983
As such it would be perfectly appropriate if this cut ultimately stands as the conclusion to the very last 'new' recording of the Rolling Stones. If that indeed turns out to be the case, Hackney Diamonds would transcend the pure product of the Nineties like Voodoo Lounge (Virgin/Rolling Stones Records, 1994) and Bridges to Babylon (Virgin/Rolling Stones Records, 1997), even if it pales next to far superior (albeit erratic) work of this iconic group such as Beggars Banquet (London/Decca Records, 1968) and Let It Bleed (London/Decca Records, 1969).
The (overly?) scrupulous credits inside this twenty-sixth studio album of the Rolling Stones belies the offhanded slang of its title (garishly depicted in its suggestive cover art) even as the phrase may come to legitimately represent the last vestiges of an exercise in musical vandalism dating back to the now-iconic band's foundation in the blues. ">
Track Listing
CD1: Angry; Get Close; Depending On You; Bite My Head Off; Whole Wide World; Dreamy Skies; Mess It Up; Live By the Sword; Driving Me Too Hard; Tell Me Straight; Sweet Sounds of Heaven; Rolling Stone Blues. CD2 – Live at Racket, NYC: Shattered; Angry; Whole Wide World; Bite My Head Off; Jumpin’ Jack Flash; Sweet Sounds of Heaven.
Personnel
Mick Jagger
vocals
Keith Richards
guitar, electric
Ronnie Wood
guitar, electric
Darryl Jones
bass
Charlie Watts
drumsBill Wyman
bass, electric
Steve Jordan
drumsMatt Clifford
piano
Elton John
piano
Stevie Wonder
vocals
Paul McCartney
bass, electricBenmont Tench
keyboardsAdditional Instrumentation
Mick Jagger: guitar, percussion, harmonica; Keith Richards: vocals, bass, piano; Ronnie Wood: bass, backing vocals; Matt Clifford: Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3 organ; Andrew Watt: bass, backing vocals, percussion; Karlos Edwards: percussion; Ron Blake:trumpet; James King: saxophone; Charlie Bisharat: violin; Songa Lee: violin; Alyssa Park: violin; Sara Perkins: violin; Michele Richards; violin; Tereza Stanislav: violin; Jennifer Takamatsu: violin; Phillip Valman: violin; Luke Maurer: viola; Tom Lea: viola; Jacob Braun: cello; Paula Hochhalter: cello; David Campbell: string arrangement; Suzie Katayama: string conductor; Bettie Ross: string contractor; Chanelle Haynes: vocals; Lady Gaga: vocals; James King: backing vocals.
Album information
Title: Hackney Diamonds (2CD) | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Rolling Stones Records
Tags
Rolling Stones
Extended Analysis
Doug Collette
Rogers & Cowan
Hackney Diamonds
Rolling Stones Records
The Rolling Stones
Charlie Watts
Steve Jordan
Keith Richards
Boz Scaggs
John Mayer
Ronnie Wood
Mick Jagger
Andrew Watt
Justin Bieber
Post Malone
Miley Cyrus
Lady Gaga
Bill Wyman
Elton John
Tom Petty
Benmont Tench
Muddy Waters
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.Showcase
Buy Now
Featured
Darwin AI: Surivior Choice
By Alex Otey buy
