Rolling Stones Blend Classic Swagger with Modern Craft on Foreign Tongues

Pitchfork’s Stuart Berman argues Foreign Tongues, built from Hackney Diamonds outtakes and produced by Andrew Watt, tightens the Stones’ groove with a rhythm-forward approach that leans into contemporary pop craft while maintaining their swagger. The album features high-profile guests (Paul McCartney, Benmont Tench, Bruno Mars, Robert Smith) and a bold cover of Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good, and it’s framed as an improvement on Hackney Diamonds that sometimes recalls Some Girls in spirit, even as it wrestles with balancing spontaneity and calculated precision.