Stones Shine with Their Best Album Yet!

The Rolling Stones: Foreign Tongues (Polydor/UMG)

Rating: Five out of five stars

Verdict: Swaggering return 

Anyone who thinks it might be time for The to start taking it easy should look away now.

If there's ever been a band who stubbornly refuse to act their age – a collective 243 for the core trio of , and – it's the bad boys of 1960s and 1970s rock and roll.

'I don't care if I ever die,' roars Jagger, 82, on Hit Me In The Head, a frantic, punk-style number about living in the moment. 'One of these days I'll fall down dead, and I'll go a lot quicker if you hit me in the head.' So much for growing old gracefully.

Foreign Tongues is the Stones' 25th studio album – and their most exciting in years. Featuring guests including , Steve Winwood and The Cure's Robert Smith, it dips into the blues while taking swaggering detours into country and soul. It's an intense and cohesive affair.

They made the album, which is out today, with producer Andrew Watt. The 35-year-old New Yorker has become the go-to guy for vintage musicians looking to get their mojo back. He worked with the Stones on 2023's Hackney Diamonds, produced McCartney's latest release, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, and even pops up on the new Madonna album.

Foreign Tongues is bookended by two raw blues tracks. On Rough And Twisted, Jagger suggests taking an exotic road trip with a female companion. 

They end up in 'a flyblown town in the back of nowhere'. The closing track is an acoustic cover of Chuck Berry's Beautiful Delilah.

Further highlights include soul ballad Jealous Lover, sung in a tender falsetto by Jagger, and Ringing Hollow, a laid-back country tune reflecting his love of America… and his take on recent years: 'Lady Liberty don't look so good when she's wearing a frown.'

Robert Smith plays guitar on Divine Intervention, a classic piece of Stones boogie, and adds synths and vocals to the raucous Never Wanna Lose You. 

Both sound a lot like the Stones and nothing like The Cure: when you collaborate with Mick and co, you step into their world. Upstaging the Strolling Bones is not an option.

Elsewhere, McCartney plays bass on Covered In You, and there's an inspired cover of Amy Winehouse's classic cheating ballad You Know I'm No Good.

Brilliantly backed by the intertwining guitars of Richards and Wood, Jagger is in superb voice throughout. 

And the message, typified by In The Stars, is clear: live for today, let destiny take care of tomorrow. 'Do you wanna dance 'til the roof caves in?' asks Jagger. For The Rolling Stones, the answer, after all these years, is still a resounding yes.