Keith Richards has said Mick Jagger “won’t bloody stop” making new music, crediting the singer’s “momentum” for the speed at which The Rolling Stones‘ new album came together.
The rock legends are gearing up to release their 25th studio effort, ‘Foreign Tongues’, on July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. It’s set to feature guest appearances from Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, Steve Winwood, and the band’s late drummer Charlie Watts – you can pre-order your copy here.
With the new album on the horizon, Richards sat down with the Guardian and said Jagger showed no signs of slowing down. “Mick’s been very prolific lately, which is one reason this album has come out so quick, because he won’t bloody stop,” he said.
“And the momentum from ‘Hackney Diamonds‘ was such that this is basically carrying on in the same breath. I was just letting it roll – we had enough stuff if we wanted to keep pushing, and so Mick and I gave each other the usual wry look and said: ‘Yeah, let’s keep pushing.'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Richards praised their producer Andrew Watt, describing him as “a breath of fresh air and a kick up the ass.”
“He knows his stuff musically and technically, and he doesn’t put up with any bullshit – he just gets on with it,” he said. “So I found him very easy to work with. He’s a bit impetuous at times, but then so what?”
The full tracklist for the upcoming record was revealed last month, with the song titles appearing on streaming devices, but in actual foreign tongues, and will include the previously released singles ‘Rough And Twisted’ and ‘In The Stars’, as well as a cover of the Amy Winehouse classic ‘You Know I’m No Good’.
In the lead-up to its release, the band will launch Speaking In Tongues, a new podcast featuring interviews with Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Wood, narrated by Norah Jones.
The podcast will feature behind-the-scenes insight into the making of ‘Foreign Tongues’ over six episodes, with the band sharing studio techniques, creative influences and their songwriting process.
