The Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues

The most remarkable thing about Foreign Tongues is not just that The Rolling Stones are still recording and performing rock 'n' roll in 2026, more than sixty years after their debut. The real surprise is the band's unbroken commitment—a presence that permeates their 25th British studio album and shows that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood remain just as invested in creation as ever, beyond simple nostalgia.

The album was released on July 10, 2026, and arrives less than three years after the much-noted comeback album Hackney Diamonds. Once again, production is handled by Andrew Watt. Foreign Tongues contains 14 tracks; twelve new original compositions are framed by covers of Amy Winehouse and Chuck Berry, elegantly honoring both newer legends and the band's original influences.

The opening track, “Rough and Twisted,” serves as a manifesto: raw, blues-based, and with a deliberately edgy production where the guitars seek tension rather than perfection. Next, “In the Stars” shifts to a more melodic and rounded tone—a clear early signal of the band's refusal to lock itself into a single expression. The Stones move effortlessly between garage blues, classic pop, soul, country, and arena rock, illustrating what has long kept them relevant and unpredictable.

The album's strongest moments are often those where the Stones choose to blend new elements rather than recreate former triumphs. “Jealous Lover” stands out with a rich soul groove and Steve Winwood's distinctive Fender Rhodes, while Jagger climbs into falsetto. The echo of the Stones of the 1970s and '80s is there but feels at once fresh and vital rather than nostalgic. The more driven “Mr. Charm” and the country-tinged, slightly disillusioned “Ringing Hollow” broaden the sonic palette. Jagger approaches contemporary depictions with a sharper pen than ever, far from the eternal playboy role.

Under Andrew Watt’s production, the album receives a powerful, modern sound: massive drums, clear vocal tracks, and guitars robust enough for stadiums. This energy injection has been praised by critics, although some argue that the sound is sometimes so polished that the band’s characteristically rough spontaneity risks being lost—a balancing act the Stones have always tried to maintain to avoid becoming predictable.

One of the album’s most moving highlights is a moment of vulnerability rather than confidence. Keith Richards takes over the vocals on “Some of Us”, with an exhausted and timeless voice that refuses to try to sound younger than reality permits. It is in this honesty that the song’s power lies, reminding us why the Stones have never become mere rock archetypes.

“Hit Me In The Head” gets extra weight, featuring Charlie Watts on drums from one of his last studio sessions before his passing in 2021. Rather than enhancing the sentimentality, Watts’s characteristic swing is allowed to speak for itself. On the rest of the album, Steve Jordan carries on the rhythmic legacy on drums.

Foreign Tongues also presents one of the Stones’ most impressive guest artist line-ups to date: Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, Chad Smith, Steve Winwood, and Bruno Mars all participate. The guests, however, are part of the whole rather than taking over, and the chemistry between Jagger, Richards, and Wood remains at the center.

Covering Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” is arguably the album’s boldest move. Rather than mimic the original, the Stones interpret the song through their own blues filter—Mick Jagger’s vocals and harmonica impart a distinct Stones stamp. The result may divide listeners, but it proves the band’s desire to continue pushing genre boundaries. The conclusion with Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah,” by contrast, feels naturally self-evident and ties the circle back to the band’s foundational roots.

Foreign Tongues is no new Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main St.—and to demand that would be missing the point. Instead, the record stands as a credible late-career statement, marked by rawness, humor, honesty, and a refusal to fixate on the past or lapse into self-irony. Some tracks would have benefited from looser reins and a little less grandeur, but in its best moments, the Stones radiate joy, weight, and undiminished musical chemistry.

On Foreign Tongues, The Rolling Stones do not sound immortal—but far more aware of the passage of time, and perhaps that is why the band’s sense of adventure and determination is sharper than it’s been in a long while.