Any Rolling Stones album going forward is going to be bittersweet- Charlie Watts is gone, so, are the Stones still the Stones? That’s up for you to decide. I’ll lean slightly towards “yes” if only because on the band’s first album of original material in almost 20 years, Keith is definitely still Keith- that inimitable guitar style cuts though- Mick is definitely still Mick with his bluesy, kinda of diva-ish howl, and Ronnie is Still Ronnie- he holds the whole thing together without you noticing that is exactly what he’s doing.

So, with the band somewhat intact, what do they do in 2023? Not too long ago they cut the surprisingly excellent blues cover album Blue & Lonesome. So, on Hackney Diamonds they do a sort of opposite approach. Young producer wunderkind Andrew Watt is brought in to keep the band current… but not too fad chasing… sort of.

The songs here are mostly modern Stonesy. Three minute rockers with a few mid-tempo ballads thrown in along with the obligatory Keith folk tune. Songs like “Angry” have sort of that “Start Me Up” kick, or even the “shattered” sprint, but not quite. I blame Watt. He drenches everything in that plastick-y modern sheen where EVERY SOUND IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT… but it comes at the cost of some soul. Still, the Stones themselves due cut through modern tricks. Keith’s guitar jangle-ring is as jangle-ring as it ever was. Ronnie’s slide guitar on “depending on you” is amazing. Mick’s voice actually sounds better than it has in the past and on the second half, he approaches ‘70s greatness.

In fact, this is one of the few albums where the flip-side is probably better than the start. The first half is good stones, but somewhat indistinguishable from a bigger bang and the subsequent one-off singles. But, where the band takes some chances, such as the massive 7-minute “Sweet Sound of heaven,” the knock it out of the park and show why they are the greatest rock and roll band of all time. A duet with Lady Gags, the tune leans into the heritage of Exile on Mainstreet the closing tunes of Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup. When the band doesn’t worry about BEING the Rolling Stones, and just ARE the Rolling Stones, they can take on all commers. See also “Bite My Head off” which is a snapper that could have been slipped on Some Girls that also has Paulie M on bass. It rocks, man.

A few other legends are here, too- Stevie, Elton, Tench, but they sadly kind of blend into the either. Charlie, who appears on two tracks via drum parts recorded for this exact situation* is missed here- his iconic spartan but astoundingly effective drumming is missed and maybe was the thing that would have juiced up songs here that are good-but-not-great. That being said, Steve Jordan does as good a job as anyone in filling Charlie’s shoes.

So, the Stones are still the Stones and sometimes on this album they are THE Stones. That’s pretty good for a late career, two decades in the works, LP. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get the sequel to this LP in 2043.

*About 10-15 years ago, in an interview, Charlie Watts said the Stones recorded him drumming to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic to have multiple drums parts… “on hand”… can you match any of these beats to “Fuck with Dre Day?”