STACK #261 July 2026

FEATURE MUSIC

STILL ROLLING

The Stones still speak the language of rock – 64 years after they formed.

T he Rolling Stones’ buddies The Beatles had a song called When I’m Sixty-Four . ”Will you still need me, will you still feed me,” Paul McCartney sang, ”when I’m 64?” The Rolling Stones started in London in 1962 and, remarkably, they are still rolling – 64 years later. Mick Jagger might have famously said, ”I’d rather be dead than sing Satisfaction when I’m 45”, when he was 31. But he’s still fronting the Stones as he closes in on his 83rd birthday. And the band’s new album, Foreign Tongues , features a collaboration with Paul McCartney, who is a year older than Mick. The album also features Steve Winwood, The Cure’s Robert Smith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. And the record includes the band’s final recording with drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. That track is a poignant reminder of how lucky we are that the Stones are still rocking. Foreign Tongues is the band’s first release since 2023’s Hackney Diamonds . ”The album has a continuity from Hackney Diamonds and it was great to be working in London again, and to have that London vibe around us,” Keith Richards says. ”It was a month of concentrated punch. To me, it’s all about the enjoyment of it. I’m blessed to be able to do this and long may it last.” The Stones previewed the album with the single Rough and Twisted , which they released under the name The Cockroaches. The name seems apt: a cockroach can apparently survive a nuclear war. And it looks like nothing can stop the Stones. It’s only rock ’n’ roll, but we still like it. Jeff Jenkins

COVER ME The Foreign Tongues cover was created by American painter Nathaniel Mary Quinn. A surrealist amalgam of the band’s faces, it has split fans. Winner or sinner? What do you think?

Photo credit: Peggy Sirota

Foreign Tongues by The Rolling Stones is out Jul 10 via Universal

GOT WOOD Guitarist Ronnie Wood has now been a Rolling Stone for 50 years. Ronnie first toured with the band in 1975 and became an official member on April 23, 1976.

FORTY LICKS (2002) One of the best best-ofs of all time. The Stones celebrated their 40th anniversary with an anthology that gathered 40 of their biggest and best songs. They also added four new tracks, including the aptly titled Don’t Stop . The album features the Stones’ take on Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good . HOT COVER

HOT STONES They don’t call ’em ”the greatest rock and roll band in the world” for nothing. The Stones have made some of the finest albums in music history. Here are five that you should own:

STICKY FINGERS (1971) The band’s first studio album following the passing of co-founder Brian Jones, fans unzipped this record to discover a swag of superb songs, including Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (with a killer Mick Taylor guitar solo), and Dead Flowers. Fun fact: Mick Jagger wrote Brown Sugar in Australia while he was here making the movie Ned Kelly .

EXILE ON MAIN STREET (1972) Facing a massive tax bill, the Stones were forced to flee the UK. They found themselves exiled in France, where they created the bulk of this double album. Fun fact: Venetta Fields – who now calls Australia home - sang backing vocals on four tracks, including Tumbling Dice .

ENGLAND’S NEWEST HIT MAKERS (1964) Where it all started. The Stones’ self-titled debut was retitled in the US, with the classic Not Fade Away added to the album. This was the band’s first chart-topper in Australia. Fun fact: Two songs – Now I’ve Got a Witness and Little by Little are credited to ”Nanker Phelge”, which was the name the band used for group compositions.

TATTOO YOU (1981) Mick and Keith were fighting and didn’t want to be in the studio together, so they unlocked the vaults and dug out some gems. Start Me Up stands as one of the greatest opening tracks in rock history, while the closing cut, Waiting on a Friend , is one of the Stones’ best ballads. Fun fact: This was the last Stones album to hit number one in the US.

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