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NashvilleBlues

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treaclefingers

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GasLightStreet
As much as I love UNDERCOVER I get why reviewers have said HACKNEY DIAMONDS is their best album since SOME GIRLS - it's that full of the big picture of what The Rolling Stones are in regard to the solidness of new.

Mick Jagger solo album done by the Stones my ass. Mick driving the band to do Sympathy For The Devil, or coming up with Brown Sugar... is the same as Mick Jagger solo album done by the Stones then.

That means DIRTY WORK is Keith's first solo album done by the Stones and a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones since he co-writes half the album.

OH MY GOD EMOTIONAL RESCUE is a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones because he co-wrote the opening track. And TATTOO YOU is a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones because he's got 2 co-writes on it! SUCKING IN THE SEVENITES! And UNDERCOVER.

This is out of hand all these solo albums done by the Stones. The last original Rolling Stones album is BETWEEN THE BUTTONS obviously, because after that everything else is a solo album done by the Stones.

LOL.

So I know it's still early days but I think I like HD better than Some Girls, but not necessarily better than Undercover.

I think if I was going back to Exile, I'd rate it as...

Exile
Tattoo You
Undercover
Hackney Diamonds
Some Girls
IORR
Black & Blue
Steel Wheels
etc....

Overall, the new album might even break into the (OVERALL) top 10 for me...I want to think about it for awhile.

No love for GHS?

About half of it! Never quite loved it as much as what came directly before or after. I know I may be in the minority but that's a taste thing isn't it. (and maybe I don't have any?!).

For me what drags it down are tracks like Silver Train (we just had a better version of that - All Down The Line), Star Star (come on - there's way better Chuck Berry ripoffs than this), Dancing with Mr. D (it's more silly than scary), and the overall vibe of the album is a bit maudlin...which isn't to take away from any of the individual excellent tracks. I'd still probably give it 4 stars.

But that's the strength of the catalogue in general...so few of their albums entirely miss the mark. In fact I can only think of one or two.

Saw now that a remix of Mess it up will be released on thursday

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CamRS

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Rip This
personally...I think that fans that don't like this new record just don't like the STones anymore...and like what they were...which is fine,....be honest about that and move on already....its called BEATING A DEAD HORSE.....

Thank you for posting this Rip This. I’m more of a lurker than a poster, and it gets frustrating when various threads get hijacked by negativity.

It’s okay to not like the album, but practically everyone who has not liked it has given two main reasons:

1. “it sounds like a Jagger solo album” - which has been refuted by everyone involved who worked on the album. Does he drive the songs that are selected? Yes, because as Keith has mentioned, he’s the one who has to sing them.

2. “Mick’s voice sounds nasally and he over enunciates”. - that has been Mick’s vocals going at least as far back as the Forty Licks songs, or to put it in perspective, 1/3 of the band’s recording career. You either get use to it, or move on to a different band.

At this stage, if you don’t like the album and don’t have any new insights to provide, why bother continuing to post about it other than people’s natural compulsion to have the last word in a discussion?

I like hearing different perspectives, but having a different perspective isn’t just about liking/disliking something, it’s also about why people like something. The best conversations on this board come from listening to why people like certain albums and songs, not why they dislike them.

The album is not bad. It's fun and I have listened to it over the past weeks and enjoyed it, the way I can enjoy listening to Beyonce. But I always thought that the Stones were special. I defended them against attacks of most of my friends who either liked more modern music or claimed that "the Beatles were better", by saying that the Stones did something special.

The Stones were special because they found out a way to write and play their own blues/soul based rock n roll, with the occasional country ballad. Whereas the Beatles (and later ABBA) were the kings of pop songwriting, of clever melodies and clever chord changes, the Stones could play two obvious chords and make them swing, make them funky. This is evident on their earlier albums and even on a later album like Tattoo You, for example on Slave, which is hardly a song, certainly not one with a chorus/verse/bridge structure, but which swings like hell and is funky, steamy, loose, cool, unpolished, centered on a rough but efficient guitar riff and as far as I am concerned the essence of what once made me love the Stones.

I don't think this is a "Jagger" album (whatever that means) and although the production is a bit "slick", I don't really have a problem with that either. And certainly HD has a lot of catchy songs. But to me this album lacks what made the Stones special. And I can't help being surprised sometimes to read on a Stones forum comparisons between Get Close and Slave or Sweet Sounds and Gimme Shelter, or Angry and SMU. (And I can't help thinking that maybe Paul McCartney is laughing up his sleeve about Bite My Head Off, ensuring that for the rest of eternity people will see the Beatles as the better band.)

But you're right that too much negativity is useless and ugly which is why I try to keep my posts to a minimum. I hope my occasional comments are not too much. Maybe expressing my occasional surprise, in some odd way helps me to get some perspective.

To end on a positive note: currently Driving Me Too Hard is my favorite on the album and I wonder who plays the piano on that one. I couldn't find that information anywhere.

Believe or not: There is still competition between the Beatles and the Stones. "Now and Then" is on heavy rotation on my radio station now. Maybe even more so than "Mess it Up" which also gets a lot of radio play.

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Stoneage
Believe or not: There is still competition between the Beatles and the Stones. "Now and Then" is on heavy rotation on my radio station now. Maybe even more so than "Mess it Up" which also gets a lot of radio play.

I think that's really cool...the fact that your radio station is even playing these cuts. The UK?

I know I won't ever hear these on the radio where I am.

May the better song win. I appreciate the effort that went into Now & Then...I just don't think it's that great a song.

It's alright, a 6-7 out of 10 maybe? I just don't think we'd even notice this if it weren't for the fact it was "the last" Beatles song ever.

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treaclefingers

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Stoneage
Believe or not: There is still competition between the Beatles and the Stones. "Now and Then" is on heavy rotation on my radio station now. Maybe even more so than "Mess it Up" which also gets a lot of radio play.

I think that's really cool...the fact that your radio station is even playing these cuts. The UK?

I know I won't ever hear these on the radio where I am.

May the better song win. I appreciate the effort that went into Now & Then...I just don't think it's that great a song.

It's alright, a 6-7 out of 10 maybe? I just don't think we'd even notice this if it weren't for the fact it was "the last" Beatles song ever.

...Sweden. And I'm talking about SR P4. A public service radio station. The commercial stations play their usual mix of RB muzak.

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treaclefingers

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GasLightStreet
As much as I love UNDERCOVER I get why reviewers have said HACKNEY DIAMONDS is their best album since SOME GIRLS - it's that full of the big picture of what The Rolling Stones are in regard to the solidness of new.

Mick Jagger solo album done by the Stones my ass. Mick driving the band to do Sympathy For The Devil, or coming up with Brown Sugar... is the same as Mick Jagger solo album done by the Stones then.

That means DIRTY WORK is Keith's first solo album done by the Stones and a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones since he co-writes half the album.

OH MY GOD EMOTIONAL RESCUE is a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones because he co-wrote the opening track. And TATTOO YOU is a Ronnie Wood solo album done by the Stones because he's got 2 co-writes on it! SUCKING IN THE SEVENITES! And UNDERCOVER.

This is out of hand all these solo albums done by the Stones. The last original Rolling Stones album is BETWEEN THE BUTTONS obviously, because after that everything else is a solo album done by the Stones.

LOL.

So I know it's still early days but I think I like HD better than Some Girls, but not necessarily better than Undercover.

I think if I was going back to Exile, I'd rate it as...

Exile
Tattoo You
Undercover
Hackney Diamonds
Some Girls
IORR
Black & Blue
Steel Wheels
etc....

Overall, the new album might even break into the (OVERALL) top 10 for me...I want to think about it for awhile.

HACKNEY jumps out. The songs are immediate (probably what Ronnie was alluding to). Which is how I feel about UNDERCOVER and nothing after, although there are some songs that achieve that on some albums, although the production on HD is excellent, there's nothing chookey, and the mix is wonderfully rounded.

So far I haven't listened to any other Stones albums or songs since Angry came out other than Living In A Ghost Town (similar with The Cult's newest LP, I haven't listened to any other albums or songs by The Cult since UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN came out!!! It's been over a year! Although with the current Death Cult 40th anniversary tour I have been listening to those tracks, which The Cult's newest album is essentially connected to). I just really dig in to new releases.

Where HACKENY ranks, well, it will be awhile before any conclusion is determined, it's currently pre-determined, but it will most likely be a good way up.

That aside, I'm still pissed they didn't include Through The Lonely Nights on the deluxe reissue of GHS and a few other tracks that should've been included on the deluxe TY - how are they ever gonna bump The Beatles when they keep holding back???

At least, one generation after A BIGGER BANG, we got a new album finally.

I am a huge fan of UC too. And I see HD as the best since.
I am really glad I read all the comments by the Stones themselves, and Andrew Watt for each song. What really jumped out in the comments is that it is very much a collaboration album. Keith was very involved.

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Stoneage

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treaclefingers

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Stoneage
Believe or not: There is still competition between the Beatles and the Stones. "Now and Then" is on heavy rotation on my radio station now. Maybe even more so than "Mess it Up" which also gets a lot of radio play.

I think that's really cool...the fact that your radio station is even playing these cuts. The UK?

I know I won't ever hear these on the radio where I am.

May the better song win. I appreciate the effort that went into Now & Then...I just don't think it's that great a song.

It's alright, a 6-7 out of 10 maybe? I just don't think we'd even notice this if it weren't for the fact it was "the last" Beatles song ever.

...Sweden. And I'm talking about SR P4. A public service radio station. The commercial stations play their usual mix of RB muzak.

Beatles new is way passed all HD songs when it comes to streaming. So for now the Beatles have won. But lets see what happens to Mess it Up on Friday!

GasLightStreet,
I would assume Through the Lonely Nights didn't end up on the TY re-release because it was already on Rarities. "Think I'm Going Mad," however, is a lost treasure also missing from TY and Rarities.

T@3

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TeaAtThree
GasLightStreet,
I would assume Through the Lonely Nights didn't end up on the TY re-release because it was already on Rarities. "Think I'm Going Mad," however, is a lost treasure also missing from TY and Rarities.

T@3

I think deep down we all understand the way to handle this is UNDERCOVER SUPER DELUXE!

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TeaAtThree
GasLightStreet,
I would assume Through the Lonely Nights didn't end up on the TY re-release because it was already on Rarities. "Think I'm Going Mad," however, is a lost treasure also missing from TY and Rarities.

T@3

but was released in the one of the singles boxsets

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ProfessorWolf

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TeaAtThree
GasLightStreet,
I would assume Through the Lonely Nights didn't end up on the TY re-release because it was already on Rarities. "Think I'm Going Mad," however, is a lost treasure also missing from TY and Rarities.

T@3

but was released in the one of the singles boxsets

Yeah, but it was faulty, with a skip/digital glitch in the intro! That was "corrected" on the second pressing, but in such a shoddy way that the mistake was still listenable and needed to be fully corrected only by an amateur, back then available only on one of these sites that shouldn't be mentioned here because of, you know,"official material".

In the end, it's still a "lost treasure" and deserves to get an official rerelease as it's such a beautiful tune.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-11-14 05:15 by retired_dog.

I'm 99% sure I acquired Think I'm Going Mad legally way back in the day.

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matxil

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CamRS

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Rip This
personally...I think that fans that don't like this new record just don't like the STones anymore...and like what they were...which is fine,....be honest about that and move on already....its called BEATING A DEAD HORSE.....

Thank you for posting this Rip This. I’m more of a lurker than a poster, and it gets frustrating when various threads get hijacked by negativity.

It’s okay to not like the album, but practically everyone who has not liked it has given two main reasons:

1. “it sounds like a Jagger solo album” - which has been refuted by everyone involved who worked on the album. Does he drive the songs that are selected? Yes, because as Keith has mentioned, he’s the one who has to sing them.

2. “Mick’s voice sounds nasally and he over enunciates”. - that has been Mick’s vocals going at least as far back as the Forty Licks songs, or to put it in perspective, 1/3 of the band’s recording career. You either get use to it, or move on to a different band.

At this stage, if you don’t like the album and don’t have any new insights to provide, why bother continuing to post about it other than people’s natural compulsion to have the last word in a discussion?

I like hearing different perspectives, but having a different perspective isn’t just about liking/disliking something, it’s also about why people like something. The best conversations on this board come from listening to why people like certain albums and songs, not why they dislike them.

The album is not bad. It's fun and I have listened to it over the past weeks and enjoyed it, the way I can enjoy listening to Beyonce. But I always thought that the Stones were special. I defended them against attacks of most of my friends who either liked more modern music or claimed that "the Beatles were better", by saying that the Stones did something special.

The Stones were special because they found out a way to write and play their own blues/soul based rock n roll, with the occasional country ballad. Whereas the Beatles (and later ABBA) were the kings of pop songwriting, of clever melodies and clever chord changes, the Stones could play two obvious chords and make them swing, make them funky. This is evident on their earlier albums and even on a later album like Tattoo You, for example on Slave, which is hardly a song, certainly not one with a chorus/verse/bridge structure, but which swings like hell and is funky, steamy, loose, cool, unpolished, centered on a rough but efficient guitar riff and as far as I am concerned the essence of what once made me love the Stones.

I don't think this is a "Jagger" album (whatever that means) and although the production is a bit "slick", I don't really have a problem with that either. And certainly HD has a lot of catchy songs. But to me this album lacks what made the Stones special. And I can't help being surprised sometimes to read on a Stones forum comparisons between Get Close and Slave or Sweet Sounds and Gimme Shelter, or Angry and SMU. (And I can't help thinking that maybe Paul McCartney is laughing up his sleeve about Bite My Head Off, ensuring that for the rest of eternity people will see the Beatles as the better band.)

But you're right that too much negativity is useless and ugly which is why I try to keep my posts to a minimum. I hope my occasional comments are not too much. Maybe expressing my occasional surprise, in some odd way helps me to get some perspective.

To end on a positive note: currently Driving Me Too Hard is my favorite on the album and I wonder who plays the piano on that one. I couldn't find that information anywhere.

Keith and Matt are both on piano.

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TeaAtThree
GasLightStreet,
I would assume Through the Lonely Nights didn't end up on the TY re-release because it was already on Rarities. "Think I'm Going Mad," however, is a lost treasure also missing from TY and Rarities.

T@3

Well, ok. You're right. It certainly is. It's a beautiful song.

Yet Everything Is Turning To Gold... and If I Was A Dancer... yet alone Mannish Boy, turned up elsewhere before RARITES.

Think I'm Going Mad is a ER leftover, which fits into the TATTOO YOU era ie TY deluxe. Both could've been included with the TY deluxe but we know that with the GHS deluxe...

I have RARITIES but the point is, put it out in context. There was plenty of room with the GHS and TY deluxe.

They released songs that were after whatever two times, which says a lot: as in, we're not doing... and they haven't done an ER deluxe or U deluxe and what ones they have they've left off... blah blah blah.

Very unfortunate.

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Palace Revolution 2000
I am a huge fan of UC too. And I see HD as the best since.

I post very rarely but I wanted to say that this is where I end up with this album too. For me, the Stones went "off" after UC. If you listen to Nick Kent (70s rock writer) he would say they were never the same after 1986, and I can see that argument. But there are lots of places on this record where they are inspired - Ronnie perhaps most of all - and I think it is their best album since UC.

Incidentally, as a huge Undercover fan, I'm delighted to see that this album seems to have smoked out all the other UC fans on this board.

Wishing you all peace and love -

LoveInVain69

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ProfessorWolf

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Redhotcarpet

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DandelionPowderman

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Redhotcarpet
To me this album sounds like a Jagger solo-album with trademark Keith-licks forced into a couple of songs. The one number that really stuck is Keiths half-baked sleepy unfinished Tell me straight. The rest of the album is not exactly bad, just pointless and bland. The production and the sound of Mick’s vocals is not great. Mick sounds like a vocal coach gymnastic over-pronouncing words over a bland middle of the road pop/ Stonsey-chord-progression. The idea of McCartney on a Stones album was exciting and the result is a disappointment. I honestly don’t understand the praise this gets on iorr. Is it because this may be the last album?

On the press conference already they said it won't be the last album, and that they were 3/4 finished with the next one.

Btw, Dreamy Skies, Driving Me Too Hard, Bite My Head Off, Get Close, Live By The Sword, Sweet Sounds Of Heaven and Rolling Stone Blues don't fit your description of the album at all, imo. Are you judging the album too harshly because of the (few) songs that are more slickly produced?

I hope they release more songs! I think my problem with the album is Mick’s vocals. I’m not sure why but maybe it’s the mix, his ”modern day” vocal style or the overall feeling of an overdubbed vocal track. I don’t know yet. The songs are what they are, I hoped for something better but they’re alright I guess. I really like Keiths chord progression on Tell me straight but it lacks something. Couldve developed into a modern classic.

just out of curiosity what do you think of the live version of ssoh vs the studio version

I like the studio version but probably more the idea of the song, the initial inspiration and method behind it. It doesnt really go anywhere. Then again some of the other songs do and to no prevail. I actually think Gaga is a great choice of a female singer on a Stones number. One of their greatest since the untouchable Clayton. I’ll give the live version and shot.

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Redhotcarpet

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Om

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DandelionPowderman

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Redhotcarpet
To me this album sounds like a Jagger solo-album with trademark Keith-licks forced into a couple of songs. The one number that really stuck is Keiths half-baked sleepy unfinished Tell me straight. The rest of the album is not exactly bad, just pointless and bland. The production and the sound of Mick’s vocals is not great. Mick sounds like a vocal coach gymnastic over-pronouncing words over a bland middle of the road pop/ Stonsey-chord-progression. The idea of McCartney on a Stones album was exciting and the result is a disappointment. I honestly don’t understand the praise this gets on iorr. Is it because this may be the last album?

On the press conference already they said it won't be the last album, and that they were 3/4 finished with the next one.

Btw, Dreamy Skies, Driving Me Too Hard, Bite My Head Off, Get Close, Live By The Sword, Sweet Sounds Of Heaven and Rolling Stone Blues don't fit your description of the album at all, imo. Are you judging the album too harshly because of the (few) songs that are more slickly produced?

I hope they release more songs! I think my problem with the album is Mick’s vocals. I’m not sure why but maybe it’s the mix, his ”modern day” vocal style or the overall feeling of an overdubbed vocal track. I don’t know yet. The songs are what they are, I hoped for something better but they’re alright I guess. I really like Keiths chord progression on Tell me straight but it lacks something. Couldve developed into a modern classic.

Mick's vocals are the best they've been for decades. He's in classic Jagger voice on this album. I don't think he's worked harder on his singing since the 70s.

HD is a great Rolling Stones album with great Jagger vocals. The entire album is great. Pity the critics here lost in their fantasy of being HD’s producer.
Not gonna happen, thank god.

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MKjan
HD is a great Rolling Stones album with great Jagger vocals. The entire album is great. Pity the critics here lost in their fantasy of being HD’s producer.
Not gonna happen, thank god.

I agree, great record, great producer.Mick was the driving force behind the album, but the album is so good because it is the result of a collaboration between Jagger and Richards, as they themselves have said.
This is from time is on our side website. [www.timeisonourside.com]:

ANGRY
I did the riff one day in Mustique and kept it simple, with a couple of interchangeable parts. Keith said, Very good, Mick. But if you make the chorus your verse and vice versa, it would be better. He was right.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Angry is classic Stones. As soon as we were running through it, I heard the bass part in my head and thought: that’s my bit, baby. It helps that Steve Jordan is an amazing person to play bass with.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

GET CLOSE
Keith and Andy Watt sent it to me when I was in Italy and I went: Like the groove, what on earth am I meant to do with it? Then we were in LA and the top line melody came really quickly.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DEPENDING ON YOU
Keith and me and Andy wanted to do a ballad, and I kept saying I’ve got these great ballads, let’s do this one! They go, Well, that’s not really good enough. - OK, here’s another one!… They said No, let’s write one from scratch.
- Mick Jagger, August 2023
Steve Jordan and I were fooling about on the rhythm when Mick picked up on it and turned it into a song. That’s how it happens sometimes. You can be sitting around in a room, picking away without thinking, when someone walks in and says: That is beautiful. And you thought you were just tuning up.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
Those guys are just super generous, and we wrote together. There was a day where Mick and Keith came to the studio and we all started playing this riff; and Keith started playing these changes, and that’s how Depending on You came. It was a natural thing. That’s why (the credit is) on some of those songs but not others..
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

WHOLE WIDE WORLD
There were so many magical moments, like Keith coming up with the riff for Whole Wide World. Mick’s demo was completely different, and Keith started playing this riff, and then Steve started playing along, and it was such a vibe. I was just like Mick, start singing your verse, and he says Where’s the verse? It didn’t make sense to him. So I said, Just sing that verse over this. He started singing along, and boom, it went to the chorus, and it was a joy. These guys were having a blast.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023
(I)n Whole Wide World... (Keith) shortened the verse I'd written. So instead of playing like 4 bars on every chord he made it into two bars in every chord, which made it more kind of funky.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Mick always wants to speed it up and push it. I want to take it easy. We reached a happy medium on this one and I think we got it right. There is a difference between having impetus and running over your own feet.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

DREAMY SKIES
That's the sound of a Stones record: a five-string with a six-string on top, and Ronnie. It always creates a beautiful blend. A great example is how it sounds with Ronnie's Dobro on Dreamy Skies. You always have to play around with the amps a bit, but guitars are amazing things. You can make an orchestra out of them with just a simple blend.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

MESS IT UP
Originally Mess It Up was more synth-oriented, but Keith wanted more guitars. It's a pop song, very light-hearted.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DRIVING ME TOO HARD
In the song Driving Me Too Hard we found this in some of the previous sessions but it wasn't finished. And so we kind of revived the riff and idea and then Keith and I finished it in the studio late in the day. So that was good fun doing it.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Keith forgot he came up with this until we went, Keith, this is really nice. We didn’t have a good take with Charlie on it so I suggested we redo the song at Henson in LA. It has a traditional Stones feel. People like that.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Mick and I finished off the song together in the Bahamas, sitting down on the floor with a piece of paper, and that old fashioned process brings a different flavour as well. Mick does a great vocal and I love the thick, droning sound on the guitars. It’s almost Irish.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
The last song written and finished for the record was Driving Me Too Hard. The lyrics weren’t finished. And Keith was like Oh, I’m going to go back to my house and get these lyrics done. And I threw it out: You guys are both right here. Why don’t you take a couple of hours and write it together? You know the deal, Jagger-Richards. So I sat with them just as a buffer, playing guitar, and those guys just bounced back and forth making each other crack up laughing, and they wrote these lyrics sitting next to each other, truly together. Mick sang it 30 minutes after that, and Keith did the backgrounds. It was so special to watch — like, folklore-level Jagger-Richards.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

TELL ME STRAIGHT
It’s a good Keith song. He sings it well, I warble away on the B section and play some acoustic guitar to hold it together, and it is one of those numbers where Keith gets the emotion right. Is the future all in the past? That’s a good line.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

SWEET SOUNDS OF HEAVEN
The sound and feel of gospel runs through almost everything we've ever done, but Mick and I never actually pinned it down in such a specific way. Sweet Sounds of Heaven started as more an Otis Redding-style soul music thing and evolved from there. Soul music and gospel are just a part of us, and at the right time it suddenly comes out. There was no sort of premeditated decision to do a gospel thing. Mick just had these lyrics, and then there it was. We worked it out while we were all in a room together, so it felt very organic. I don't think that song could've come together any other way. I was wondering about the false ending at the time. I didn't get it. But then I got into the flow of it, and I think it really works.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

ROLLING STONE BLUES
made the decision with Paul Lamalfa, my engineer, that we would record on tape, because there was no better way to capture the essence of the moment. The goal was to capture the magic of two musicians in a room. We aimed to re-create the vibe of Muddy's original recording, and if there were ever two guys who could do it, it was Keith and Mick.
- Andrew Watt, August-September 2023

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MKjan
HD is a great Rolling Stones album with great Jagger vocals. The entire album is great. Pity the critics here lost in their fantasy of being HD’s producer.
Not gonna happen, thank god.

I agree, great record, great producer.Mick was the driving force behind the album, but the album is so good because it is the result of a collaboration between Jagger and Richards, as they themselves have said.
This is from time is on our side website. [www.timeisonourside.com]:

ANGRY
I did the riff one day in Mustique and kept it simple, with a couple of interchangeable parts. Keith said, Very good, Mick. But if you make the chorus your verse and vice versa, it would be better. He was right.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Angry is classic Stones. As soon as we were running through it, I heard the bass part in my head and thought: that’s my bit, baby. It helps that Steve Jordan is an amazing person to play bass with.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

GET CLOSE
Keith and Andy Watt sent it to me when I was in Italy and I went: Like the groove, what on earth am I meant to do with it? Then we were in LA and the top line melody came really quickly.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DEPENDING ON YOU
Keith and me and Andy wanted to do a ballad, and I kept saying I’ve got these great ballads, let’s do this one! They go, Well, that’s not really good enough. - OK, here’s another one!… They said No, let’s write one from scratch.
- Mick Jagger, August 2023
Steve Jordan and I were fooling about on the rhythm when Mick picked up on it and turned it into a song. That’s how it happens sometimes. You can be sitting around in a room, picking away without thinking, when someone walks in and says: That is beautiful. And you thought you were just tuning up.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
Those guys are just super generous, and we wrote together. There was a day where Mick and Keith came to the studio and we all started playing this riff; and Keith started playing these changes, and that’s how Depending on You came. It was a natural thing. That’s why (the credit is) on some of those songs but not others..
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

WHOLE WIDE WORLD
There were so many magical moments, like Keith coming up with the riff for Whole Wide World. Mick’s demo was completely different, and Keith started playing this riff, and then Steve started playing along, and it was such a vibe. I was just like Mick, start singing your verse, and he says Where’s the verse? It didn’t make sense to him. So I said, Just sing that verse over this. He started singing along, and boom, it went to the chorus, and it was a joy. These guys were having a blast.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023
(I)n Whole Wide World... (Keith) shortened the verse I'd written. So instead of playing like 4 bars on every chord he made it into two bars in every chord, which made it more kind of funky.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Mick always wants to speed it up and push it. I want to take it easy. We reached a happy medium on this one and I think we got it right. There is a difference between having impetus and running over your own feet.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

DREAMY SKIES
That's the sound of a Stones record: a five-string with a six-string on top, and Ronnie. It always creates a beautiful blend. A great example is how it sounds with Ronnie's Dobro on Dreamy Skies. You always have to play around with the amps a bit, but guitars are amazing things. You can make an orchestra out of them with just a simple blend.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

MESS IT UP
Originally Mess It Up was more synth-oriented, but Keith wanted more guitars. It's a pop song, very light-hearted.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DRIVING ME TOO HARD
In the song Driving Me Too Hard we found this in some of the previous sessions but it wasn't finished. And so we kind of revived the riff and idea and then Keith and I finished it in the studio late in the day. So that was good fun doing it.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Keith forgot he came up with this until we went, Keith, this is really nice. We didn’t have a good take with Charlie on it so I suggested we redo the song at Henson in LA. It has a traditional Stones feel. People like that.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Mick and I finished off the song together in the Bahamas, sitting down on the floor with a piece of paper, and that old fashioned process brings a different flavour as well. Mick does a great vocal and I love the thick, droning sound on the guitars. It’s almost Irish.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
The last song written and finished for the record was Driving Me Too Hard. The lyrics weren’t finished. And Keith was like Oh, I’m going to go back to my house and get these lyrics done. And I threw it out: You guys are both right here. Why don’t you take a couple of hours and write it together? You know the deal, Jagger-Richards. So I sat with them just as a buffer, playing guitar, and those guys just bounced back and forth making each other crack up laughing, and they wrote these lyrics sitting next to each other, truly together. Mick sang it 30 minutes after that, and Keith did the backgrounds. It was so special to watch — like, folklore-level Jagger-Richards.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

TELL ME STRAIGHT
It’s a good Keith song. He sings it well, I warble away on the B section and play some acoustic guitar to hold it together, and it is one of those numbers where Keith gets the emotion right. Is the future all in the past? That’s a good line.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

SWEET SOUNDS OF HEAVEN
The sound and feel of gospel runs through almost everything we've ever done, but Mick and I never actually pinned it down in such a specific way. Sweet Sounds of Heaven started as more an Otis Redding-style soul music thing and evolved from there. Soul music and gospel are just a part of us, and at the right time it suddenly comes out. There was no sort of premeditated decision to do a gospel thing. Mick just had these lyrics, and then there it was. We worked it out while we were all in a room together, so it felt very organic. I don't think that song could've come together any other way. I was wondering about the false ending at the time. I didn't get it. But then I got into the flow of it, and I think it really works.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

ROLLING STONE BLUES
made the decision with Paul Lamalfa, my engineer, that we would record on tape, because there was no better way to capture the essence of the moment. The goal was to capture the magic of two musicians in a room. We aimed to re-create the vibe of Muddy's original recording, and if there were ever two guys who could do it, it was Keith and Mick.
- Andrew Watt, August-September 2023

Thanks for sharing this goingmad,

Quote
MKjan

Quote
goingmad

Quote
MKjan
HD is a great Rolling Stones album with great Jagger vocals. The entire album is great. Pity the critics here lost in their fantasy of being HD’s producer.
Not gonna happen, thank god.

I agree, great record, great producer.Mick was the driving force behind the album, but the album is so good because it is the result of a collaboration between Jagger and Richards, as they themselves have said.
This is from time is on our side website. [www.timeisonourside.com]:

ANGRY
I did the riff one day in Mustique and kept it simple, with a couple of interchangeable parts. Keith said, Very good, Mick. But if you make the chorus your verse and vice versa, it would be better. He was right.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Angry is classic Stones. As soon as we were running through it, I heard the bass part in my head and thought: that’s my bit, baby. It helps that Steve Jordan is an amazing person to play bass with.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

GET CLOSE
Keith and Andy Watt sent it to me when I was in Italy and I went: Like the groove, what on earth am I meant to do with it? Then we were in LA and the top line melody came really quickly.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DEPENDING ON YOU
Keith and me and Andy wanted to do a ballad, and I kept saying I’ve got these great ballads, let’s do this one! They go, Well, that’s not really good enough. - OK, here’s another one!… They said No, let’s write one from scratch.
- Mick Jagger, August 2023
Steve Jordan and I were fooling about on the rhythm when Mick picked up on it and turned it into a song. That’s how it happens sometimes. You can be sitting around in a room, picking away without thinking, when someone walks in and says: That is beautiful. And you thought you were just tuning up.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
Those guys are just super generous, and we wrote together. There was a day where Mick and Keith came to the studio and we all started playing this riff; and Keith started playing these changes, and that’s how Depending on You came. It was a natural thing. That’s why (the credit is) on some of those songs but not others..
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

WHOLE WIDE WORLD
There were so many magical moments, like Keith coming up with the riff for Whole Wide World. Mick’s demo was completely different, and Keith started playing this riff, and then Steve started playing along, and it was such a vibe. I was just like Mick, start singing your verse, and he says Where’s the verse? It didn’t make sense to him. So I said, Just sing that verse over this. He started singing along, and boom, it went to the chorus, and it was a joy. These guys were having a blast.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023
(I)n Whole Wide World... (Keith) shortened the verse I'd written. So instead of playing like 4 bars on every chord he made it into two bars in every chord, which made it more kind of funky.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Mick always wants to speed it up and push it. I want to take it easy. We reached a happy medium on this one and I think we got it right. There is a difference between having impetus and running over your own feet.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023

DREAMY SKIES
That's the sound of a Stones record: a five-string with a six-string on top, and Ronnie. It always creates a beautiful blend. A great example is how it sounds with Ronnie's Dobro on Dreamy Skies. You always have to play around with the amps a bit, but guitars are amazing things. You can make an orchestra out of them with just a simple blend.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

MESS IT UP
Originally Mess It Up was more synth-oriented, but Keith wanted more guitars. It's a pop song, very light-hearted.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

DRIVING ME TOO HARD
In the song Driving Me Too Hard we found this in some of the previous sessions but it wasn't finished. And so we kind of revived the riff and idea and then Keith and I finished it in the studio late in the day. So that was good fun doing it.
- Mick Jagger, September 2023
Keith forgot he came up with this until we went, Keith, this is really nice. We didn’t have a good take with Charlie on it so I suggested we redo the song at Henson in LA. It has a traditional Stones feel. People like that.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023
Mick and I finished off the song together in the Bahamas, sitting down on the floor with a piece of paper, and that old fashioned process brings a different flavour as well. Mick does a great vocal and I love the thick, droning sound on the guitars. It’s almost Irish.
- Keith Richards, c. August 2023
The last song written and finished for the record was Driving Me Too Hard. The lyrics weren’t finished. And Keith was like Oh, I’m going to go back to my house and get these lyrics done. And I threw it out: You guys are both right here. Why don’t you take a couple of hours and write it together? You know the deal, Jagger-Richards. So I sat with them just as a buffer, playing guitar, and those guys just bounced back and forth making each other crack up laughing, and they wrote these lyrics sitting next to each other, truly together. Mick sang it 30 minutes after that, and Keith did the backgrounds. It was so special to watch — like, folklore-level Jagger-Richards.
- Andrew Watt, September 2023

TELL ME STRAIGHT
It’s a good Keith song. He sings it well, I warble away on the B section and play some acoustic guitar to hold it together, and it is one of those numbers where Keith gets the emotion right. Is the future all in the past? That’s a good line.
- Mick Jagger, c. August 2023

SWEET SOUNDS OF HEAVEN
The sound and feel of gospel runs through almost everything we've ever done, but Mick and I never actually pinned it down in such a specific way. Sweet Sounds of Heaven started as more an Otis Redding-style soul music thing and evolved from there. Soul music and gospel are just a part of us, and at the right time it suddenly comes out. There was no sort of premeditated decision to do a gospel thing. Mick just had these lyrics, and then there it was. We worked it out while we were all in a room together, so it felt very organic. I don't think that song could've come together any other way. I was wondering about the false ending at the time. I didn't get it. But then I got into the flow of it, and I think it really works.
- Keith Richards, August-September 2023

ROLLING STONE BLUES
made the decision with Paul Lamalfa, my engineer, that we would record on tape, because there was no better way to capture the essence of the moment. The goal was to capture the magic of two musicians in a room. We aimed to re-create the vibe of Muddy's original recording, and if there were ever two guys who could do it, it was Keith and Mick.
- Andrew Watt, August-September 2023

Thanks for sharing this goingmad,

Yes.. thanks for this.

And thank you to Ian McPherson for gathering all this information

That is a fantastic information resource of how they melded together on this great, great record. I've been listening to it for a month now, via reviewer stream and then the. CD as soon a it was out, and like a lot of listeners on here, I find it gets better, stronger, deeper, tastier, with each serving.
I was a bit down on Mess It Up at first, but there's not been a song that hasn't come to the top and been going round my head all day when I'm out and about. Which suggests that rarest of creatures - an album full of keepers, no floaters. What a pleasure to be alive to hear this new Stones album, even if the rest of the world appears to be churning towards some ghastly oblivion.
Even my wife, who is very much a casual Stones listener, said to me while it was blasting away on the CD player in our little galley kitchen, 'what is this. It's really good!'
It's a shower, a grower and a keeper! Sorry to be so positive....

video: [youtu.be]

Photos from HD recording sessions I just found.

Yeah MadMetaphoricalMax, the best thing about this album for me is ... my favorite song has changed many times already, I may have gone thru all 12 as favorites, or close to it. For me, Some Girls is the last album that I had that experience with, i.e. where any track could be my fav!

When the riff for Get Close comes in, it's worth the admission price alone.

I’m really starting to like this thread!

How many copies HD has sold worldwide till now?Is it still in the charts?