The Rolling Stones Hit #1 in 13 Countries with Latest Album, ‘Foreign Tongues’

The Rolling Stones second album this decade and second with producer Andrew Watt, ‘Foreign Tongues’ has been out for over a month now and has hit big - #1 in 13 countries but it hasn’t reached the summit in the U.S. where music fans seem to be distracted with pop, country, and hip-hop.  It displays not a deficiency in prime high quality material from the Stones, but how the U.S. has turned its back on rock and it’s enormous legacy of fantastic musicians. 

The Stones only have Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood as mainstays from the 1970s with drummer Charlie Watts having passed away some years ago.  But there was plenty more left in the tank for the longest running band in rock history stemming all the way back to the early 1960s. 

Though ‘Foreign Tongues’ didn’t have as big of a media rollout as their last album, ‘Hackney Diamonds’, they faired well critics and fans alike.  The Metacritic average for critics’ ratings is 75/100 which is pretty standard in an era where rock criticism is not as harsh, but the album is deserving and fans have said so with their wallets and streaming habits. 

None of the singles, “Rough and Twisted”, “In the Stars” or “Jealous Lover” charted but with Stones fans, they’re more likely to buy the album.  Unfortunately, fans won’t be hearing these songs as Keith Richards would not commit to a proposed European Tour later in the year.  So these may always remain songs never played if the band retires but perhaps a one-off show here or there may get some of these new tunes on stage in front of fans.