After previously confirming guest appearances by former bassist Bill Wyman and Lady Gaga on their upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds, the Rolling Stones have revealed the additional presence of Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder on the Andrew Watt-produced project, which will be released Oct. 20 by Geffen. It’s the Stones’ first album of original music since 2005’s A Bigger Bang.
McCartney’s guest turn had been rumored for months, but it is now confirmed that he plays bass on “Bite My Head Off.” Elton John plays piano on “Get Close” and “Live by the Sword,” the latter of which features both Wyman and late Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. Meanwhile, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” boasts vocals from Gaga and keyboard and piano from Wonder.
The album closes with a Mick Jagger- and Keith Richards-only version of Muddy Waters’ “Rolling Stone Blues,” which inspired the band’s name more than 60 years ago but had never captured in a studio recording until now.
Hackney Diamonds was recorded at several studios, including New York’s Electric Lady, Los Angeles’ Henson Recording Studios, and Sanctuary Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and was finished in a flurry of activity between last Christmas and this Valentine’s Day. Watt, who Mick Jagger said “kicked us up the ass” in the studio, is credited as a co-writer on “Angry” as well as “Depending on You” and “Get Close.”
Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds tracklisting:
1. Angry
2. Get Close (feat. Elton John)
3. Depending on You
4. Bite My Head Off (feat. Paul McCartney)
5. Whole Wide World
6. Dreamy Skies
7. Mess It Up (feat. Charlie Watts)
8. Live by the Sword (feat. Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and Elton John)
9. Driving Me Too Hard
10. Tell Me Straight
11. Sweet Sound of Heaven (feat. Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder)
12. Rolling Stone Blues
