Not "Foreign Tongues," But...

Tosh's commentary on the Rolling Stones

My favorite incarnation of the Rolling Stones is the Brian Jones/Andrew Loog Oldham era. I’m sure knowing Brian as a young child, and a bit when I was a teenager, has a lot to do with it, but from their first album to Let It Bleed, they couldn’t do anything wrong. When Brian tragically died and Andrew moved on, the Stones were OK, but not the same as the original lineup. It was different, that’s all. The Stones have always been a true band, and when someone in their world leaves or joins, it affects their chemistry. Each Stones era is a different medium, and after Brian/Andrew came Jimmy Miller and Mick Taylor, and then, for a long time now, the Ron Wood era. And they all had good songs, but not as perfect as the 1960s Rolling Stones.

The 60s Stones were an adventure to me. I think much of it has to do with Brian’s passion for adding exotic or unusual instruments to songs by Jagger and Richards. He contributed a great deal to the mix, and with him gone, the band’s adventurous spirit left. On the other hand, no one could outdo the Stones; they were the ultimate Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger is iconic and almost the last classic rock’n’ roll frontman. Much of it came from Elvis, but Elvis was unique; Jagger is not unique in that sense, but he’s the prototype of a rock star. Elvis can only be Elvis, but Mick can be the successful businessman, film actor, and intelligent figure, yet never shows that off. Of course, his physical powers in his eighties are something to behold.

The last Rolling Stones album I bought at the time of its release was Black and Blue. I had purchased all the Stones’ albums before that one, usually around the time they were originally released. But after owning and listening to Black and Blue, I decided that this was enough Rolling Stones for me. I hardly paid attention to the albums that followed Black and Blue until I heard the new album, Foreign Tongues. And I only wanted to hear it because it is consistently on my Instagram feed, and I am always a tad curious about what they are up to. Also, I love the album cover by Nathaniel Mary Quinn, who, for the first time in decades, made a proper Rolling Stones cover. My only criticism of the graphics/cover is that the band’s name and title should have been removed. Andrew Loog Oldham decided to omit the band’s name from their first album cover. Let the photograph’s image speak for the group and the album. And it could have easily been done for this album as well. Mick’s lips sell the Rolling Stones, so there is no need to put their name on the front of this album cover. Quinn’s art on the cover easily conveys it’s The Rolling Stones.

Listening to a new Rolling Stones album today bears little resemblance to how I first encountered their records. More likely, I heard individual songs on the radio, or during the height of the FM underground rock world, I could hear the entire album on the day of its release, or a few days before it came out. Now, things are pretty much instant in receiving the message. But hearing one song (the single off the album) and you are already a fan; there is an exciting series of moments when you go to the store, buy the album, and rush home, or to a friend’s house, to hear the whole thing. The intimacy of the early releases, and not really sure what the album, in full, will sound like.

The Stones used to surprise me the first time I heard them; now, even though it’s new, I feel I’ve been there and done that. And the music conveys those sensations to me. Still, if I set aside the expectations, both good and bad, and listen to Foreign Tongues for what it is rather than what I think it should be, the record has many pleasurable aspects.

The star of the album is Mick Jagger. I don’t know whether it’s due to his good health or some electronic wizardry, but his voice sounds fantastic. As he gets older, I think Mick is becoming the 21st-century version of Noel Coward. He’s not a genius in the manner of Bob Dylan or Ray Davies, but Jagger knows how to convey a world in a very articulate way. Some feel that the Stones, in general, are denying their age, but I don’t think that’s true. The character of the songs, and of Mick, tells a story or conveys a feeling about their various subjects. As he gets older, I think his lyrical writing improves, but what’s lacking in the contemporary Stones is an element of surprise. The chamber pop with rock overtones of Between the Buttons, the classic, as-it-happened sound of Aftermath, and their very much underrated Their Satanic Majesties Request all had great moments of unexpected sounds and styles. At the time, there was a band pushing itself into new avenues; much of it had to do with Oldham’s love of pop, but also with Brian Jones’ need to expand the canvas with new paints, and with the talents of Jack Nitzsche and Nicky Hopkins.

The Stones’ 60s era featured the pianist Hopkins, who brought his musical vocabulary to the studio, and Nitzsche, who, at the time, had the skills of a record producer and, even more important, was a great and inventive arranger. He was Phil Spector’s right-hand man in the recording studio. And then you add Brian’s genius for picking up an unusual instrument and taking the Jagger/Richards song to another dimension, plus Oldham’s taste for adventure and his ever-loving relationship with Phil Spector recordings, as well as those offshoots, Sonny & Cher and The Mamas and Papas. Very un-Stones-like, yet like a mad scientist, Oldham threw in touches of sonic experimentation and a vision for the band. He was not a purist like Keith Richards or Brian Jones’s love of the blues, but he saw them on a big canvas. Without Oldham or Brian Jones, Mick and Keith would be making smaller ink drawings on white paper.

Time has changed the Stones, as it has everything in the world, especially contemporary culture. If the new album is not as adventurous as the early works, it is because the culture surrounding music is a tad more conservative. Still, artists like the late Scott Walker and David Bowie seemed to move toward higher aesthetics, with risk-taking as thrilling as their music-making. The Stones don’t do that anymore, which is perfectly OK. The Stones are active in 2026, and Foreign Tongues reflects the times we live in, including a touch of politics in a few of the Stones’ current songs.

There are no stinkers on Foreign Tongues. Some are better than others, but every tune is catchy, well-produced, and performed very well by the band and their many guests. My criticism or unease is not really about the Stones but about the nature of our current culture, and I think their new album, in its magical way, conveys the sadness and disappointment of modern times. For art to advance, including my writing, one needs to take risks and step out of that comfort zone. Foreign Tongues is very much covered comfortably, much like the Peanuts character Linus van Pelt with his security blanket. The Rolling Stones’ presence is a monument of sound and vision unique to them. Almost every band with two guitarists and a lead singer is a prototype created by Mick and Keith, yet they can’t remove themselves, either by choice or design, from that concept. That’s not bad, but as artists I greatly respect, they should go beyond my expectations. And I guess I’m always searching for a sound or image that will expand my consciousness or taste.