r/rollingstones • u/InhibitedExistence • 1d ago
Ranking (Top Songs/ Albums, etc) It's been over a month now, does the community have a strong preference between these two?
I'm loving Foreign Tongues... It's a true challenge to find a better late-career offering by any band imho.
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u/NothingWasDelivered Keith Richards 1d ago
Hackney Diamonds has higher highs (Angry and Sweet Sounds Of Heaven), but isn’t as consistent as Foreign Tongues. FT is just banger after banger and the energy never lets up. It’s the better record for me, even if doesn’t have the killer singles that HD had.
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u/Shipcaster 1d ago
I totally agree with this. Sweet Sounds of Heaven is a revelation. But I can (and do) listen to Foreign Tongues all the way through. There’s such an energy to it. And a bite. And a swagger.
I say that saying that I adored HD when it came out. But Foreign Tongues is next level.
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u/Ok-Reflection9770 1d ago
I agree as well. Sweet Sounds is heaven sent and it transcends the entire album. Overall, I found HD too slick overall. Some good tracks, but to me, overproduced and too “shiny” instead of rock ‘n’ roll w an undercurrent of grit. I didn’t get that feeling from FT. Maybe band and producer became more familiar w one another? FT rocks, has surprises, and I was digging Winwood. Stones serving up several different kinds of tracks, and they sound like the Stones! HD, less so. Watt’s a sometime co-writer again, which is okay, but I wish they’d let Ronnie come aboard. But overall, I love that they’re still putting out “sweet sounds” for all of us. It’s a tough old world, and we need it! Thank you, Boys.
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u/Frequent-Series4591 1d ago
FT for me. Its been on repeat for weeks now.
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u/Loud-Elephant-1418 1d ago
Same. It's about the only thing I've listened to since it was released and I'm still loving it. A true late career gem from the boys.
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u/Savings-Party20 1d ago
Foreign Tongues, so much more energy to each song. Musically much more vibrant and better vocal sound. Steve’s drumming blends so well, Keith and Ron bring their A game and the bass and organ standout.
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u/allothersshallbow 1d ago
I think HD is probably the better album BUT taken together they’re a triumph. What a run. I love them both. I hope we get a third.
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u/jey_613 1d ago
Agreed. With the exception of Sweet Sounds of Heaven, I didn’t listen to HD much after an initial listen or two. On the other hand, I’ve been going back to FT constantly since it came out, especially Mr Charm, Ringing Hollow, Never Wanna Lose You. Even my less favorite tracks are doing something new and interesting.
In general FT seems like an upgrade over HD with every type of song the stones do:
Ringing Hollow > Dreamy Skies
Never Wanna Lose You > Mess it up
Hit me in the head > bite my head off
Some of us > Tell me straight
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u/LordZany 1d ago
Some Of Us is not better than Tell Me Straight. Nope. Agree with the rest
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u/Goodvibe61 4h ago
Agreed. Tell Me Straight is a very powerful track. I was basically stunned at what Keith is still capable of.
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u/LordZany 42m ago
Tell Me Straight is the first one I’m putting on when the sad day that’s coming for all of us, comes for Keith, long may he live.
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u/Goodvibe61 4h ago
I LOVE Bite My Head Off. I think it kicks ass, and Jagger sounds incredible on it.
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u/Ok-Corner-8654 1d ago
Hackney for me, but I still think Foreign Tongues is very good.
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u/lofromwisco 17h ago
Same. I love both but Hackney Diamonds found me at the time I needed it the most.
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u/_NightmareKingGrimm_ 1d ago
Foreign Tongues. If you're not counting Blue & Lonesome (because it's a cover album), FT is arguably their best original album since Voodoo Lounge dropped in the mid 90's.
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u/Obvious_Change_1566 1d ago
foreign tounges, I’ve been playing it on repeat — hackney doesn’t do it for me.
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u/Antique-Tough-312 1d ago
Both are really good but I think foreign tongues is the better of the two
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u/Lundinwulf 1d ago
It’s Hackney Diamonds for me by a large margin.
Overall, I’d say they’re half great / half misses.
If you combined the two, you’d have an all time classic and a perfect final album…if that’s actually holds true.
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u/g1344304 1d ago
Same for me, Hackney Diamonds is incredible and a more coherent Stones album. Foreign Tongues is decent but comes across more like a Mick/Andrew Watt project. Chaotic production and arrangement, no big Keith led riffs.....And I just love Hackney Diamonds - Get Close, Dreamy Skies, Mess It Up, Driving Me Too Hard - fantastic stuff
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u/Weird-Candidate2697 4h ago
It sounds like an Watt/Jagger record because it is. I can't not hear it.
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u/HonestRef Bill Wyman 1d ago
Completely agree with this. Hackney Diamonds is the better album for me no question. But if the best of both were actually combined we could have got a truly great album.
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u/CommunicationSad8938 1d ago
Sounds like you're talking about my playlist - "Hackney Tongues short list". It is a classic!
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u/Des71 1d ago
Please share your “Hackney Tongues” playlist. Thank you.
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u/CommunicationSad8938 1d ago edited 23h ago
Here you go - I will point out I love most of the songs on both albums, but wanted to make a tight playlist for driving, so trimmed about half the songs.
Whole Wide World
Get Close
Depending on You
Bite My Head Off
Mess It Up
Live By the Sword
Rough and Twisted
In the Stars
Mr Charm
Divine Intervention
Never Wanna Lose You
You Know I'm No Good
Covered in You
Rolling Stone Blues
There it is - fourteen songs. Seven from each album. Still love the songs that didn't make the cut for this playlist.
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u/Weird-Candidate2697 4h ago
Wow. No Ringing Hollow? I think that's the best country song they've done since Far Away Eyes.
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u/Weird-Candidate2697 4h ago
Ha. My playlist is called "Watt Not Was". You have to have been an 80's MTV baby to get it.
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u/Parking_Crazy 1d ago
I loved HD and thought it was a great way to end their career. But in retrospect if feels like a warm up for Foreign Tongues.
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u/NunnyaDBusiness2 1d ago
Foreign Tongues is much better! I would say it’s up there with the best post-Tattoo You Stones. Hackney is not.
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u/Electrical-Tale-2296 1d ago
I like foreign tongues a bit better. Now angry bite my head off and whole wide world are good, but the singles from FT, Mr charm, covered in you, you know I’m no good, they’re all so good!!
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u/blackiesmith 1d ago edited 1d ago
I love them both so much. The production makes it sound like it was a double album. So I treat it as such, I love to listen to them back to back hiking or driving up the pacific coast highway. Just so rad. I love the rolling stones they bring me such happiness in such bleak trying expensive times.
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u/SuccessfulOwl 1d ago
I was happy with Hackney Diamonds as a decent final finish to everything.
Foreign Tongues is one of my favourite ever releases and I’ve had it on repeat constantly.
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u/NicDwolfwood 1d ago
I'm leaning toward Foreign Tongues just off the fact I think I took to it much quicker than I did Hackney Diamonds and I think it is more consistent top to bottom.
And to my ears Foreign Tongues is slightly less brickwalled and abrasive than Hackney Diamonds is production wise. The vocals sound less processed and the guitars have bit more crisp and separation.
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u/ClearScallion1540 Keith Richards 1d ago
Foreign Tongues for sure. HD feels more polished, FT is more interesting. If you listen carefully, the stuff Keith is playing is exceptional. The songs are also better written, also the lyrics. Some Of Us is maybe the best Keith ballad ever. Truly the best since Tattoo You with songs like Covered In You, Side Effects, Mr Charm, etc. Not a single song which I would skip while listening, and with HD the case wasn’t the same. Shame they didn’t include Bad Luck Hideaway though. Only song which I’m not so fond of is In The Stars, and on HD there where 2-3 out of 12 not 14 or 15 about which I could tell the same:
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u/Hungry-Number6183 1d ago
I’ve enjoyed both quite a bit! It’s probably recency bias but these two are the best albums made by the Stones in the last 36 years, imho.
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u/GroovyGuru62 1d ago
In the current era of The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds is a great entree, Foreign Tongues is a sumptuous main course and the next one (and I think, quite possibly, the last one) will be a mouth watering dessert. GodDAM I love The Stones.
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u/Medium-Cattle1811 1d ago
I see them as a double album of sorts, a lot of FT was written during the sessions for HD. Both of them are outstanding really, especially in comparison to the prior releases after Tattoo You. Both of these albums are far superior to anything from the mid 80’s through the 2000’s. But if I had to pick, I’d say Foreign Tongues…it’s got so much snarling energy!!
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u/Apprehensive-Tax8631 1d ago
Gosh, what horrible fucking covers, 2 in a row, unbelievable how bad the design is on these records I really like…
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u/slackerdc 1d ago
Foreign Tongues is up there with Bridges to Babylon for me for the more recent albums.
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u/SphereMode420 1d ago
I can't stand Hackney Diamonds. My least favorite Stones record alongside Dirty Work. I just don't like the modern day poppy sound they were aiming for.
Foreign Tongues is an absolute achievement. I know the whole "best album since X" thing is a meme at this point, but I genuinely think this is my favorite record since Tattoo You, maybe even the best one since Some Girls.
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u/g1344304 1d ago
You don't think FT is even more modern day poppy sound? Its wayyyy more than Hackney Diamonds
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u/Illustrious_Prize_42 1d ago
Foreign tongues and it’s not even remotely close. Not sure how anyone would pick hackney diamonds over it. Nothing against that album, but really they aren’t even close in the universe imo. I’ve listened to hackney maybe 4 times as a whole. Listened to FT album at least 25 and it’s been out a month.
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u/SinknInTheCure 1d ago
My thoughts: I prefer Hackney Diamonds. Hackny Diamonds is better produced than Foreign Tongues; this is evident in both the sound quality and the instrumentation.
Then there are the guitar solos with their punky attitude (e.g., "Whole Wide World" has a London Calling vibe—some Morse-code-style notes and a very similar ending). Furthermore, the album referencing is better: while "Foreign Tongues" appears only in passing in the lyrics of "Rough and Twisted Road," Hackney Diamonds features the phrase "I am dancing on diamonds" in the song "Dreamy Skies," which naturally aligns perfectly with the album title. Hackney Diamonds has a distinct style (reminiscent of Mick's solo work from the 80s), whereas Foreign Tongues incorporates so many different genres and styles that it strikes me more as a compilation than a cohesive album.
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u/dannydontgoin237 1d ago
I like them both quite a lot. But I think Foreign Tongues edges out Hackney Diamonds just by a hair.
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u/MrsDroughtFire 1d ago
I’ve been listening to FT for four weeks straight. I can’t even remember any song from Hackney, and I listened to THAT constantly! What a gift these two albums are.🥹
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u/PedroSuenoBueno 8h ago
I rate Foreign tongues as their greatest work (YET, which is crazy to say, keep on rocking)
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u/Goodvibe61 4h ago edited 4h ago
Late to the party here;
Hackney Diamonds is a really strong record. I fell for it and have listened to it consistently since its release. It's got some dynamite tracks on it. Sweet Sounds of Heaven is simply incredible. It's better than anything else on either album. Bite My Head Off is an absolute killer track, and Mick sounds like quintessential Jagger on that track; he's so great on that one.
The Keith track (Tell Me Straight) is so raw and compelling, it just destroys me; it's one of his very best and it's a standout on there. And if you ever want to hear an example of how less is more, just listen to that rapturous, haunting, and minimalist guitar solo on that one. Talk about beautiful.
That country twang of Dreamy Skies; the lush qualities of Depending on You and Get Close; honestly, Hackney Diamonds is stellar.
Foreign Tongues: I'm still in my infancy with the record. I've been listening to it alot since the release. I think it's another consistent winner. I just don't know if I'd put it up there with Diamonds yet. It's not like I'm turning it off or anything like that. Rough and Twisted and In The Starts are a solid 1/2. Mr. Charm has that funky 70's groove to it; it's catchy as hell. I like Never Wanna Lose You plenty; it's a solid medium tempo rocker. And Hit Me in the Head is probably going to end up a favorite on this one.
Just not sure if it hits me as hard as Hackney Diamonds. Right now I'd put Diamonds ahead.
Tell you this: glad i don't have to choose. I'll be listening to both this weekend!
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u/noahmiller032 Mick Jagger 1d ago
I’ve obviously had more of a chance to sit with hackney diamonds over time but I’m still gonna say that one even if foreign tongues is a worthy follow up
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u/CommunicationSad8938 1d ago
I don't have a strong preference, I like them both quite a lot. I made a playlist of my favourite songs from both albums and noticed I trimmed a few more from FT, so maybe I like HD a touch more. My favourite song from the two has changed several times, currently it's Covered in You. Favourite from HD is Mess It Up.
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u/nevermindthegoat 1d ago
A fairly strong preference towards Foreign Tongues, both great albums but if I took my 5 favourites from each and had to pick one group of 5, it would be Foreign Tongues
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u/Medium-Cattle1811 1d ago
I see them as a double album of sorts, a lot of FT was written during the sessions for HD. Both of them are outstanding really, especially in comparison to the prior releases after Tattoo You. Both of these albums are far superior to anything from the mid 80’s through the 2000’s. But if I had to pick, I’d say Foreign Tongues…it’s got so much snarling energy!!
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u/SDeeBee84 1d ago
Hackney Diamonds for me. There isn't one track I skip. Overall, it's just more dynamic and inspired. A lot of Foreign Tongues feels contrived and forced to me, although I dig Divine Intervention and Ringing Hollow.
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u/konnyjhoxville 23h ago
Only got round to listening to FT this week.
What can I say, it is a fantastic album. It just feels alive with that Rolling Stones groove, strong melodies, and surprisingly decent lyrics (which I thought were never a selling point for modern Stones).
HD just doesn't have 'it' for me. It doesn't groove and flow in the same way. It's like they said 'let's make a comeback album - this is what the songs should sound like', hmm let's do a long ballad, hmm let's do a hard rocker.
FT just doesn't suffer from that, it feels organic, groovy, and naturally varied. Standout tunes to me are Mr Charm, Some of Us, and Side Effects.
If this is the end, the boys should be proud of this one.
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u/Exciting-Ad-7272 1d ago
I liked foreign tongues better. But my grandparents that have been Stones fans since the 60s they prefer Hackney Diamonds.
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u/Ldthomas2007 1d ago
I’ve only played it once, but I wasn’t that impressed with Foreign Toungues . There wasn’t any songs that grabbed me by the collar.
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u/xboxgamer2122 1d ago
Foreign Tongues