Rolling Stones Confirm ‘Hackney Diamonds’ Guest Stars
The Rolling Stones have revealed more details about their upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds.
In a new interview with The New York Times, the band members spoke about the making of the LP and confirmed its guest stars: Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga and Elton John.
McCartney added bass to a track called "Bite My Head Off"; Wonder and Gaga contributed keyboards and vocals, respectively, to "Sweet Sounds of Heaven"; and John played piano on "Live by the Sword," which also features original Stones bassist Bill Wyman.
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According to the band, Hackney Diamonds, their first album of all original material since 2005, came together swiftly. "We do like four or five takes. 'OK,' and we move on," Mick Jagger explained.
"So no one had time to really think, 'Well, was this a good song? Should we be doing this song?' Because I get introspective, you know. Is this song as good as the other one? Is this song like another one I've done? You can figure that out later. Let's keep moving."
"We worked fast, but that was the idea," Keith Richards added. "I'm still recovering."
New Rolling Stones Producer Andrew Watt
The Rolling Stones worked with producer Andrew Watt for the first time on Hackney Diamonds. Watts' recent work includes albums by Eddie Vedder, Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop.
"I wanted it to sound huge," said Watt, who set up the band in the studio like they were onstage. "Because they are larger than life. They're the [expletive] Stones. When you listen to this album you should picture the Stones playing in a stadium, because that's what they are."
Hackney Diamonds will be released on Oct. 20, but Jagger hinted that there's more to come. "I don't think it's the last Rolling Stones album," he said. "We've got almost three-quarters through the next one."