Rob’s Album of The Week: The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds

A few people already know this, but the first legit live concert I ever saw was the Rolling Stones at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut back in 2005. I had graduated high school that year and my mom had gotten us tickets to see them as part of their tour in support of the album A Bigger Bang, which also came out that year. I’ll never forget seeing my all-time favorite band at that period of my life put on quite a spectacle and ever since Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the crew will always have a special place in my memories. With this being said, it’s fairly obvious that I had to write about their latest full-length release Hackney Diamonds that came out via Polydor Records on October 20. As with any recent record by a legendary act, the reactions have been polarizing, but I really enjoyed listening to this one.

Before I go any further, it needs to be mentioned that this was the last album to feature founding drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away back in 2021. It also should be mentioned that it features the return of founding bassist Bill Wyman along with an assortment of other established artists. There’s a case to be made that it’s one of the most collaborative albums the Rolling Stones have ever done. Even co-producer Andrew Watt helped write a few of the songs, which I find to be astounding due to the fact that the…