Emily Crawford

Will ‘Hackney Diamond’ and ‘Rockstar’ be the ice breakers? 

The Rolling Stones and Dolly Parton have been beloved household names for many decades, but are their new albums worth the listen? 

Since the Stones and Parton kicked off their careers in the 1960s, the performers were known for vastly different music genres, with Parton dominating the country scene and the Stones forming the path of rock.  

As far as The Stones’ new album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ is concerned, it seems like this group wants to ‘Never Stop’ making new music. 

For their first album in 18 years, these new tracks breathe new life and old experience into the music genre.  

It took the band only ten months to make the new release, all thanks to their new producer Andrew Watt.  

What is the new album about, you might ask? The ‘world’s greatest rock and roll band’ wants to show their anger and disgust, while also being “eclectic” and having “a few love songs,” according to Mick Jagger. 

The Stones go back to their roots with the name of the album, as it refers to cockney slang; meaning “when you get your windscreen broken” during a robbery, and when “all the [glass] goes on the street,” said Jagger in an interview with Jimmy Fallon.   

The single for the album ‘Angry’ is unapologetically old fashioned with a gnarly guitar solo. The Guardian echoed its praises, saying it told “[a] tale of alternating desperation and resignation”. The Telegraph said the track was the band’s “best single in four decades, an absolute blast [with] extravagant, leering defiance”. 

‘The Sweet Sounds of Heaven’ is a track featuring Lady Gaga herself. The beautiful duet between Jagger and Gaga feels like a tribute to the hit ‘Gimme Shelter’, which opened the 1969 album ‘Let it Bleed’. The older song features the American singer Merry Clayton.  

Even though Steve Jordan is on drums for ten out of 12 songs, the tracks ‘Mess it up’ and ‘Live by the Sword’ were recorded with the band’s original drummer; Charlie Watts back in 2019 before his demise.  

What about the band’s feud with Paul McCartney? Apart from Macca playing the guitar on one of the new songs ‘Bite My Head Off’, The Stones finished off the album with a track called ‘Rolling Stone Blues’. What is the point of proving a hate comment wrong when you can make a hit out of it, right? In the words of Ronnie Wood: “When you’ve got it, flaunt it”.  

Moving onto the woman of the moment Dolly Parton, her new album is jam-packed with all our favourite rockstars of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.  

In May 2022, the country singer was nominated into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. 

At the time, she turned down the prestigious nomination because “even though [she is] extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, [she doesn’t] feel that [she has] earned that right”; Parton stated in an interview with US Magazine. 

Come November 2022, she accepts the induction and performs in the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles to promote her new album.  

Dolly Parton starts off with the track ‘Rockstar’ which gives dialogue of a young girl preaching her dream of “being in rock and roll” despite her parents’ wishes; as said in the song. The energetic tune reflects Parton’s style perfectly, with guttural guitar riffs and operatic backing vocals. 

Instead of writing every song on the album, she decided to cover some much-loved rock favourites with the original artists themselves.  

From ‘Heart of Glass’ with Debbie Harry, to the dialogue between her and Joan Jett in ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You’, Parton leaves no stone unturned in this album. 

She also covered ‘Free Bird’ with Lynyrd Skynyrd in a glorious ten minutes and 45 seconds.  

We also cannot forget about Stephen Tyler, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and a bunch of other names I promise I am not pulling out of a hat.  

Yes, that also includes the unexpected cover of ‘Wrecking Ball’ with Miley Cyrus.  

So, the real question – Should you go out and buy these albums? 

Yes. 

Yes, you should.