Maps of Music

Hackney Diamonds (2023)

Where the lyrics of Hackney Diamonds take you, and where it was really made.

The title is reportedly London slang for the shattered glass left behind after burglars smash a window to get in.

Key places

Where Watt first saw the band work (2023)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — The band invited Andrew Watt to see them perform at this studio in late 2022, before he took over the recording work. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Watt takes over the recording in Los Angeles (2023)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Andrew Watt took over recording for the album at this Los Angeles studio by November 2022. The point is placed at the city centre, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

A London studio named in the credits (2023)

Recording site Metropolis Studios — The album credits name Metropolis Studios in London for mastering work on the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Hackney Diamonds: the 24th British and 26th American studio album by the Rolling Stones
• Released 20 October 2023 on Polydor
• First album of original material by the band since 2005's A Bigger Bang
• Produced by Andrew Watt
• Guest contributions from Elton John, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and former bassist Bill Wyman
• Singles: 'Angry', 'Sweet Sounds of Heaven', 'Mess It Up'

Background

• First new album since drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021; Watts had played on some tracks in 2019
• Previous studio album: Blue & Lonesome (2016), a blues covers record
• Earlier sessions with Don Was began but stalled
• Keith Richards cited Mick Jagger's lack of enthusiasm for new music and his own arthritis as factors
• After the tour ended in August 2022, Jagger proposed 14 February 2023 as a due date for the album
• Richards credited Watts's death as the push to finish an album's worth of material

Recording

• In mid-2022 Paul McCartney suggested producer Andrew Watt to Ronnie Wood
• Principal recording took about four weeks, followed by two weeks of overdubs
• Jagger recorded his vocals separately, after the guitar work was finished
• Bill Wyman recorded with the band for the first time in 30 years, on Watt's recommendation
• Album includes 2019 sessions with Watts and the band's first work with drummer Steve Jordan
• A documentary crew filmed the process for the television special The Stones: Still Rolling

Cover

• Limited edition vinyl LP art: a mass of eyeballs and tongues
• Retailer-exclusive edition: a cracked diamond heart surrounded by red limbs

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1962 as an English rock band; their first stable line-up was Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.
• Jones named the band after a Muddy Waters song; they were rooted in blues and rock and roll.
• Manager Andrew Loog Oldham encouraged them to write their own songs, and the Jagger–Richards partnership became their main creative force.

Members

• Current: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood (joined 1975).
• Former: Brian Jones (died 1969), Mick Taylor (1969–1974), Bill Wyman (1962–1993), Charlie Watts (1963–2021, died 2021).
• Steve Jordan became their drummer after Watts' death.

Career

• Hits included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Paint It Black" (1966) and "Start Me Up" (1981).
• Their 1969 Hyde Park show and Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. are key points of their career.
• Formed Rolling Stones Records in 1970, whose tongue-and-lips logo became their band logo.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989; the band has sold more than 250 million albums.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 'generally favorable reviews', weighted average 78 out of 100 from 14 critic scores
• Classic Rock's Ian Fortnam rated the album 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave it 5 out of 5 stars, calling it 'a raucous and dirty modern rock classic'
• Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave it 4 out of 5 stars and credited Andrew Watt for the production
• Mark Beaumont of The Independent gave it 4 out of 5 stars
• Will Hodgkinson of The Times gave it 5 out of 5 stars
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars
• Pitchfork's Grayson Haver Currin gave it 4.5 out of 10, the one clearly negative review noted
• Exclaim!'s Daniel Sylvester gave it 7 out of 10

Reappraisal

• Several critics declared it the band's best album in decades
• Rolling Stone's David Browne called it an album worthy of multiple listens
• Variety called it the band's liveliest work in 40 years
• Guitar World praised the interplay between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood

Records

• Reached number one in 20 countries, including the UK, Austria, Australia, Greece, Argentina, the Netherlands and Germany
• The 14th Rolling Stones album to top the UK Albums Chart, in its first week and again on 22 December
• First Rolling Stones Christmas number one album
• Certified gold in several countries and platinum in Austria, France, and Germany
• Won Best Rock Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards
• Expanded live edition with seven tracks from the 19 October 2023 Racket show released 15 December 2023

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title is reported to be London slang for the broken glass left after burglars smash a window, with Hackney named as an inner-city area with a high crime rate
• Richards said the name refers to broken glass left in the morning after 'a good Saturday night that went bad'
• The album's track 'Rolling Stone Blues' is a Muddy Waters song that gave the band its name, and it was the only song from the album recorded to tape
• Darryl Jones was reported to have worked on the sessions but does not appear on the final album, the first studio album since Steel Wheels (1989) without his recorded contribution
• Fashion line by Paul Smith and retail stores in London and Tokyo were launched to promote the album
• For the 'Angry' video, actress Sydney Sweeney was driven through Los Angeles in a red convertible while the band sang to her from billboards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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