Vinyl Reports

At this stage of the game, it’s safe to say that The Rolling Stones have no expectations professionally other than the simple joy of making music to please themselves, and perhaps their deepest fans. After October 2023’s hopeful (but, frankly, weak-sounding) Hackney Diamonds, I dove into their new Foreign Tongues 180g 2LP set armed with an open mind towards the music and wishes for improved sound. I’m happy to report that indeed this new Stones album — which was released last Friday, July 10, 2026, via Polydor — sounds much better than the last one, and the music itself is stronger still, resulting in an unexpectedly powerful new rocking effort.

Not that I didn’t like the music on Diamonds, mind you, but the SQ of that recording left much to be desired, receiving one of our rare, lower Sound ratings. (To see just how low, you can read that review here, which posted on October 24, 2023.) Fortunately, Foreign Tongues feels even stronger musically — and most importantly, it sounds modern while remaining true to The Rolling Stones’ legacy without taxing your ears!

Before we explore the songs, let’s try to trace the underlying DNA for this 2LP release. Curiously, Foreign Tongues seems to have been manufactured in several different facilities. I noticed that the green vinyl version that’s exclusive to indie record stores was manufactured in the Czech Republic (and probably at CZ). For this review, I found a black vinyl version tucked away in the racks at Amoeba Music in San Francsico, a version that was made in Mexico.

Given that another recent production from the UMe vinyl-verse was made at a relatively new facility there — The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights 2LP set that we reviewed here on May 21, 2026 — we think there is a good likelihood that some editions of Foreign Tongues like this one were made at Conectiv. This relatively new company was formed out of the roots of legendary media company Technicolor, with pressing plants located in Mexicali and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Almost all of the new tracks were produced by Andrew Watt (who also worked with The Stones on Hackney Diamonds), and most of them were mixed by Servan Ghenea at MixStar Studios, in Virginia Beach, California. The Tongues lacquers were mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey.

My 180g vinyl pressing for Foreign Tongues was generally dark black, but there was a little bit of clouding in some portions of the discs when you hold them up to the light, but that didn’t seem to impact playback. Generally, these two LPs have proven to be well-centered, and happily, all four sides play quietly, so I have no issues to report on that front — a good thing indeed!

I’m also happy that The Stones returned to using their classic yellow Rolling Stones Records label for this release — a not-so-subtle nod to the band’s vinyl heyday that carried on into the early 1980s.

Curiously, each of my Tongues LPs came in a standard white paper sleeve instead of inside the included, printed lyric-sheet inners. I’ve seen this approach taken in recent years with other vinyl releases, probably to keep the printed pouch from ripping during increasingly rough shipping scenarios — something I’ve also seen happen a lot! Given the price point on this release (more on that in a bit), it would have been a nice thing for us vinyl-lovin’ Stones fans if they had used the more desirable plastic-lined audiophile grade sleeves for this particular version of the new album.

I will give them deserved kudos for at least taking a logical step to avoid disc damage in transit, as fairly often, the tears would result in much paper dust floating around on the vinyl grooves, sometimes scratching the discs as they are removed from the sleeve and probably resulting in increased returns, something that no record company wants to endure. (AP editor Mike Mettler tells me that the 2LPs in the pink vinyl variant version he purchased [seen below] did indeed come in plastic-lined white inners. Whew!)

As I alluded to above, one thing you’ll likely notice about Foreign Tongues is that it is indeed a higher-priced 2LP set, and somewhat higher than other new 2LP releases that are out there. As noted, I bought my copy at Amoeba Music here in San Francisco, and with tax, it came out to just under $60. You should be able to find slightly lower-priced options elsewhere — such as via Music Direct, which offers the black vinyl 2LP set here for $49.99. As of this posting, MD also offers three of the five even-more-higher-priced Marvel variants (two of the five are already sold out on MD), any/all of which you can also order via the above link, and/or the MD link graphic ahead of the tracklisting section below.

And speaking of those variants, it would be madness to break down the SRPs for every single one of them as, last I checked, there at least 27 versions — but there may be more! If you poke around on the interwebs, you’ll find cross-promotional versions featuring unique cover art created in league with sporting organizations such as NASCAR and FIFA (seen above). There are also many color vinyl (and cover-art) variants for different retailers — as well as some notable cities, countries, and even neighborhoods! These include pink (Amazon, the above-noted version AP editor Mettler ordered), blood red splatter (Blood Records, UK), aqua (Target), blue (Cologne, Germany), silver (Germany), red (Carnaby Street, UK), and a clear vinyl version (U.S. only) that includes a new and exclusive Panini trading-card collectable, continuing The Rolling Stones Prizm series. (We’re showing as many variants throughout this review as we can, just so you can see what’s what.)

Perhaps most unusual — and quite intriguing! — are the five different editions of Foreign Tongues created jointly with Marvel Studios. Each of those LPs features custom cover art and a bonus comic book for five iconic Marvel superheroes: Thor, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. These special editions are accordingly more expensive with an SRP of $89.99 — but if you are a deep fan of the Marvel Universe and The Rolling Stones, you’ll figure out how to, as the saying goes, “collect ’em all!”

One sidenote here: the reason I used the word “intriguing” above is that, on the surface, there is no logical connection between The Rolling Stones and Marvel — at least nothing that has been announced as far as we can tell thus far. However, when listening to Foreign Tongues for the first time, “In The Stars” (LP1, Side A, Track 2) screamed out to me as an easy choice for a closing-credits theme for an upcoming Marvel superhero film to be determined. This is, of course, 100% pure speculation on my part (though AP editor Mettler agreed with the possible eventuality of my thought process here). If it does happen, just remember that you heard it here at AP first!

While we’re on that tune, it is worth mentioning the rather jaw-dropping official video for “In the Stars,” for which the band created their own (and most likely A.I.-driven) deepfake clip. Recreating the look and feel of 1971–72-era Stones, it is a pretty remarkable video that manages to be cool without being utterly creepy. See it for yourself below.

Like any great Stones album, Foreign Tongues sounds best played loudly, so when you put on the first track, “Rough and Twisted” (LP1, Side A, Track 1), you’ll effectively lift off with the band in the best possible way: raw rock riffs ripping righteously. Happily, the mix/mastering combination here allowed me to turn up the volume on this album quite a bit for extended periods without hurting my ears — something I couldn’t really do with Hackney Diamonds. This notion may be unique to the vinyl edition of the new album, mind you — a friend called me the other day complaining that, when he put the CD version of Tongues on his stereo (and without using headphones), it sounded harsh and muddy, especially as he turned up the volume.

I have no doubts that Foreign Tongues is a digital recording at its root, but all in all, the audio engineers have achieved a solid balance between today’s crisp, modern, streaming-forward production flavors while retaining much of the warmth of the instruments being played. At least, that is how it feels on the vinyl presentation — so, kudos to the disc-mastering engineers!

It’s also worth noting that The Stones are not hiding anything about how the album was made. In fact, if you watch the following YouTube trailer below, you’ll see the telltale computer screens displaying multitrack digital audio workstations right there at the mixing board.

I appreciated the generally uplifting vibe of Foreign Tongues, as this album offers both a sense of joy as well as a timely purpose. It’s great to hear The Stones addressing today’s societal issues, a harkening back to earlier Stones call-to-action story-songs like “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “Street Fighting Man.”

For example, “Divine Intervention” (LP1, Side B, Track 2) offers a voice against greed and authoritarianism, but perhaps the most poignant track is not a raging rocker but the acoustic, country-tinged “Ringing Hollow” (LP1, Side B, Track 3), a bittersweet love letter to a lost America, personified via a tarnished image of our beloved Statue of Liberty.

Some of the special guest appearances on Foreign Tongues are fun. I was happy to hear Paul McCartney’s bass on “Covered in You” (LP2, Side D, Track 1), which appears well-balanced in the mix just that extra bit more prominently so you can hear his melodic contributions. As a Beatles fanatic, this is particularly interesting for me, as I distinctly hear Macca there in The Stones universe, and his playing fits in just right for this tune.

Meanwhile, Steve Winwood’s keyboard parts are a tasty addition throughout much of the album. And while The Cure’s Robert Smith contributes nice touches of guitar and synthesizer along the way on the aforementioned “Divine Intervention” (LP1, Side B, Track 2) and “Never Want to Lose You” (LP2, Side C, Track 1), I was surprised to also read in the credits about the presence of Bruno Mars on the latter track — and playing cowbell, of all things!

Perhaps most significantly, Foreign Tongues includes one of the last tracks featuring The Stones’ late, great original drummer Charlie Watts on “Hit Me in the Head” (LP2, Side C, Track 2) in a track credited to being produced by Don Was. Watts’ presence is of course welcome, but it’s also interesting to note how seamless his playing fits in alongside longtime Stones adjunct drummer Steve Jordan — someone who has long been considered the ideal drummer to carry on the Stones’ rhythmic legacy, including by Watts himself!

All in all, I really like Foreign Tongues. Sure, it’s not another Exile on Main St., Sticky Fingers, or Some Girls, but this new album is a solid, respectable slab of fresh, remarkably vibrant Stones music that certainly grows on the listener with repeated plays. I’ll put it this way: I’ve had no problem flipping these four sides over numerous times already while writing this review, finding the music enjoyable and easy to like.

So, when it comes to the ratings, I’m happy to give Foreign Tongues a solid 9 for Music. Overall, it is also sounding quite good — and, again, it’s much better than Hackney Diamonds — so I’m happy to give Foreign Tongues a solid 8 for Sound. (AP editor Mettler tells me he actually slides his Music rating back a tick to an 8, but agrees with me that the Sound rates an 8. Overall, we do both agree that Tongues beats Diamonds across the board.)

After Paul McCartney’s recent, fine Boys of Dungeon Lane LP, which both Mettler and I reviewed together here alongside Ringo Starr’s new Long Long Road LP on June 5, 2026, the world needed a new album like this from The Rolling Stones. While it would be great to hear some of our other longstanding legacy artists step up to the plate with new music full of purpose and joy again, I hope that Foreign Tongues serves up some inspiration for younger players to break out their timely best as well. With about half the year left in 2026, time will tell — but for now, please go taste the wonder that is Foreign Tongues on vinyl.

THE ROLLING STONES
FOREIGN TONGUES
180g 2LP (Polydor)
MUSIC: 9
SOUND: 8

Produced by Andrew Watt
Engineered by Andrew Watt, Paul LaMalfa, Marco Sonzini
Most tracks mixed by Servan Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, California
Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, New Jersey
Recorded at Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles), Metropolis Studios, (London), Diamond Dust (Los Angeles), RAK Studios (London), Electric Lady Studios (New York)
Black vinyl edition pressed in Mexico (likely at Conectiv)
Color vinyl editions pressed in Czech Republic (likely at GZ)

LP1, Side A
1. Rough And Twisted
2. In The Stars
3. Jealous Lover

LP1, Side B
1. Mr. Charm
2. Divine Intervention
3. Ringing Hollow

LP2, Side C
1. Never Wanna Lose You
2. Hit Me In The Head
3. You Know I’m No Good
4. Some Of Us

LP2, Side D
1. Covered In You
2. Side Effects
3. Back In Your Life
4. Beautiful Delilah