The Rolling Stones release two new singles, including Robert Smith collaboration ‘Divine Intervention’
The Rolling Stones have shared two new singles, titled ‘Jealous Lover’ and ‘Divine Intervention’.
While the release of the pair of songs, which both appear on their new album Foreign Tongues, should be treated as two A-sides rather than an A and a B, only ‘Jealous Lover’ has been given the video treatment, which is exclusive to Amazon Music, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton.
On the track, Jagger continues to defy ageing by delivering a falsetto that few men in their 80s could dream of singing. Steve Winwood also contributes to the feel-good track, as does Andrew Watt, who produced Foreign Tongues.
Meanwhile, ‘Divine Intervention’ is a more tradional, gritty, rock ‘n’ roll number with a big old chorus to match, as Jagger sings, “Divine intervention is out of the question, I’m gonna dance in the flames, Cos’ divine intervention is out of the question.”
Although Smith doesn’t sing lead vocals on the track, his touches on the guitar are unmistakable on ‘Divine Intervention’ and sprinkle a layer of black magic to the song.
Remarkably, The Cure frontman had never met The Rolling Stones before the collaboration, which was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
He found himself at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick at the same time as the classic rock legends, and one thing quickly led to another. Jagger explained last month, “I turned up one day to do my vocals in London and there’s this bloke standing there with his back to me with his long gown on, and when he turned around he was covered in lipstick.”
The Rolling Stones frontman then took it upon himself to make the first move, which he duly did in a way that only Jagger could, adding, “I’ve never met him before, and I said, ‘You are Robert Smith of The Cure.’ And he said, he said, ‘Yeah, we’ve never met.’”
Despite the somewhat awkward start to their conversation, that didn’t stop Jagger from getting Smith to work, sharing, “And then I said, ‘Well, while you’re here then you’d better go and do something.’ That’s how collaborations work sometimes. Go out and sing the backing vocal.”
In addition to giving the world two new songs today (June 25th), The Rolling Stones also released the first episode of their podcast, Speaking in Tongues, which provides the inside story of their new album, Foreign Tongues, set for release on July 10th.
In the first of six episodes, the band reflected on the loss of Charlie Watts, explained how they grew close to producer Andrew Watt, and shared the lowdown on the early stages of Foreign Tongues.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.