Fans of the legendary rock group The Rolling Stones have pointed to one song as the group’s “last great” effort.
The Mick Jagger-fronted group has been releasing music since 1963, and put out their most recent album, Hackney Diamonds, in 2023. Fans of the group believe they put out their “last great song” on their most recent release, the first album from the band released after the death of founding member Charlie Watts. Watts, who died in 2021, plays on two songs heard on the album, Mess It Up and Live By the Sword. One user even tipped the song Mess It Up as one of the “last great songs” from The Rolling Stones. A post to the r/RollingStones subreddit saw fans share their thoughts on what could be the group’s final songs of great quality.
One user asked: “What do you think the last great Rolling Stones song was? The last release where they were firing on all cylinders?” Though plenty of praise for Hackney Diamonds was found in the comments, the original poster suggested The Stones had not been releasing any music of “great” quality since 1983’s Undercover.
Their suggestion for the last great release from the group was Undercover of the Night, the lead track from their 1983 release. Others disagreed and suggested a few cuts from Hackney Diamonds were the best offerings The Rolling Stones had given fans in some time.
One user wrote: “I know I’ll probably be in the minority here, but Sweet Sounds of Heaven blew me away.” The Lady Gaga featuring track, which was released as Hackney Diamonds’ second single, clearly has more fans than first thought. One user wrote: “I agree, my appreciation for this song grows every time I hear it.
“I have to say that I also really love Angry. I know it’s a bit derivative of their own sound but it hits me in that spot that only The Stones can hit and haven’t since Tattoo You for me.”
Another agreed, adding: “Sweet Sounds of Heaven. Before that, you have to go a ways back. I’d probably go with Emotional Rescue from the album of the same name.
The remastered Goats Head Soup is so freaking good. It’s been my favourite Roling Stones album for a while now. The songs aren’t all overly played, which makes it great considering just how powerful it is. Maybe the last classic Rolling Stones album. I’d probably argue Some Girls…”
Many more fans praised Hackney Diamonds as not just an album which called back to their lory days but suggested the Jagger-fronted group still had some hits left in them.
A third user added: “There were a lot of good songs on Hackney Diamonds, but the last Rolling Stones song that really slaps is Rough Justice. (Listening to the rest of Bigger Bang is like eating your spinach because your dad told you to). From Hackney Diamonds, both Angry and Mess It Up come close.”
Another suggested a little more time is needed before labelling Hackney Diamonds a “great” piece of work. They wrote: “The new album has a couple of greats, but more time is needed for them to stand the test of time. I think Saint of Me was the last track that truly rose to the status of great.”
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In my opinion it’s a woeful record and cannot listen to it despite giving it a red hot try when it came out. I simply cannot stand Lady Gaga so a Stones duet is nothing short of a nightmare for me. The song that I do love it Depending On You, but after that (for me) it’s pretty slim pickings. Angry is a poor man’s Start Me Up. Not for me thanks.