The Rolling Stones – Jealous Lover Review

The Rolling Stones are not a rock band. That is the opinion of Mick Jagger, the frontman who feels the group has proven themselves in other genres long enough to rid themselves of the genre tag. That they have, and the latest song from the legendary rock band, Jealous Lover, is a sensational third track from the upcoming Foreign Tongues. What the band has achieved with Rough and Twisted and In the Stars is nothing short of miracle work. Jealous Lover vaults that extremely high bar set by the blues-rock tone Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood set themselves for Foreign Tongues. For the first time since the 1970s, the band sounds like they’re roaring back to life with an urgency absent on Hackney Diamonds and spotty at best on A Bigger Bang. If we base it on what Jealous Lover has in store for listeners, then the band are not just roaring through with rock-and-roll classics, but are masters of the slower groove, the sexier sound of a slower tempo and cool voice.  

Those howls of “yeah” at the start and the pitch would have you believe this is not Jagger. He sounds unrecognisable here, but in the best way possible. He’s a frontman who has maintained such a thrilling, strong vocal range, and he proves it here on Jealous Lover. It’s a real risk he takes but that bridge into his regular voice for the chorus is sensational. That’s what the song needs, too. It creates a conversation between a furious lover and a forgiving partner. Neither is in the right, but the flowery language Jagger presents this song, reliant as ever on Wood and Richards’ easy-going rhythm guitar work, is sensational. That “hands off” refrain is golden. It has all the sickness of jealousy but all the righteousness of a wronged lover. Steve Winwood makes all the difference here, a collaboration which has flown under the radar since Paul McCartney and Robert Smith are listed in the track credits elsewhere.  

While there is still a blues line throughout Jealous Lover, the focus is more on the satisfying romance, or rather the dissolution of such a relationship. Where Jagger could’ve sunk this song with his higher pitch, it works because he has worked hard to maintain his vocals for so many years. Jealous Lover hears the band is still willing to take risks that could backfire as embarrassing moments. It’s not the case here. In fact, Jealous Lover is a masterful occasion that reminds us just how effective the band can be when they’re pushed into new instrumental depths. Some vocoder work here, a bit of incredible guitar work that to Richards may as well be passive noodling, is the extra touch the song needs. It’s a richly developed song and Andrew Watt pulls the best out of the band once more.  

He has worked wonders with veteran songwriters because he is willing to, at certain points, let them rest on their recognisable style. But with McCartney’s As You Lie There, with its slow and haunting start booming into a Back in the U.S.S.R.-like rocker, and this latest song from The Rolling Stones, there is a sense of prodding these legends when and where Watt can to see what occurs. Here, it means Jagger giving a wholly new and wonderfully memorable vocal performance and making it the focus of the song. Richards, Wood, and Winwood still have much to do and make an incredible soundscape to prop Jagger up, but it feels like a one-off in spotlighting him rather than a trend for the rest of the album. You would be hard-pressed to find a band with a longevity like The Rolling Stones who, even now, are keen to experiment and take those major risks now expected of a new rock and roll generation.