A surplus of songs from the Foreign Tongues sessions is a chance for The Rolling Stones to peddle yet another vinyl variant. As if those World Cup versions weren’t enough. The wheels of capitalism are greased by four extra songs, with Bad Luck Hideaway tucked in there too, though available to listen to on most streaming services already. Who You Callin’ Crazy?, then, is technically the kick-off point of this extras package. Foreign Tongues shot The Rolling Stones back into a crazed popularity they haven’t experienced in some time. Part of that is because the work Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, and Keith Richards provided on their latest studio album is their best in decades. Not a high bar to leap when you have albums like Voodoo Lounge and Hackney Diamonds in there, but all the same a fantastic experience with what makes The Rolling Stones a still relevant listening experience. More of the Foreign Tongues period comes with Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips, a neat little play up on the title that makes you think reserving some songs for another vinyl release was all part of the plan.
Whatever Jagger and The Stones had planned for the long-running release cycle, it’s clear that they were in good form when recording. Extra songs to showcase this is no bad deal, not least when they’re of a quality like Who You Callin’ Crazy?, a song worth getting rabid over. A touch mellower than the other instrumental workings found on Foreign Tongues, but that’s what heavy saxophone introductions will do to a song. It has the spirit of what Jagger and the band fashioned out on the likes of Mr. Charm and Rough and Twisted, but with a softer touch, a slowed tempo that feels more like a jam session than anything else. But that’s a wonderful standard to set with three legends in the studio. Wood and Richards manage to pull together a drifting, bluesy style that defined much of the best parts of Foreign Tongues. Who You Callin’ Crazy? doesn’t quite fit the fleshed-out Foreign Tongues project but this is some of Jagger’s better writings of recent times.
Tucked away on an extended release is the right place for Who You Callin’ Crazy?, though that doesn’t mean it’s not better than a few of the songs Foreign Tongues coughed up. We can read into Jagger’s lyrics just a little, before a saxophone break where he says he needs to slow down but that the body is going to save him. He’s not got it in him to slow down. How can he? Pushing for a tour, still writing and suggesting there’s enough songs in the can for another album by The Rolling Stones. There’s a soft, autobiographical theme running through Who you Callin’ Crazy?, this idea that Jagger is crazy for continuing on with the same energy and spirit as he had when he first formed the band. He still sounds as good; his vocal range remains staggering. He’s one of the few musicians out there to maintain that standard, a timeless voice still plugging away with songs like this.
Beyond those softer instrumental charms and the suggestion from Jagger that he’ll never slow down, there’s a few references to gothic romance near the start of the song that play well with the crazed sense Jagger is riffing on. A touch lighter than the heavier blues rock of Foreign Tongues but it’s nice to hear the band are still prodding at other genres, seeing if it can move them in the same way as the themes that affected their best albums. A playful bit of fun from The Rolling Stones is what Who You Callin’ Crazy? offers. It has that same earnestness and tongue-in-cheek charm that features on the best of the band’s work. Far from an all-time classic but a catchy piece of songwriting nonetheless. The Rolling Stones don’t often deliver light delights, but the start of their Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips period offers just that.
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