Confirmed: New Rolling Stones Blues Album Coming

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Update (October 4): The Stones have offered the briefest of snippets of music from their upcoming album.

The Rolling Stones – Coming October 6 (Part 2)COMING OCTOBER 6

Posted by The Rolling Stones on Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Our original story, published on October 1…

We reported a full six months ago that The Rolling Stones were “hinting” at a new studio album, which would be their first since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Since then numerous rumors have been floated that the album, if it even existed, would mark a return to the group’s blues roots.

Say “ahh.” The Rolling Stones posted this billboard on their Facebook page on October 2 with the comment “Coming October 6,” referring presumably to the album’s formal announcement

Now comes confirmation from producer Don Was: There will be a new, blues-based album from the Rolling Stones, and it will be out in December. Was told the French magazine Le Figaro, in an interview: “The album consists of covers of blues songs of Chicago. It was recorded live in the studio in just three days, with the musicians in a circle around the microphones. There was no retouching on the pieces. Means the battery of Charlie Watts through the microphone of Mick Jagger. The record sounds very crude, very authentic. It captures the essence of what they are.”

Jagger tweeted yesterday (September 30) that the band was “rehearsing something new.”

Rehearsing something new pic.twitter.com/Jf16IubZdy

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) September 30, 2016

Most tellingly, the Stones’ iconic red tongue logo on their homepage has suddenly turned blue.

In our initial report last spring on the rumored sessions, we quoted Keith Richards telling the BBC, “We’re actually in the studio in the moment cutting new stuff.” At that time, Ron Wood also noted, “We went in to cut some new songs, which we did. But we got on a blues streak. We cut 11 blues in two days. They are extremely great cover versions of Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter, among other blues people. But they really sound authentic,” he reports. “When we heard them back after not hearing them for a couple of months, we were, ‘Who’s that? It’s you,’ It sounded so authentic.”

Also confirmed is that Eric Clapton appears as a guest on the record. Was told the French publication, “He was recording his own album in the studio next door. He had only to cross the hall to join! Hearing them play in the studio, he had also gasped. He was still a teenager when he saw them in the clubs of Richmond in their infancy, as a fan. He borrowed one of Keith’s guitars and started playing two songs. It was exceptional enough to see.” As of now there is no title or track information.

Best Classic Bands will update this story as more details emerge.

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