The last great Rolling Stones song is on their new album, Hackney Diamonds. 

Maybe it’s just their last “pretty good” song; it’s honestly hard to tell. The Stones exist in rarefied air, their every move somehow a reflection of and a reflection on everything they’ve done before. That’s not a big problem when they’re leading a stadium full of rich boomers through an hour-and-change of their deep catalog of hits. It’s more of a challenge when they deign to release something “new.” 

Everything surrounding this record tends to obscure the music itself, and being as they’re the Rolling fucking Stones, maybe they don’t require or even deserve anyone’s thoughts on anything they do anymore. It’s like trying to come to terms with a new Gospel or something. 

And I’m enjoying this album for what it is to me—a late-era swing through some recurring Stones tropes, delivered with unexpected energy and commitment. The album ends with a one-two-three punch of noteworthy moments—Keith Richards’ lone lead vocal contribution, a gospel-tinged rave-up featuring Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder, and Mick Jagger and Richards sharing a mic for what’s probably the last time in the studio, on a cover of Muddy Waters’ “Rolling Stone Blues.” 

“Driving Me Too Hard” is the tune before those three, and that’s the one where the rubber really seems to hit the road; the best moments on Hackney Diamonds exist independent of expectations, when the band is doing what they do better than anyone on the planet ever has or ever will. They’re being The Rolling Stones, which to me means a steamy brew of rock, soul, gospel, R&B and pop, one that sounds casual and detached but reveals hidden depths of feeling. 

“Tumbling Dice” is the easiest comparison to make here, and it has a similar melancholy swing, but it’s not a song asking for anything, and there’s not much glamour in the romance it sketches out. “Every time I give a little bit/You muscle in and take it all,” Jagger sings, resigned and a little tired. “You’ve emptied my eyes” is a beautiful image of emotional depletion that recurs in the chorus. 

There are good songs on Hackney Diamonds but right now I’m hearing more moments than anything else—tunes that hold my attention as a fan just long enough for me to get to an alchemy that pulls me in completely. An incredible chorus here, a smoky sax solo there. 

“Driving Me Too Hard” is the Stones firing on all cylinders one last time, in a way that’s both tossed-off and completely committed. Mick’s vocal is incredible and Keith’s harmony vocal is pushed right up next to his on the pre-choruses. The guitars seize down around a white-blues riff, piano colors in the emotional nuances in the background, and three old white British dudes make better music than anyone ever expected they could in the year of our lord 2023.