It was a gas, gas, gas in a club on Manhattan’s West Side late on Thursday, where the Rolling Stones held a private launch party for their first new album in 18 years. The Stones ripped through a half-dozen songs for the hundreds at Racket NYC in front of a celebrity-strewn crowd that included Chris Rock, Daniel Craig, Trevor Noah, Elvis Costello, and Christie Brinkley.
The set opened with Shattered, a song about a grimier New York than the clean-cut city the band still calls home and continued with the turbocharged newcomer “Bite My Head Off” and the classics Tumbling Dice and Jumping Jack Flash. But the Stones saved their showstopper for the inevitable encore — the muscular gospel-blues standout “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven,” which features guest vocalist Lady Gaga.
Dressed in a shimmering, red, and black sequined jumpsuit that gave her petite frame a lift and towering platform shoes to match, the Just Dance singer commanded the spotlight as she sang along with Jagger on the new track. “It’s a little different to sing it onstage, but I thought we’d give it a shot,” she said. “And it’s fun.”
But this wasn’t a concert for the faint of heart. Jagger was pristine and made no concessions to age or frailty as he strolled around the small stage with unbridled energy. He even recited the lyrics to a new song about West Side rats and uptown bed bugs without glancing at the teleprompter.
And though the 78-year-old Stones were still getting ready to announce their next tour, this night’s performance confirmed that they still have the stuff. The band sounded like the powerhouse force it has always been, despite concerns that they had lost their edge after last year’s Sixty tour got off to a rocky start.
It was also the Stones’ first show since founding drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021. The group regrouped for the aptly named Hackney Diamonds, their 23rd original studio album that dropped Friday and has garnered some of their best reviews in decades.
Jagger and Richards were a tight, spirited unit, and the band’s core trio of bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan were at their best. And then there was Gaga, who swooned in her suit and gave her duet with Jagger an unforgettable jolt.
The world’s most enduring rock band rarely gets a high-profile supporter of this caliber. Gaga, featured on the new song “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven,” has forged a unique path in modern music, combining pop, punk, electronic, and experimental genres with her distinctive style. It’s a sound resonating with millions, including the Rolling Stones, who have sold over a quarter of a billion albums worldwide. The band is on a roll with a resurgent tour, and the release of Hackney Diamonds, their first set of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. But the party’s most important guest, New York, is still to come.
