Rock legends The Rolling Stones have announced and shared the track ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’, a collaboration with Lady Gaga that features on The Rolling Stones’ upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds. The song not only includes Lady Gaga but also 80’s soul legend Stevie Wonder, performing the piano, Fender Rhodes and Moog.
The star-studded gospel-inspired track is set to be featured on The Rolling Stones’ upcoming album Hackney Diamonds, which is the band’s first full-length release of new material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Stevie Wonder had already been confirmed to be on the album, however Lady Gaga’s appearance, whilst heavily rumored, had never been confirmed. This new track follows the release of the previous single, ‘Angry’.
Talking to Zane Lowe for an interview on Apple Music 1, Mick Jagger discussed the collaboration with Lady Gaga on the track, as he said: “We did it live in the room, and that was a great experience, her just coming in the room and her just opening up and seeing her bits and feeling her way and then getting more confident. And then we came back and then did some extra parts that we hadn’t done on the day and then we did some tidying up and we were just in the overdub room, really face-to-face, getting them really tight, the parts really tight, and then being slightly competitive and screaming.”
Talking about Lady Gaga, Jagger also added: “She’s a really great singer and I’d never heard her sing quite that style before”. The song’s sessions also included legendary musician Stevie Wonder, who toured with the Stones in 1972.
Mick Jagger also spoke about playing with Wonder in the interview, as he said: “It’s all played live. And of course, we did overdubs, but it’s all played in the room. Yeah, there’s that moment, especially in that session where we had Stevie, and you’re feeling your way out a little bit and then you do that soul ending, which is you do sometimes on stage where you stop and you start.”
It seems it was the idea of producer Andrew Watt to have Stevie Wonder on the album. A self-confessed fan who even has a Stevie Wonder tattoo, Watt pushed the band to think about the collaboration, he said: “How cool, as a fan, for Stevie Wonder to be playing on a Rolling Stones song?”
The album will also feature original drummer Charlie Watts on two tracks. The drummer unfortunately passed away in 2021 but the band were able to use some of the drum tracks he laid down before his death.
The upcoming album Hackney Diamonds releases on October 20th and will be available on CD, Vinyl and on all major music streaming platforms.
