Having already announced Echo & The Bunnymen as the openers for their Liverpool show as part of their 6oth anniversary tour, this new announcement only piles on to the excitement. The performance on June 25^th will be supported by The War On Drugs, Phoebe Bridgers, Kelly McGrath, Vista Kicks and JJ Rosa, and the July 3^rd show will be supported by Sam Fender, Courtney Barnett, The Flints, The Dinner Party and blues guitarist and singer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

For this tour, The Rolling Stones have made a necessary line-up alteration in light of the recent passing of drummer Charlie Watts. Veteran drummer Steve Jordan, who has previously performed with the likes of Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton and the John Mayer trio will perform in Watts’ stead on this tour. Jordan previously joined the Stones on their US tour last year when Watts initially stepped down from the role.

As we’ve already hammered home, the openers for these Hyde Park performances are enough to get any indie rock fan doing cartwheels. There’s a lot to discuss with the recent activity of these bands and artists, but to cover the basics; The War on Drugs released their fantastic fifth album I Don’t Live Here Anymore last year in late October, receiving widespread critical acclaim. You can check out the title track down below.

Indie sensation Phoebe Bridgers has been busy with several projects since the release of her emotionally stirring 2020 sophomore album Punisher, including a contribution to The Metallica Blacklist with a cover of “Nothing Else Matters” and an appearance on Taylor Swift’s re-recorded second album Red (Taylor’s Version) on “Nothing New”. Most recently, Bridgers released a new song entitled “Sidelines” which you can listen to below.

Sam Fender, as anyone and everyone might know by now, has been making waves with his stunning 2021 debut Seventeen Going Under, and Courtney Barnett recently released her third studio album Things Take Time, Take Time in November of last year, to largely favourable reception from critics and fans alike. You can listen to the title track from Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under, and “Rae Street” from Courtney Barnett’s Things Take Time, Take Time down
below.

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Goats Head Soup 2020 is out now – link in bio! This classic album has been restored to its full glory with a new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files. Featuring three previously unheard tracks – ‘Criss Cross’, ‘Scarlet’, ft. Jimmy Page and ‘All The Rage’ – plus demos, outtakes, live performances and more! The album is available across multiple formats, including expansive 4LP & 4CD boxsets, limited edition clear vinyl and even cassette tape. #therollingstones #goatsheadsoup2020 #experiencegoatsheadsoup #outnow

A post shared by The Rolling Stones (@therollingstones) on Sep 3, 2020 at 11:25pm PDT

Goats Head Soup is the sound of a band in transition. It is nowhere near as rocky as its predecessors Exile on Main Street and Beggars Banquet. Mick Jagger said of it: ‘I feel really close to this album… The tracks are much more varied than the last one. I didn’t want it to be just a bunch of rock songs’.

Lead single Angie and the soulful song Winter take the form of ballads. Atlantic Records wasn’t very happy with the Stones for picking Angie as the lead single, apparently wanting something more rock and roll like Brown Sugar.

But in the end, it was a wise decision. It didn’t take long for Angie to reach number one in the U.S. Billboards and the song is still considered one of the band’s best. The decision to feature piano and that distinctive violin refrain over a strong electric guitar lick epitomises the Stones’ experimental nature and desire to fuse genres.

The album was recorded in Jamaica ‘because it was one of the ‘few places that would let [them] all in’ due to the band’s status as tax exiles. Jamaica excited Jagger particularly, who enjoyed the ‘multi-ethnic environment’. There were ‘not only Jamaicans’ involved in the making of the album but also ‘percussion players who came from places like Guyana’.

The ‘unheard’ tracks Scarlet, All The Rage and Criss Cross are found on disc two and unfortunately are not quite up to the mark. The genesis of Scarlet is more interesting than the song itself: it was recorded when the Stones walked in to Ronnie Wood’s studio at the end of a Zeppelin session and Jimmy Page decided to stay and jam.

Despite the talent on the track, it is undeserving of the two remixes it gets on the new 2020 reissue (one by The War on Drugs and the other by The Killers & Jacques Lu Cont). The recently released video for the track featured actor Paul Mescal and felt random and outdated.

It is also interesting to reassess songs like Star Star in the aftermath of the Me Too movement. The song, which caused controversy even at the time, is about a “Groupie” and contains extremely explicit lyrics. Though the track opens with a strong Chuck-Berry-Esque guitar lick, it leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth in light of recent scandals such as the Bowie and Lori Mattix affair.

Heartbreaker, however, is about police brutality in the USA and is obviously particularly poignant at the moment. The track’s build-up, brass section and rollicking rhythm make it one of the Stones’ best and most politically relevant songs to date.

The instrumental versions of Heartbreaker and Dancing With Mr D are definitely the highlights of the reissue. Each brings to light the Stones’ undeniable mastery of instrumentation and arrangement.