The Rolling Stones have released the second single from their forthcoming Hackney Diamonds album: written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the seven minute 22 seconds-long Sweet Sounds of Heaven is a gospel-infused Stones' epic in the vein of You Can’t Always Get What You Want, and features guest cameos from Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder.
Lady Gaga's appearance on the song came about simply because she was recording at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles at the same time that the band were in residence with producer Andrew Watt (Iggy Pop/Ozzy Osbourne/Miley Cyrus) and asked if she could pop in to hear what they were working upon.
“She just walked in and curled up in a ball in front of me on the floor,” Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone. “And then someone gave her a mic, and she started singing oohs and ahs.”
“She was sitting there on the floor just digging it and singing along,” Ronnie Wood added, “and Mick said, ‘Well, come on in. Stand up. Let’s make a thing of this then. Let’s do it properly'.”
Listen to the song below:
Due on October 20 via Universal, Hackney Diamonds is the band's first album of original material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. The 12-track album was introduced by the single Angry, with a video starring US actress Sydney Sweeney.
It features Paul McCartney playing bass on Bite My Head Off, described as the album's 'punk' song, and Elton John playing on Get Close, and Live by the Sword, one of two tracks (the other being Mess It Up) to feature drums recorded by late Stones drummer Charlie Watts.
