With The Rolling Stones set to release Foreign Tongues on Friday, 11 July, there is no better time to revisit the five albums that shaped the band’s greatest creative era. From Beggars Banquet to Some Girls, these records defined modern rock music and remain the benchmark against which every new Stones release is measured.
by Paul Cashmere
The Rolling Stones return this Friday, 11 July, with the release of Foreign Tongues, adding another chapter to one of the most influential catalogues in rock history. Before the new album arrives, the band’s celebrated run of five landmark studio albums from 1968 through 1978 remains the essential roadmap for understanding why the Stones continue to occupy a unique place in popular music more than six decades after they formed.
The sequence of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main St. and Some Girls is frequently regarded as the group’s defining creative peak. Across those five releases, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and their collaborators transformed blues, country, gospel and rock and roll into a catalogue that has influenced generations of musicians. While every Stones fan has a personal favourite, these albums consistently appear at the centre of discussions about the band’s greatest work.
Beginning with 1968’s Beggars Banquet, the Rolling Stones abandoned their brief psychedelic detour and returned to the American blues and country influences that first inspired them. Recorded during a period of global political unrest, the album paired acoustic driven arrangements with provocative lyrical themes. It also became the final studio album completed with founding member Brian Jones.
Three songs define the record. “Sympathy For The Devil” reinvented the band’s public image with Mick Jagger narrating from Satan’s perspective over an infectious samba rhythm. “Street Fighting Man” became one of rock’s most enduring political songs, reflecting the turbulence of 1968 through abrasive acoustic guitars and confrontational lyrics. Closing track “Salt Of The Earth” revealed a more reflective side of the group, celebrating working people through a powerful gospel influenced finale.
Released a year later, Let It Bleed captured the uncertainty of the closing years of the 1960s. Issued shortly after Brian Jones’ death and in the shadow of the Altamont Free Concert, the album blended apocalyptic rock with country blues and gospel influences, creating one of the band’s darkest and most cinematic records.
Its defining moments remain among the most celebrated in rock history. “Gimme Shelter” channels the fear and anxiety of the Vietnam War era, elevated by Merry Clayton’s unforgettable guest vocal performance. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” closes the album with the London Bach Choir, delivering a bittersweet reflection on fading idealism. “Midnight Rambler” became one of the Stones’ signature live performances, combining blues, hard rock and shifting tempos in a dramatic narrative inspired by the Boston Strangler.
By 1971’s Sticky Fingers, the Rolling Stones had entered the new decade with renewed confidence. Introducing guitarist Mick Taylor and debuting the now iconic tongue and lips logo, the album balanced commercial appeal with musical ambition while exploring themes of addiction, heartbreak and excess.
“Brown Sugar” opened the record with one of Keith Richards’ defining guitar riffs and quickly became one of the band’s biggest hits. “Wild Horses” demonstrated the emotional depth often overlooked in the Stones’ catalogue through its country influenced arrangement and vulnerable lyric. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” expanded the band’s sound across seven minutes, evolving from a hard rock opener into an extended jazz influenced instrumental featuring an acclaimed saxophone performance.
Many critics consider Exile On Main St. the Rolling Stones’ crowning achievement. Recorded in the basement of a rented villa in the south of France while the band lived outside Britain for tax reasons, the double album embraced blues, soul, gospel, country and rock in a deliberately loose production style that initially divided opinion before becoming recognised as a classic.
“Tumbling Dice” provided the album’s commercial centrepiece, blending blues, gospel and rock into an irresistible groove. “Happy” offered one of Keith Richards’ rare lead vocal performances, delivering a burst of straightforward rock and roll energy. Opening track “Rocks Off” immediately established the album’s chaotic atmosphere with its dense mix, prominent horns and relentless momentum.
The final album in this celebrated run, 1978’s Some Girls, proved the Rolling Stones could still evolve as punk and disco challenged the dominance of established rock acts. Rather than resisting contemporary trends, the band incorporated them into an album that became their biggest selling release in the United States.
“Miss You” successfully fused disco rhythms with the Stones’ blues foundation, becoming a worldwide hit and demonstrating the band’s adaptability. “Beast Of Burden” remains one of their finest ballads, built around the interlocking guitar work of Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. “Shattered” captured the restless energy of New York City with its punk influenced pace and Mick Jagger’s rapid fire vocal delivery.
Whether Foreign Tongues joins this remarkable list remains to be seen, but the release offers an opportunity to revisit the extraordinary decade that cemented the Rolling Stones as one of rock music’s defining artists. Few bands have produced a sequence of albums with such lasting influence, and those five records continue to set the standard for every new Stones release.
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