The Rolling Stones have confirmed they’re working on a new, blues-inspired album for release this year.
« We’re actually in the studio in the moment cutting new stuff, » Keith Richards told BBC 6 Music.
Guitarist Ronnie Wood added that the band recently « cut 11 songs in two days. Just ‘bang’ – like that. »
« It was a surprise to us. We didn’t intend doing it, » he told Matt Everitt. « I wish I could play them to you now. I’m so excited about them. »
The sessions have included new material and a series of blues covers, including songs by Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf.
« They sound so authentic it’s frightening, » said Wood.
« We didn’t spend any time rehearsing them or anything. We just picked a song that suited Mick’s harmonica or a guitar riff… and they worked out pretty good.
« It was like, ‘this is what the Stones do, we play blues. »
« It’s sounding really good, » added Mick Jagger. « We did one session before Christmas. We’ll probably do more. »
The Rolling Stones haven’t released a studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, although they wrote two new songs for the 2012 compilation record Grrrr!