Compared to the Rolling Stones' stunning five decade career, 10 years doesn't seem like all that much time. For a band that formed a before the Civil Rights Act, the gap between the last two Rolling Stones records could be inconsequential. But, think of all that has changed since 2005 when the band released A Bigger Bang. We now carry around tiny touch screen computers which can stream basically any music ever released from anywhere that has an internet connection (which is also pretty much everywhere). The CD is dead. Hell, even downloading MP3s is being replaced by Spotify and Apple Music. Vinyl is back.

For people of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards's age, the world is a scary and backward place. For people even of their grandkid's ages, the world is scary and backwards.

It's within that context that the Rolling Stones will be releasing their first album in more than a decade later this year. On December 2, the band will release Blue & Lonesome, a 12-track album of classic blues songs, including Howlin' Wolf's "Commit a Crime," Little Walter's "I Gotta Go," and Jimmy Reed's "Little Rain." The album also features Eric Clapton as a guest on Rolling Stones' covers of Little Johnny Taylor's "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing" and Otis Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby."

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It's an album, recorded over a speedy three days, that looks back on the band's early blues influences—which helped shape rock music as we know it. But for as much as the album's material looks back, its release is in a totally different world. Just think, the band teased the album by tweeting brief YouTube videos of recording sessions. Twitter didn't exist when the Rolling Stones released their last album, the same year that YouTube was founded. Now both social platforms are integral parts of the promotion and distribution of music.

"We went in to cut some new songs, which we did," Ron Wood said of the album's creation. "But we got on a blues streak. We cut 11 blues in two days. They are extremely great cover versions of Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, among other blues people. But they really sound authentic. ... When we heard them back after not hearing them for a couple of months, we were, 'Who's that? It's you,' It sounded so authentic."

The band also shared a snippet of their cover of Little Walter's "Just Your Fool", which you can hear above.

From: Esquire US