The whole truth about Mick Jagger's 'autotune' in the new song by The Rolling Stones

One of the classic rocker's worst nightmares has just occurred. The demon for this type of follower, the autotune, stars in the new song of the Rolling Stones, the band that best and for longer has personalized the precepts of rock and roll. This is what several specialists say, such as the Spanish producer and guitarist José Nortes, responsible for recordings of Coque Malla, Quique González, Miguel Ríos or Ariel Rot. "You hear it clearly at 30 seconds, when Mick Jagger starts singing, 'It hasn't rained in a month, the river's run dry.'

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The Rolling Stones presented last Wednesday Angry (Angry, in the Spanish translation), the first song of their new work, Hackney Diamonds, which is published on October 20. The album ends 18 years without an album with new songs. The last was 2005's A Bigger Bang. In 2016 they released Blue & Lonesome, but without original tracks: only covers of blues musicians. As soon as Angry was announced at a press conference hosted by Jimmy Fallon, comments began to emerge about whether Jagger's voice was treated with autotune. In the active forum specialized in acoustics of the sound engineer Steve Hoffman (who has worked on albums of Beach Boys, Alice Cooper or Deep Purple) the debate immediately arose. "I have no problem with autotune when used to correct one or two notes. But that sticking it throughout the song simply takes life away from the performance. Jagger sounds like an impression of himself generated by artificial intelligence," one user said.

Autotune was born in 1996 as a tool to correct small tuning problems. In 1998, Cher revolutionized everything with the song Believe by speeding up the autotune and giving her voice a robotic sound. He was no longer a tuner, but just another instrument. Today it seems essential in the context of urban music, with the Puerto Rican Bad Bunny at the head. But not only: indie musicians like James Blake or Bon Iver or pop artists like The Weeknd have also used it.

There are different intensities within the use of autotune, and Angry may go unnoticed by many listeners not accustomed to recording techniques. The question is: Does Jagger resort to the tool to solve some vocal mismatch or does he do it because he likes the sound? José Nortes answers: "It is made, without a doubt, to give it a current patina. What happens is that it is not exaggerated, as it can be in reggaeton songs. Jagger may have used it to correct something, as all singers do. In what situations? Imagine you have an amazing vowel take, but there's a glitch in one syllable. Then you correct it with autotune. But I think Jagger never used autotune in a premeditated way to make his voice sound like he does in Angry."

The sound of Andrew Watt, the producer

The key name in this matter is Andrew Watt, the producer of the song and the entire album, which consists of 12 tracks. Watt's contribution to the sound of the song is so relevant that he even signs the piece with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Watt, a 32-year-old New Yorker, is one of the producers of the moment, responsible for works for rappers such as Post Malone or pop stars such as Dua Lipa or Miley Cyrus, and also recruited by veterans such as Ozzy Osbourne or Iggy Pop, to whom he has produced his latest works. "Watt is one of the few people who combines rock with current sounds. He is the inventor of autotune rock", jokes Nortes, who approves the intervention of the producer in Angry: "I like the song. There are people with little talent turning to autotune, but using it creatively, as is the case, is a very interesting tool."

Alejo Stivel, Tequila singer and producer, joins the debate: "My impression is that Jagger's voice in Angry has many effects. But for me the possible controversy is irrelevant. If there is creativity and talent, the same is the devices you use. Technology is there to be used at the service of talent; The problem is when it is used and there is no talent. In any case, everyone uses the tuner, even the best singers." Regardless of the treatment of the voice, what Stivel, a great specialist in the English band, does not like very much is the song: "Angry is not going to enter my top 100 Stones songs. I think after 18 years without a record they could have done better. And Angry is supposed to be the single, the best thing on the record... It's certainly not Start Me Up." The English newspaper The Guardian scores the subject with a four out of five and speaks of "bold solos and creative hunger"; and The New York Times considers it to have a "forceful and muscular pace."

However, some fans miss some hallmarks of the band. In particular, the start of the piece has squeaked them, with a sound of metallic drums away from the swing hit of Charlie Watts. Steve Jordan has replaced Watts since the legendary Stones drummer's passing in August 2021. The list of guest stars in Hackney Diamonds is appealing: Paul McCartney plays bass on one track, Stevie Wonder keyboards on the other, Elton John takes care of the piano on a couple of pieces and Lady Gaga sings (we don't know without autotune) on Sweet Sounds of Heaven. In addition, two exstones also contribute: Bill Wyman, who left the band in 1993, presses his bass on a track, and Watts' drum touch is recovered in two pieces.

Andrew Watt (first from right), producer of the Rolling Stones' 'Angry', playing guitar with Iggy Pop, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer) and Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses bassist). It was last April 22 in San Francisco. Tim Mosenfelder (Getty Images)

The Rolling Stones' preoccupation with using advanced technology has always been one of their hallmarks during their six-decade career. In the early days it was Brian Jones the specialist in looking for new sonorities, either incorporating strange effects in his guitar or introducing instruments such as the zither or the harp, nothing usual in rock. Over the years it has been Jagger who has been most interested in sounding modern. When the disco fever arrived, at the end of the seventies, he signed up with Miss You, today a great classic; on the album Undercover plays with dance (Too Much Blood); also the vocalist was the instigator to contact fashion producers, such as Steve Lillywhite, Dust Brothers or Don Was. The counterweight to this modern eagerness of Jagger has always been put by Richards, who calls these producers as "the pushers". Nortes: "Angry looks like it's basically a Jagger theme. In fact, it would fit into one of his solo albums. He lets Richards do the opening riff and he's already happy."

One of the best moments of the press conference of the presentation of Angry was when Jimmy Fallon wanted to talk about the lyrics of the song, written by Jagger. Then, Richards jumped: "If the lyrics are the same, what you have to look at is the guitar riff." And he drew one of his fox smiles.