Keith Richards suggested the Rolling Stones could release a new album in 2019, even though he refused to commit to that projected date.

The band hasn’t released any new music since recording two tracks for the 2012 compilation GRRR! and plans to record original material in 2016 were abandoned in favor of the covers LP Blue & Lonesome. Singer Mick Jagger recently said he’d been working on songs.

“Mick and I got together for a few days a month or so ago in the studio, just playing around,” Richards told Rolling Stone in a new interview. “Apart from that, there might be a session sometime in December, but I’m not crossing my fingers on that.”

He said the recent session "was great. We knocked out a few songs together with [producer] Don Was. We’re just working things through. We had a great time — got some nice stuff out of it.”

Asked if a release date for the record had been discussed, Richards replied, “Oh man, no. Like I say, early stages. I would say if I’m looking at it, we’re going to do this tour, so maybe this time next year, I would say. Maybe. That looks like a reasonable projection.”

The Stones recently announced U.S. dates for their No Filter tour, which Richards said he was looking forward to. “Give me 50,000 people and I feel right at home,” he said. “The whole band does. As Ronnie [Wood] and I often say before we go on, ‘Let’s get onstage and get some peace and quiet.’”

He predicted that, after rehearsals, the set would probably be different from earlier shows. “We’ll try different things out," he noted. "Mick sometimes has different ideas about staging for a certain number and you’ve got to figure things out.”

Asked about the difference in touring the U.S. today, as opposed to when they first visited, Richards recalled the Stones "used to do it in a station wagon. America was a very different place in the middle ’60s. Quite honestly, I can’t believe I’ve been around this long, man. I’ve watched this country grow up. I know it better than most Americans, because I’m older!” But he avoided a question about the nation’s current political environment, saying, “I’m not gonna get into it because it’s not worth talking about. We all know what’s what. God help you!”

 

 

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