Fifty years in, and has there ever been so much excitement over a Rolling Stones tour?

First came rumors, starting months ago, that the Stones would be touring this year to celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band, a notion later squashed by Keith Richards, who said they’re “just not ready” and that 2013 is more likely. Then came reports from “Stones insiders” that Richards’ health may sideline the Stones from a proper anniversary tour, their first since A Bigger Bang tour ended in 2007.

Fast forward to this weekend, when UK’s the Sunday Mirror reported that the Stones would headline Glastonbury – England’s biggest music festival – in 2013, and would retire after that. The Guardian quickly shut down those rumors with a word from Stones management, who said neither is true.

Now Richards has spoken, again, to Rolling Stone about the matter, saying that the Stones are still considering a concert or two this year. More importantly, they’re still figuring out touring options for 2013 – a matter they plan to discuss when they reconvene in London in July. “I’d like to get a couple of shows down and see how it goes,” Richards said. “But I’d love it.”

One thing is certain: Last month in New Jersey, the band reconvened for a week of rehearsals for the first time in several years. “We played everything, really,” Richards said of the rehearsal. “We’re just getting our chops together. It was like playing in the garage, a maintenance check, you know?”

But will the jam session lead to the band’s first album since 2005′s A Bigger Bang? “We’re going to talk about that in July and see,” Richards said. “I mean, I’d love to get some tracks down and see what songs we’ve got. And that goes along with part of getting the band back together and getting things moving. So I’d love to cut some tracks, yeah.”

And we already know guitarist Ronnie Wood is up for hitting the recording studio, seeing as he got in trouble for saying as much back in April.

- Jillian Mapes, CBS Local