Stones Studio Sessions Will be ‘Difficult’ Without Charlie Watts
Mick Jagger recalled Charlie Watts' final studio sessions with the Rolling Stones before his death and said the band would find it a challenge to record without the drummer.
Watts laid down tracks to accompany unfinished earlier pieces, which will appear on the extended edition of Tattoo You later this month. In a recent interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Jagger explained that the band had also worked on other musical ideas.
"Without Charlie being there, it's going to be very difficult," the singer said. "And we've got tracks, which obviously have Charlie on them. But if we do new things, we won’t."
Jagger added: "I did some stuff with him in the studio very recently, while we were doing the Tattoo You things. … Charlie did some work on just a few fills and stuff like that. And then we started messing around, we did some other things."
He continued: "It's just so weird and then very sad. It's such a long time that you work with someone like that, and you get to know someone so well and their quirks and their idiosyncrasies, and they know yours. And there's a language in communication with musicians. ... After all this length of time, you have this ease of communication, so to speak. ... I miss that so much."
Jagger argued that it was the right decision to tour without Watts, saying it demonstrated the band's "resilience in the face of adversity." He went on: "We've had ups and downs, mostly ups, to be honest. But we've had adversity, and this was probably one of the most difficult ones. … And after doing the first couple of shows, I think I feel really good about it. I'm glad we're doing it. I know Charlie wanted us to do it.
The singer admitted that while it was "in some ways kind of sad" to tour without Watts, "You just go out there and rock out and you feel better, and it's very cathartic. So I think it's really good."