The Rolling Stones reflect on loss of Charlie Watts, their next tour



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The Rolling Stones have kept a low public profile since Charlie Watts died on August 24, but in a series of new interviews with longtime Rolling stone writer David Fricke, they talk about the devastating loss, advancing with drummer Steve Jordan, selecting songs for their next tour, and possibly continuing the tour next year, which just happens to be their 60th anniversary.

The main subject of all the interviews was the loss of Watts. “The thing with Charlie was that he was always there, he always played wonderfully and was always ready to discuss what to do about it – how he could improve it.” , said Mick Jagger. “He held the band together for so long, musically, because he was the rock that the rest was built around… The thing he brought in was that nice sense of swing and deviation that most bands want. to be able to have. We’ve had some really great conversations over the past couple of years about how this all turned out with the band. It is a huge loss for all of us. It’s very, very hard. “

Keith Richards felt the same. “Charlie had an incredible sense of humor,” he said. “And my joy was that I liked to crack him. If you could reach this place it wouldn’t stop, and it was the funniest thing in the world. He had an incredible sense of humor that he kept to himself unless you trigger him. And then it can be painful to laugh.

“A most vital part of being in this group was that Charlie Watts was my bed,” he continued. “I could lie down there and I know that not only would I sleep well, but I would wake up and still be rocking. It’s something I’ve had since I was 19. I never doubted it. I never even thought about it. “

They have spent the last few weeks rehearsing with Steve Jordan. Drummer has been in their orbit since the 80s, and he was a member of Keith Richards’ group X-Pensive Winos. “He’s very respectful of Charlie,” Jagger said. “He played with Keith before we started rehearsals, and then he did his homework, listening to the tunes. When we talk about what Charlie did on this one, we listen to the original record, then we listen to the live versions. There are certain licks we want to do, which Charlie did. There are certain drum licks that you don’t think about, but they are part of the song in the same way that a bass or guitar part is part of the song.

Richards said he started working with Jordan in July. At the time, they were hoping this would be a temporary situation and that Watts would return to the group once he recovered from his illness. “Steve brings with him a lot of knowledge about the Stones,” he said. “He’ll say, ‘No, Charlie is playing like that.’ Steve is so meticulous, so aware of the seat he’s sitting on. Steve told me this: Charlie played the drums. He didn’t hit them.

The tour doesn’t officially begin until September 26 at The Dome at the America’s Center in St. Louis, but on Monday they put on a private show for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft at Gillette Stadium. The set was rich in hits like “Miss You”, “Start Me Up”, “Gimme Shelter” and “Sympathy For The Devil”, but they had a few surprises, including the first “19th Nervous Breakdown” since 2005, and the live debut of their 2020 track “Living in a Ghost Town” and Chi-Lites song “Troubles A-Comin”.

This latest song appears on their upcoming 40th anniversary edition of Tattoo yourself. “It’s a fun album,” Jagger said. “It’s not an album where we can say that we entered Studio X, we spent six months and this is the album. These are just songs that were recorded anytime from 1972 to 1981. It wasn’t really an album. It was everywhere. He doesn’t have some kind of center.

They typically play 19 songs at a given show, but Jagger said they rehearsed 80 or 90 songs for the tour. “I’m not saying we just hit them, stuck on them,” he said. “We can actually play them. It is a huge sum. Keith and I were saying, the reality is that we have to do at least twelve, 13 numbers that almost everyone knows… We have a few extras numbers in the Tattoo yourself re-edit. We’re doing ‘Living in a Ghost Town’, which sounds pretty good. We have tons of numbers from most eras. So we have a big set list. We can certainly change the set list. But we still have to do “Paint It, Black”.

According to Ron Wood, the addition of Steve Jordan gave a new feeling to the familiar songs. “’Street Fighting Man’ has new energy,” he said. “’Midnight Rambler’ has a new approach. We thought, “Oh my God, how are we going to do ‘Midnight Rambler’? Because there is another language all its own in this song. It’s going on its own course now, and Steve, if anything, is leading the charge, “I’ll tell you when it’s going to speed up, I’ll tell you when it’s going to be dynamic.” Seeing Keith say, ‘Okay, so tell me,’ that was really different. And Mick says, ‘Yeah, I’ll take this.’ “

“Charlie would have loved it,” Wood added. “There is an energy that Charlie is projecting through his sticks, but Steve is also projecting it physically. While Charlie was still, Steve moved, as did the drum podium. You can see the satisfaction on Keith’s face, on Mick’s face.

The tour ends Nov. 20 at the Circuit of the America race track in Austin, Texas, and Jagger said he’s not ready to say if they’ll finish it once it’s over. “I’ve been asked this question since I was 31,” he said. “And your answer is the same. I do not know. I mean anything can happen. You know, if things are going well next year and everyone is feeling good about touring, I’m sure we’ll do shows. I’m just trying to focus on this tour now.



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