Keith Richards on working with Andrew Watt: “He doesn’t put up with any bullshit”
What does it take to keep one of rock’s longest-running bands firing on all cylinders well into its seventh decade? According to Keith Richards, it helps to have a producer who isn’t afraid to keep things moving, and who, crucially, “doesn’t put up with any bullshit”.
Andrew Watt has become one of modern rock’s most in-demand producers, steering projects for everyone from Paul McCartney to Elton John and Ozzy Osbourne. And after producing The Rolling Stones’ acclaimed Hackney Diamonds, he’s back behind the desk for the band’s forthcoming 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, due 10 July.
Speaking to The Guardian, Richards credits much of the band’s current creative momentum to both Mick Jagger’s recent songwriting streak and Watt’s ability to keep sessions focused.
READ MORE: Mick jagger says he “absolutely would love to tour” Rolling Stones’ new album Foreign Tongues
“Mick’s been very prolific lately,” Richards says, “which is one reason this album has come out so quick, because he won’t bloody stop. And the momentum from Hackney Diamonds was such that this is basically carrying on in the same breath. I was just letting it roll – we had enough stuff if we wanted to keep pushing, and so Mick and I gave each other the usual wry look and said: ‘Yeah, let’s keep pushing.’”
Richards is equally effusive about Watt, whose resume has increasingly become a who’s who of music royalty. McCartney once described his first impression of the 35-year-old producer as: “I like him, but he’s a bit pushy.” Richards, meanwhile, seems to view that same quality as a feature rather than a flaw.
“[He’s] a breath of fresh air and a kick up the ass,” says the guitarist. “He knows his stuff musically and technically, and he doesn’t put up with any bullshit – he just gets on with it. So I found him very easy to work with. He’s a bit impetuous at times, but then so what?”
When asked whether Watt had ever needed to give him a dressing down, Richards offers the cheeky response. “No. But he may have given somebody a talking-to.”
Elsewhere, the musician also admits he’s “had it up to here with technology” as a whole, preferring instead to “stick to the old ways”.
“I’ve seen records go from being made on two-track tapes stuck to the wall, to suddenly eight tracks, then 16, 24, then digital and it hasn’t really helped the music at all,” he says. “But it’s something you live with.”
“I mean, personally, I think the world would be better off without the damn phone. AI is killing me, you know. Do I fear for the future of music? I fear for the future of everything. They don’t know what the hell it does, so now we all dangle and wait.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
