How 'Hackney Diamonds' broke the Stones' recording habits with Andrew Watt at the board

The biggest logistical change for Hackney Diamonds was the pace. Andrew Watt pushed the band to work in short, intense bursts over a few months in 2022 and 2023, recording at Electric Lady in New York, Henson in L.A., and the Sanctuary in the Bahamas. That’s a world away from A Bigger Bang, which stretched across 2004 and 2005 at La Fourchette, a converted French château where the band lived and recorded at a leisurely, country-house pace.

Watt wanted the Stones to play live together in the studio more than they had in decades. For A Bigger Bang, Keith Richards often laid down bass parts himself after Charlie Watts and Darryl Jones tracked the rhythm section. On Hackney Diamonds, Watt pushed for full-band takes with Jagger on guitar or vocals simultaneously, cutting overdubs later only where necessary. He also insisted on using vintage amps and microphones, chasing the raw sound of the band’s early seventies records rather than the polished, modern rock of A Bigger Bang.

Another logistical shift: Charlie Watts recorded drums on two tracks before his death in 2021, so the band had to work around those pre-existing parts, using Steve Jordan on the rest. Watt edited and comped takes ruthlessly, often reassembling songs from multiple live passes—something the Stones rarely allowed on earlier albums, where they’d run a take until it felt right. The result is an album that sounds tighter and more