Andrew Watt defends The Rolling Stones winning ‘Best Rock Album’ at Grammys
Producer Andrew Watt has hit back at complaints regarding The Rolling Stones winning ‘Best Rock Album’ at this year’s Grammy’s.
The legendary group beat artists including Fontaines DC, Idles and Jack White to the prestigious prize. Although they have won ‘Best Rock Album’ with Hackney Diamonds, they missed out in 2024 when the lead single was nominated for ‘Best Rock Song’.
Due to the group’s stellar legacy, many people have claimed this was the reason for their victory at the Grammys rather than the quality of Hackney Diamonds over the other albums in the category.
Watt, who produced the record, has now defended The Rolling Stones, citing the level of songwriting on their 2024 album Hackney Diamonds as warranting the recognition. Similarly, The Beatles, who won ‘Best Rock Performance’ at the Grammys for ‘Now and Then’, were also criticised for similar reasons after their victory.
“They are in their 80s,” he points out. “They’re 82 and 83 years old. Tell me another band ever in history that has made a latter-day album that good in their 80s, with that level of songwriting, that level of performance?” Watt said, in an interview with Rolling Stone’s Music Now podcast.
Watt went on to confirm that the Hackney Diamonds sessions produced plenty more material that could warrant the campaign of another album. “I can’t tell you if [another album’s] gonna happen or not,” he says. “It’s up to them, but it would be great… Why not finish the material, you know?”
In a three-star review, Far Out wrote of Hackney Diamonds: “It’s impossible not to get a kick out of these elder statesmen of rock and roll putting their best collective foot forward to see what remains of their creativity. You can call Hackney Diamonds whatever you want, but you have to call it a success.”
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