Mick Jagger says new Rolling Stones drummer is “keep[ing] the essence of what Charlie [Watts] did”

The Rolling Stones are in the midst of the first leg of their SIXTY tour, commemorating their 60th anniversary, and frontman Mick Jagger recently chatted with Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson about the trek.

The current tour leg, which finds The Stones visiting a variety of European cities, is the second the band has played with drummer Steve Jordan, who stepped in for longtime drummer Charlie Watts after Watts passed away last August at age 80.

Jagger tells Wilkinson that Jordan has fit in well with the group, and he feels that’s least partly because Steve shares some important attributes with Charlie.

“If you introduce someone else into a band of people, it’s always going to change the dynamic, but Steve, he’s a great drummer,” Mick notes. “[B]ut also…like Charlie was, he’s a student of drumming. [He’s] not just a ‘wang bash’ drummer, or even just a great drummer. He’s also a student of drumming.”

Jagger adds, “He can listen to Charlie’s performances on record, and live, obviously, and take those and keep the essence of what Charlie did in those songs without changing it very much. Of course, he will interpret them slightly differently, but he’ll keep the great things that Charlie did, and add his own thing to it.”

Meanwhile, Mick says he feels that The Rolling Stones have generally become “a much more consistent performing band” during over the last two decades.

“We always set a standard and try to hit that,” the 78-year-old rock legend maintains. “Of course, some shows are better than others for whatever reason…and they’re different. Maybe they’re not as good in some ways, maybe they’re better than others. You know, every show is a different animal.”

The Stones next show takes place this Friday, July 15, in Vienna.