Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubinis an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin is the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings. With the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Run–D.M.C., Rubin helped popularize hip hop music...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusic Producer
Date of Birth10 March 1963
CityLong Beach, NY
CountryUnited States of America
cabaret early image looked missed time viewed
Early in his career, he was looked at more as a singer/songwriter, ... As time went on, he was viewed more as a cabaret artist. I missed that image of the singer/songwriter.
heard
It's stripped-down Neil. I think it's different from anything you've heard from him before.
major management starting
It's really starting to stick. If nothing else, it's a major distraction for management.
anywhere fact fit force great liked loved rock roll unto
I've always loved his songwriting and I feel like he's one of the great American songwriters, ... I liked the fact that he never really fit into any category. He didn't fit anywhere -- he was rock 'n' roll and not rock 'n' roll. He was a force unto himself.
central final johnny life music reflection songs truest
These songs are Johnny's final statement. They are the truest reflection of the music that was central to his life at the time. This is the music that Johnny wanted us to hear.
album classic diamond intimate neil nobody possibly songs sound written
The songs are classic Neil Diamond songs. Nobody else could have possibly written them. The sound of the album is very personal, intimate and honest.
coming honest playing songs true
It's a tentative feel with him playing guitar, and the songs feel like they are coming from a true and honest
albums artists best both great reason records
They're both grown-ups, and there aren't many great albums by grown-ups. There's no reason why great artists shouldn't make their best records when they're 50, 60, 70. In other disciplines, it would be expected.
directing excited felt good knew love musicians presence process
We felt Johnny's presence during the whole process through to the end. It felt like he was directing the proceedings, and I know that the musicians all felt that as well... More than once, Fergie and I would look at each other and say 'Johnny would love this,' because it was so good and so different from anything we'd done before, we knew he would be excited by what was happening.
guy less noticed phrase played saw simple singer vocal
I noticed that when he played guitar, he was a lot different singer than the guy I saw on the big stage. It was less of this big performance. There was more feeling. It's probably as simple as you can't think about how you phrase the vocal if you are also concentrating on guitar.
building guitar melodic mind mix mixed neil piano rock separated songs songwriter unusual wrote
In Neil's mind, what separated him from all of his Brill Building songwriter counterparts was he wrote songs on the guitar and everyone else wrote on the piano, ... Guitar is equated with rock in a way piano has never been, so Neil has an unusual mix of guitar-based (rock) songwriting mixed with Brill Building melodic (piano) approach.
less natural playing purity sang singing vocal
He sang differently when he was playing the guitar, ... There was a purity to the vocal that was more natural and less of a performance. He was less able to think about what he was singing and it sounded better.
seeing trading
Unfortunately for Wal-Mart, we're still not seeing the trading up effect.
becomes changed changes controls feels musical neil playing pure relationship rhythm sings
When Neil would play and sing, it changed his relationship to the song. One feels more of a sense of authorship. By playing guitar, Neil controls the rhythm and feel of the songs. It also changes the way he sings them, and it becomes a more pure musical act.