The band Rick Rubin loved so much he called them “proof of the existence of God”
Super producer Rick Rubin has done it all when it comes to studio wizardry. Not one of the most gifted musicians on the planet, instead, Rubin has made a career off an impeccable musical palette, and that alone.
He’s spread the gospel of hip-hop and rap-rock by delivering the Beastie Boys’ debut album, Licensed to Ill, and has also constructed classics by the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Slayer and Linkin Park. An incredibly versatile master of the mixing desk, Rubin’s technical skills may be slight, but his impact on popular culture is extensive.
It’s an issue which has left many of his critics, including some bands with whom he has worked, particularly harsh about his contribution to their efforts. After all, a barefoot man in the corner of the studio randomly telling you he does or doesn’t like a song is probably easily picked up off the street and for a darn sight cheaper. Despite what his critics might say, it’s a testament to the gravity of his work that without the bearded studio whizz, modern music would be without some of its most important cornerstones.
It makes you wonder what the complexion of today’s sonic environment would look like without releases such as Licensed to Ill, Reign in Blood, and more cult titles such as The Mars Volta’s prog masterpiece, De-Loused in the Comatorium.
Rubin’s musical palette encompasses a variety of areas, but there is one band he loves more than any other. Somewhat unsurprisingly, this is The Beatles, the band that kicked off the big bang of popular culture in the 1960s and pushed rock music to its limits. The group were so important to the producer’s development that the first time he heard the Fab Four’s cover of Chuck Berry song ‘Rock and Roll Music’, he was so absorbed that it effectively started his long journey to musical notoriety the moment the notes hit his ears.
Speaking to Newsweek, Rubin recalled the first moment he heard The Beatles and its tremendous effect on him. He said: “I was probably four, and I can remember feeling electrified. That was the first real rock ‘n’ roll I’d ever heard”. It’s a moment we can all remember: the moment music shoots through your soul and doesn’t just connect with your eardrums but lands firmly in your heart.
The Beatles just so happen to be the band who instigated such a feeling in some of the most influential artists of our time. Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Ozzy Osbourne are just three names who have spoken of the electrifying moment they first heard the band.
The Liverpudlian quartet impacted Rubin so much that, to him, the band are “proof of the existence of God”. He said their music “transcends everything. It’s much bigger than four kids from Liverpool. For me, the Beatles are proof of the existence of God. It’s so good and so far beyond everyone else that it’s not them”.
Elsewhere, in a recent appearance on Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea’s podcast, This Little Light, Rubin expanded on that pivotal moment he first heard The Beatles. He reflected: “I can remember when I was a little kid, I wanna say three or four years old, something like that, hearing The Beatles version of ‘Rock and Roll Music’, the Chuck Berry song – I didn’t know it was a Chuck Berry song, I didn’t know who Chuck Berry was”.
The producer continued: “But I remember the rhythm of it making me dance uncontrollably, I felt like it took over my body, and anytime I heard the song, it would just take over my body. And that was one example of really, like, feeling the music, and then over the course of my life, it happens all the time. There are these moments when you can’t believe you’re hearing this thing that just has this power over you that’s so big.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.