Five artists who hated working with Rick Rubin
When you listen to Rick Rubin’s philosophy on creativity, it is hard to imagine that there are people out there who wouldn’t like to work with him. He is a man built around creativity and being passionate about your art; so long as you are making something you enjoy, you are doing the right thing, and that’s all that matters. What’s not to like?
He repeatedly preaches this way of thinking in his book The Creative Act, where he says, “All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.” He even goes as far as to say that commercial success and one’s ability shouldn’t come into the creative process, which he likens to a religion as opposed to an actual act.
“Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not,” he said, “It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. It’s like saying, ‘I’m not good at being a monk’. You are either living as a monk, or you’re not. We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.”
If Rubin’s ethos is one centred around the joy of creativity rather than the success of what is made as a result of that creativity, it isn’t hard to believe that many artists enjoy working with him. For the most part, this is true, as artists from every genre have at some point worked with Rick Rubin to bring their work to life, and the majority of them enjoy it; however, there are some exceptions.
For instance, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has been outspoken about the producer in the past, he was relatively polite in his critique, but it was present all the same as he said, “Some of it I liked, some of it I didn’t like particularly. It was a weird experience, especially with being told to forget that you’re a heavy metal band.”
Slipknot’s Corey Taylor was less centrist in his criticism of Rubin, who worked with the band on their third album Vol 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Though the album has several fan favourites on it, Taylor doesn’t accredit any of them to Rubin, instead opting to call him out for his laid back attitude. “Yeah, he kicked it on the couch, stroked his beard and nodded and then he was out,” said Taylor.
Ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has also stated that he wasn’t a big fan of working with the producer. Though he helped the band with one of their greatest hits, ‘Under The Bridge’, Klinghoffer believes his production techniques hindered the band instead of helping them. “I feel like, in both circumstances, producers got in the way of us truly making great music or a great record… I like almost all of the songs that we wrote together, but seldom did we capture them in the best way.”
Rock band Velvet Revolver also famously fired the producer when he was working on their first album. The band were still in the early stages and admittedly weren’t ready to make a record; however, rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner has also confirmed that Rubin’s laid-back style didn’t help things. “You just write a bunch of shit, you record it, he listens to it, and he goes, ‘Oh, that thing’s good – why don’t you work on that some more?’ When he thinks you’re ready, he’ll say, ‘Alright, let’s make a record’, but we were getting really impatient.”
Cedric Biller-Zavala was also not a fan of working with Rubin. He and The Mars Volta made an album with the producer, who was trying too hard to change their sound so that it was no longer a true reflection of them. “Before we had Rick on one album, and Rick was more interested in bringing out the pop formula that would attract a new audience, because people think in those terms sometimes.”
While Rick Rubin’s laid-back approach might be welcomed by many, it doesn’t always land with musicians. Many like their producer to be a bit more hands-on, so if Rubin is taking a step back while carrying out his work, there is no wonder it will be controversial.
