Playlist: The 60 best songs produced by Rick Rubin
Hailing from Long Beach, Rick Rubin did not have the upbringing that you’d expect from most music mega-producers. He wasn’t hunched over a piano or reading music theory as a child, and when he started playing in a punk band called the Pricks their biggest feat was lasting for two songs at the CBGB before brawling with hecklers called curtains on the show.
However, what Rubin undoubtedly had was a keen eye for the zeitgeist—he saw trends coming a found a way to get at the front and vivify them. With his finger firmly on the pulse of society, he founded Def Jam records when he was still studying. This was in 1984, now the company is one of the biggest record labels around. It wasn’t his inherent musical skill that helped to get to this level, but his understanding of culture and where music wades into it.
In fact, his lack of traditional skill almost set him apart. As he famously proclaims: “There’s a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get a point across.” This was particularly suitable given the blunt style of artistry he was aiming for in the age of overload during the mid ’80s. The perfect paradigm of this is his early collaboration with The Beastie Boys—you’d struggle to find an outfit more straight to the point and Rubin helped to sharpen their music to match that. In the end, he helped an era defining band break into the mainstream.
This notion meant that he was able to jump around genres and styles far easier than many of his contemporaries. While the likes of Phil Spector and Steve Albini might have a distinctly recognisable sound, Rubin is much more chameleonic, simply ushering his artists towards what they are trying to do and ensuring they stay on track.
The highlight of this comes from the unbelievable dexterity of his work. You might not like some of his offerings – hell, a lot of it isn’t my cup of tea at all either – but from the list below it’s hard to begrudge the skill of the man himself; he evidently knows what makes a hit. This measured approach of simply getting the best out of what is there already is a trademark that has drawn a multitude of stars towards him. As he says himself: “Creative work isn’t all innovation all the time. Experience gives an archive to draw from.”
And with Rubin, that experience is eclectic and clearly defined. As he said when speaking about his favourite Neil Young album After the Gold Rush: “I like the natural mood of this one,” he shares. “Like the Beatles’ White Album, it has almost a documentary feel. It feels like it’s capturing a moment in time, and not trying to be perfect. It’s not trying to be glossy, or pretty. It has a real, soulful truth in it.” The same can be said for many of the tracks that Rubin has produced below, they worm their way into the zeitgeist.
So, without further ado, we’ve compiled 60 of the best songs that Rubin has ever produced. Just to show the vast breadth of his work, we’ve limited the list to one song per artist, making it clear to see how ballistic his back catalogue truly is—this man has worked with everyone. Finally, we’ve even wrapped it all up in a playlist to boot.
The 60 best songs produced by Rick Rubin:
- ‘40th Street Black / We Will Fight’ – Wu-Tang Clan
- ‘All My Shades of Blue’ – Ruen Brothers
- ‘Baby Got Back’ – Sir Mix-a-Lot
- ‘Bembele’ – Santana ft Buika
- ‘Beverly Hills’ – Weezer
- ‘Blue Jeans’ – Lana Del Rey
- ‘Can You Feel It?’ – Original Concept
- ‘Carjack’ – Barkmarket
- ‘Coma Girl’ – Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
- ‘Def Jam / Cold Chillin’ in the Spot’ – Jazzy Jay
- ‘Delirious Love’ – Neil Diamond
- ‘Drunken Angel’ – Lucinda Williams
- ‘Duality’ – Slipknot
- ‘Father Stretch My Hand Pt. 1’ – Kanye West
- ‘Fearless’ – Saul Williams
- ‘Flyin’ High’ – ZZ Top
- ‘Free Life’ – Dan Wilson
- ‘God is Dead?’ – Black Sabbath
- ‘Great Hosannah’ – Kula Shaker
- ‘Grizzly Bear’ – Angus & Julia Stone
- ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ – Shakira ft Wyclef Jean
- ‘Hold Your Own’ – Kae Tempest
- ‘Hurt’ – Johnny Cash
- ‘I And Love and You’ – The Avett Brothers
- ‘I Don’t Want to Change You’ – Damien Rice
- ‘I Need a Beat’ – LL Cool J
- ‘Inertiatic Esp’ – The Mars Volta
- ‘It’s Tricky’ – Run-DMC
- ‘Knights of Malta’ – The Smashing Pumpkins
- ‘Like a Stone’ – Audioslave
- ‘Love Bomb’ – AC/DC
- ‘Love Game’ – Eminem ft Kendrick Lamar
- ‘Messed Up Kids’ – Jake Bugg
- ‘Mother’ – Danzig
- ‘Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo’ – Mr Hankey Poo
- ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ – The Beastie Boys
- ‘Raining Blood’ – Slayer
- ‘Real Wild Child’ – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
- ‘Rebel Without a Pause’ – Public Enemy
- ‘Relating to a Psychopath’ – Macy Gray
- ‘Renegades of Funk’ – Rage Against the Machine
- ‘Save It For a Rainy Day’ – The Jayhawks
- ‘Some Things Must Go This Way’ – Paloalto
- ‘Someone Like You’ – Adele
- ‘Something Good This Way Comes’ – Jakob Dylan
- ‘Spit It Out’ – Wolfsbane
- ‘Tell ‘Em I’m Gone’ – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
- ‘The Adults Are Talking’ – The Strokes
- ‘The Colour in Anything’ – James Blake
- ‘The Day That Never Comes’ – Metallica
- ‘The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)’ – Nine Inch Nails
- ‘The Eyes of Texas’ – Masters of Reality
- ‘Touching the Ground’ – Brandi Carlisle
- ‘Toxicity’ – System of a Down
- ‘Under the Bridge’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- ‘What Goes Around / Comes Around’ – Justin Timberlake
- ‘What I’ve Done’ – Linkin Park
- ‘Wild Flower’ – The Cult
- ‘Wildflowers’ – Tom Petty
- ’99 Problems’ – Jay-Z
