Rick Rubin on his favourite albums of the 1970s: “A timeless and natural sound”
According to Rick Rubin, focusing solely on the creative aspect of a project is a “devotional act”.
Rubin’s intuitive know-how and nonchalance in the studio have impressed countless names in music, from Johnny Cash to Slayer, enabling a working environment that doesn’t always rely on unwritten rules or textbook guidelines. In fact, one of the many reasons why people become drawn to him in the first place is due to his guru-like status inspiring even the most sceptical of minds to greatness.
But his approach isn’t a one-size-fits-all, nor does he expect it to work for everyone. Rubin’s lack of proficiency in musical theory, standards or proven techniques might be his saving grace in some areas, but in others, his seemingly lax demeanour is the perfect catalyst for a lack of productivity, which is also one of the worst things that could happen in an environment that relies so heavily on anything but.
Despite the critics, the producer’s mindset and approach have an undeniable proven track record for success, and if that wasn’t already obvious from his extensive resume, his pearls of wisdom in interviews show just how much of a genuine visionary he actually is. But he’s only that way because he truly understands what it means to be completely immune to outsider judgments.
As he reflected to NPR, “My job is to be true to myself. When you present a piece of work to me, I can reflect back what’s going on in me. With as little noise involved. […] We’re making something with our hearts and souls, and then we’re sharing it with the world. And if people like it, it’s great, and if they don’t, we wouldn’t change it, because we’ve made it with our hearts and souls, and it’s true. It’s a true thing we’re doing.”
Another thing that showcases Rubin’s expertise when it comes to what actually makes great music is the music he cherishes and why. Like many innovators, when he speaks about what makes him tick, people actually listen, so hearing all about his favourite albums and artists is merely another means to getting under the skin of one of the greatest musical thinkers of our time.
He divulged some of these projects during an interview with Gibson in 2008, listing eight of his favourite albums of all time. But what stood out was the fact that most of these were from the 1970s, each demonstrating his eye for music that tests the waters and does it well, utilising experimentalism and other innovative tropes to actually offer something new—something that no one (or very few) were doing at the time.
But while the reasons for his liking records, such as Black Sabbath’s unparalleled self-titled 1970s masterpiece, are clear, he also unveiled his taste for the more classic entries, the ones that took rock to a new level by being a perfect version of what it already was, like AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. In his words, the record is “a timeless and natural-sounding rock album”.
Perhaps this idea of a natural sound is also shared by another of his favourites, Gang of Four’s Entertainment!, which he noted for its “sparseness” and the “emotion behind it”. But rather than lingering on what those elements actually meant, Rubin said he enjoys the ambiguity, explaining, “It sounds like something really important is happening on this album”.
All things considered, however, perhaps where his affinity for pure genius shines the most is in his love for Devo. He might not have had that much to say about Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! other than the simple fact that it’s one of his favourites, but maybe it was also because the reasons were obvious. Devo’s opus worked the dynamics between brashness and playfulness with unbelievable finesse and an effortlessness that Rubin no doubt carries on in his own approach towards excellence.
Rick Rubin’s favourite 1970s albums:
- Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
- Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
- AC/DC – Highway to Hell
- Gang of Four – Entertainment!
- The Ramones – Ramones
- Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
