BEST OF 2012 - TIE FOR #11

There were a lot of great albums that came out this year, and I'm not going to write an entry about each one that barely missed the top 10, but here's a roundup of what other records I liked in 2012. 

Bettye LaVette - Thankful N' Thoughtful: I've enjoyed everything she's done since her amazing 2005 comeback I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, which I thought was one of the most underrated albums of the '00s. Her label, Anti- Records, gives her room to make great records, and she's done it again.  There's lots of great songs here, including Dylan's "Everything Is Broken," The Black Keys' "I'm Not The One" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again: I talked and wrote about him early in 2012, and I was really looking forward to this record.  It doesn't disappoint, although I would say that it could use a few more upbeat songs.  Like Gary Clark Jr, the Grammys totally slept on Michael Kiwanuka.

Jamey Johnson - Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran: Jamey's last album, The Guitar Song, was my third favorite album of 2010.  This one didn't hit me quite as hard, but it's a bummer that it didn't get much attention in the press. Maybe because it's a tribute, and because it's all duets (Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson are all on the album).  But it's a really cool album, and has made me want to pick up a Hank Cochran collection.

ZZ Top - La Futura: Why didn't they work with Rick Rubin before this? It's a really really great album, easily their best since Eliminator.  The first single, "I Gotsta Get Paid" is a sort of cover of a obscure '90s hip-hop tune by DJ DMD (I'd never heard of him).  It doesn't come off gimmicky at all.  And it sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album.  It's such a shame that this didn't get too much lip service this year.

Green Day - Uno, Dos y Tre: Essentially a triple album released in three parts.  There's a little bit of fat, but not much.  This kind of has everything they do from punk rock raveups to over the top Broadway-like productions to ballads.

Soundgarden - King Animal: A really great comeback/reunion album... but not quite as good as their pre-breakup material.  Still, there are some amazing songs here, like "Non-State Actor" and "Taree."  But the best might be the weirdest:  "Rowing," which sounds like something that may have been born, oddly enough, in Chris Cornell's ill-fated collaboration with Timbaland on Scream: the song is built around a loop of Chris singing, and a very funky bassline by Ben Shepherd. It's actually become one of my favorite Soundgarden songs ever.

Alabama Shakes - Boys And Girls: They got a lot of buzz this year (and, I'm glad to say, a nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammys)... it's good to see a rock band getting that kind of hype, and these guys deserve it.  I like their album, I don't love it, but wow they have lots of potential.  And they were rockin' when they opened for Jack White earlier this year.

The xx - Coexist: a cool album to chill out to. I was turned on to it by a colleague from work.

Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel...: A lot of people put this high up in their year-end countdowns.  I liked it, but didn't love it.  Her last album, Extraordinary Machine, was probably my favorite album of 2005, and I thought it was one of the most underrated albums of the '00s.

METALLICA "BEYOND MAGNETIC"

With very little hype, Metallica released the Beyond Magnetic EP at the end of last year. Made up of four songs that didn't make the Death Magnetic LP (produced by Rick Rubin), they played all four of these songs during their four night, 30th anniversary celebration at the Fillmore in San Francisco. (I'll be writing a separate post about that: all four shows are available at Metallica's website as paid downloads, and so far, they are worth the money).

This EP is like Reload to Death Magnetic's Load.  From the same sessions, but a bit more expansive, more jams.   I like the songs, especially the last one "Rebel Of Babylon." Like Death Magnetic, it recalls Master Of Puppets, but (sadly) without any songs that are quite that classic.

Still, it is well timed, coming shortly after the release of their double album with Lou Reed, Lulu. After that rather avant-garde project, it's good to remind everyone that Metallica is a metal band. (That said, I think Metallica made a great backing band for Lou on his Velvet Underground classics "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat.")

BEST OF 2011 - #7 - ADELE "21"

Even if I had spent 2011 in a coma and didn't have any context about the effect that Adele's 21 had, I'd still dig the album.  But the fact that it got people excited about actually buying music again (she sold over 13 million copies worldwide), the fact that the first single "Rolling In The Deep" just seemed to dominate the airwaves and yet never got old, and yes, the fact that she seems to be such an unlikely star... all of that makes me enjoy it even more. And lots of other people enjoy it also: Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly named it their album of the year, VH1 named "Rolling In The Deep" the best song on their Top 40 Videos of 2011 (I was a "pundit" on the show, and was happy to comment on that song). And of course, Adele has a bunch of Grammy(R) nominations, and as a voter, I know I'll be voting for her a couple of times this year.

But like I said, the album holds up without any of that knowledge. Rick Rubin exec-produced the record and did a great job doing what he does: making sure the material is good enough, getting a sound that isn't too fancy and adorned, and then he gets out of the way.  Adele is a great singer, she's very soulful (although some contrarians try to come up with ways to deny that simple fact). "Rolling In The Deep" and "Someone Like You" have already reached iconic status (Saturday Night Live based a skit around "Someone Like You") but I actually think "Rumor Has It" is her greatest moment. Of course, she's only 21 as the album's title says, and I'm sure she has many more great moments.  For now, I hope her voice recovers in time for her to perform at the Grammys, which will surely be a great night for this very talented young lady.

THE BLACK SABBATH REUNION: IT'S ON

As everyone knows by now, Black Sabbath announced that they're putting out their first new studio album with the original lineup - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - since 1978's Never Say Die!  The album is going to be produced by Rick Rubin, who has been trying to get the band back together forever, and of course they are going to tour also.

Over the summer, I wrote about my thoughts on the rumors of a Sabbath reunion that were circulating at the time. I recalled something Geezer said in an interview I did with him for the liner notes of The Black Box.  He wasn't sure at that time if they'd ever work together again.  But he was happy that they reunited, that they'd done some incredible reunion shows, and most of all that they were friends again. He hoped that they'd work together again, but if they didn't, he was happy with the way things were ending. However, they did do a few more tours after that.   Then when Tony and Geezer reunited with the second version of Sabbath - with Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice - and called themselves Heaven & Hell, Ozzy went back to his solo career. But I was with Geezer: I was happy that Sabbath had reunited with their original lineup, done some great shows, and it seemed like the world acknowledged their influence.  They were all together at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (even though they didn't perform) and I thought that that was a great way to end the story.

The last time I saw Sabbath was on the Ozzfest in 2001, and it wasn't that great.  Tony, Geezer and Bill were awesome, but Ozzy's voice was dying before the first song was over. It bummed me out, and I didn't  go to see Sabbath or Ozzy after that for a long time.  But last year, I got tickets to an Ozzy concert (on his 62nd birthday!) and he was great, and his voice sounded powerful.  I have to say, I'm excited at the prospect of (maybe) seeing the band one more time.  I have to have faith here: if the band are rehearsing and they feel that they're good enough to live up to their legacy, I'm willing to check them out.  Also, I've been hearing that they may headline a tour that would include Judas Priest and Motorhead as well. Rob Halford always sounds great, and Lemmy is like the Willie Nelson of metal, Motorhead is always on the road, and never let anyone down.   I thought the early Ozzfests were cool, where they paired Ozzy or Sabbath with much younger bands - but right now, I think Sabbath/Priest/Motorhead is the right tour for all involved.

As for the record: I know Rick Rubin has tried to reunite Sabbath in the studio in the past, and I think he's also attempted to produce an Ozzy record as well, and it hasn't worked out.  Well, here's hoping it works out well this time.  I don't expect the band to make a classic on the level of Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master Of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabotage or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.  But hopefully they'll come up with some stuff as cool as Technical Ecstasy or (especially) Never Say Die.

NEIL DIAMOND'S SEQUIN-SPANGLED AMERICA - BEN WAGNER'S TESTIMONIAL

When I decided to ask some friends for real-life testimonials about this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, I immediately thought of my pal Benjamin Wagner to write about Neil Diamond.

I first met Ben in 1999, when we both worked at MTV.com - these days, Ben is a VP there. There's a lot of people who are very cool there - and many who are worried about being cool, or seeming cool. Ben isn't one of those folks. When I started, it was kind of like being the new kid in a new school, but Ben was friendly, and a friend, from the get-go. He doesn't worry about being cool, which is what makes him cool.  That's why he's comfortable with being an outspoken fan of Neil Diamond, and I'm starting to think that that's why Neil is cool too.  Without further adieu...


"I was way out on the edge of The Bronx when the ominous sound of cellos rose in my headphones.

The New York City skyline was like Oz in the razor-wire distance, miles beyond the massive, concrete Bruckner Expressway, past fields of industrial oil storage tanks, rows of rusted railroad tracks and blocks and blocks of empty warehouses.  The street was salt-bleached, windswept, and empty, save a lone security guard on smoke break. Bowery Bay shimmered in the pale, late-winter sun.

A church bell peeled three times as the strings swept upwards and held a measure, finally yielding to the steady gallop of a classic rock set up: guitar (nothing but downstroke), bass (steady on the root), and drums (all toms, no snare).

'Far! We've been travelling far,' that distinct outer borough baritone bellowed in my ear. 'Without a home, but not without a star.'

'America' is neither Neil Diamond's finest recording nor best song.  Despite authentically heartfelt platitudes of 'Solitary Man,' 'Hello Again,' and 'Love On The Rocks,' though, it may be his most-personal and most-universal all at once.  It's certainly his most-rousing.

'We huddle close,' this second-generation, 20th Century Man sings in ernest baritone.  'Hang on to a dream.'

The 70-year-old singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and King of All Sequins will be welcomed into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at tonight's 26th Annual Induction Ceremony, and for good reason; he is as much a crucial swatch of fabric in the Great American Quilt as he is wrapped up in it.  What's more, he is the quintessential songwriter, who -- with deep hooks, memorable melodies and introspective yet universal lyrics -- sings with what rock writer David Wild describes as 'a deep sense of isolation and an equal desire for connection.'  What could be more American?

Neil Leslie Diamond's parents, Akeeba and Rose, were descended from Russian and Polish immigrants.  His father was a dry-goods merchant in Brooklyn.  Diamond took up guitar after seeing Pete Seeger perform at summer camp he was attending as a teenager. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, and enrolled at NYU.  A chance encounter with the Brill Building songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich led to a contract with Bang Records. In 1966 he recorded his first album, featuring hit singles such as 'Solitary Man' and 'Cherry, Cherry.'  Shortly thereafter The Monkees recorded several of his songs, including the 1967 megahit, 'I'm a Believer.'

In his forty plus year career, Diamond has released thirty LPs (not including compilations or live albums, most notably his seminal Hot August Night), and delivered 37 top forty hits.  Despite selling some 115 million records sold worldwide -- including 48 million of which in the U.S. where he is the third most successful Adult Contemporary artist ever behind only Barbra Streisand and Elton John -- Diamond is typically thought of as uncool, easy-listening, elevator music.  True, his signature hip-shaking, sequin-laden swoon fests haven't helped.  Nor, for that matter, did his string of duets with Streisand.

Oddly enough, though, that's when I met him.  His late-seventies LPs, You Don't Bring Me Flowers and September Morn, were in heavy rotation on my parent' faux-wood Magnavox hi-fi system.  Diamond's five-times platinum The Jazz Singer was one of just a few headphone escapes as the sturm und drang of my parent's divorce swirled around me. Those swollen string sections, buoyant melodies and dramatic, emphatic growls were welcome relief.  Years later, well prior to becoming a New Yorker myself, my mother dragged me to see him at Madison Square Garden.  I was a teenager, so I complained the whole time.  But more than just singing along under my breath, I wanted to be him there in the center, there in those sequins, splashed in the spotlight.

Still, pop culture is relentless.  It moves fast, and it moves on.  And it leaves cruel simplifications in its wake.  But reducing Diamond to sequins, spotlights, and "Heartlight" (his 1982 pean to ET: The Extra Terrestrial) misses the point.  Through reinvention (Headed for the Future) after reinvention (the Rick Rubin-produced 12 Songs), and rediscovery (Urge Overkill's 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon') after rediscovery (the Red Sox's seventh inning stretch), Diamond is, at his core, the consummate singer/songwriter.  He is a man and his guitar.  He is a well-worn voice.  He is a traveling salvation show.  He is the sound of America alone with its star-sequined dreams.

I am, I cried
I am,  said I
And I am lost
And I can't even say why

Welcome home, Neil."

Wow.  Well, Ben is an artist in his own right, you can check out his music and read his always-excellent blog here. Follow him on Twitter at @mtvitamin.  And if you think he makes a great case about Neil Diamond, you should seek out his documentary about Mister Rogers, Mister Rogers & Me.

NEIL DIAMOND - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE (I'M NOT HATIN')

Neil Diamond is this year's inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that I've had the most trouble with. He certainly belongs in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. But I just have trouble with seeing him as rock and roll.  The newly released Bang Years 1966-1968 collection has helped me out a bit though. If you're a bit cynical about Neil being "rock and roll," I'd suggest trying this single CD collection out, and thinking of Neil as part of the tradition of The Everly Brothers or The Mamas and The Papas (his cover of "Monday Monday" is on this set). The other thing that makes this particular collection a real treat is the lengthy essay written by Neil himself, talking about his long era as a starving artist.  That's not the way we think of him anymore, but he worked longer and harder than many artists before "making it." This is really the main era of Neil that I like - I think producer Rick Rubin feels the same way, because that's the feel he seemed to be going for on 2005's 12 Songs and 2008's Home Before Dark. By the way, those albums are worth picking up, or downloading a few songs from.  I really like "Save Me A Saturday Night" from 12 Songs.

Want more of a career-spanning deal? It's a bit confusing, the guy has a ton of different "greatest hits" and "best of" collections.  I always find it annoying when they keep repackaging repackages.  But anyway, 2001's 2 CD set The Essential Neil Diamond covers his whole career up to that point - if you buy that and download a few tracks from the Rubin albums, it's a good overview. If you're in box set mode, go for the 3 CD In My Lifetime.

I hope to have a testimonial from a real fan - filmmaker, media exec and a singer-songwriter that Neil himself should check out, Benjamin Wagner. Look for that in the next few days.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: JOHNNY CASH, DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, SHOOTER JENNINGS AND IKE REILLY

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. We talk about - surprise! - music.

This week, I'm bringing some really cool records, the first three are records you can hear on our Outlaw Country channel - but probably very few other places. First off, Johnny Cash's final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave. I've talked about this album on The Catholic Channel, it really hit me hard. I think that Rick Rubin, who of course produced the entire American Recordings series of Johnny Cash's albums, may have saved the best for last. 


My favorite rock album of the year thus far is The Big To-Do, by The Drive-By Truckers. Over the past few years, they've become one of my favorite bands, and they are a band I definitely would not have gotten into without Outlaw Country. But the new album is really great: they are kind of like Springsteen meets Skynyrd with Petty and Westerberg thrown in there.  The single, "This Fucking Job," is classic. 

Shooter Jennings is not just a big artist on Outlaw Country, he's also a host. But his new album, Black Ribbons, goes way outside of his usual turf.  It's a concept album featuring guest narration by Stephen King as a DJ, and it sounds like a cross between NIN, Floyd and Alice In Chains. Dude has king size stones to even attempt this.  


Finally, a singer-songwriter who I have followed on and off over the years, Ike Reilly.  Years ago when I was at VH1, my boss made me interview him, which was odd, as the channel wasn't supporting him, and no one knew who he was.  I was grateful for it, though, and now I'm happy to tell people about his new album, Hard Luck Stories (which features a duet with Shooter). 

I plan on writing more about Ike in the future. 

GREAT RICK RUBIN INTERVIEW RE: JOHNNY CASH AMERICAN VI

Really interesting interview with Rick Rubin, talking about Johnny Cash's American VI: Ain't No Grave with New York magazine. What interested me most was his comparing the end of the album - the traditional Hawaiian song "Aloha Oe," to the song that ended American IV: The Man Comes Around. That album ended with "We'll Meet Again," and featured backing vocals by Johnny's friends, family and employees.  Johnny thought that that would be the last song on his last album, his health wasn't in great shape at that point. But the day after the album was done, Rick asked him if he wanted to start working on American V. So all the sessions they worked on at that point made up the final two albums.  This time, he really did know his time was running out, hence "Aloha Oe" ending what actually was the final album.

TOMORROW NIGHT ON THE CATHOLIC CHANNEL: JOHNNY CASH

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, once a month I go on SIRIUS XM's Catholic Channel's Busted Halo show on "Faith and Culture Thursday." Each time I discuss a different artist.  Tomorrow, I'll be talking about Johnny Cash on the eve of the release of what will be his final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave. I think that producer Rick Rubin may have saved the best for last. These really are the final songs that Cash recorded before he passed away.  I have listened to the album a few times now, I totally recommend it. I'll be talking about songs from his Sun and Columbia Records years as well.

CELEBRATE THE MAN IN BLACK

This Friday would have been Johnny Cash 's 78th birthday, and as I've mentioned, there's a group asking people to wear black to commemorate the occasion. Another group is celebrating the man with a movement to get Columbia Records to re-release Bitter Tears, Johnny's 1964 album about our country's gross mistreatment of Native Americans. Read more about that at Reuters.

Meanwhile, as I write about this, I'm listening to what is most likely the final Johnny Cash album, American VI: Ain't No Grave.  Producer Rick Rubin may well have saved the best of the American Recordings sessions for last.

JOHNNY CASH'S FINAL ALBUM DUE FEBRUARY 26

A few weeks ago, I wrote about rumors of Johnny Cash's final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave. Looks like that's the name of the album, and here's the cover, it comes out on February 26 on what would have been The Man In Black's 78th birthday. These songs were recorded during the same sessions that yielded American V: A Hundred Highways.  He knew these songs would be his last ones.  It gives a lot of weight to songs on American V like "God's Gonna Cut You Down." I imagine this album will be similarly heavy. Like that album, this one features Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers.  Some of the songs: Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day," Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times," Queen Lili'uokalani's "Aloha Oe," and one of the last songs Cash wrote himself, "I Corinthians 15:55." I think Johnny Cash's American Recordings albums were phenomonal, and I'm glad that we're getting the chance to hear all of the sessions.

BEST OF THE 00's: RICK RUBIN

I have often expressed admiration of Rick Rubin 's production skills. If I were a producer, I'd like to be like him: hip-hop, metal, funk, punk, country, singer-songwriters, nothing is off limits, and he proved that again in the '00s.

He remained close collaborator of Johnny Cash, producing American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around in the early years of the decade. I would argue that Cash's American series of albums are nearly as good as anything he'd ever done, obviously American IV's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" was one of the greatest moments of an incredible career. Rick also curated the incredible Unearthed box set, allowing fans to hear some of the incredible things that didn't make the American albums. He's also been the keeper of the Cash flame, releasing American V: A Hundred Highways, which featured "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (and now there's word that 2010 will see the final album from the American sessions, American VI: Ain't No Grave.

Rick started working with Tom Morello, who certainly was paying attention to Rubin's rap/rock/metal hybrids in the '80s. Rubin produced Rage Against The Machine's final album, the all-covers Renegades, as well as their posthumously released live album, Live At The Grand Olympic Auditorium (which turned out to be the band's final shows before reuniting years later). Rubin hooked Morello and Rage mates Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk up with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and produced the first Audioslave album.

One of Rick's supposed talents is to discover new talent, and I don't know how much he's done that in the past decade, but one band he did work with early on is System Of A Down, who are one of the best metal bands around (even though they seem to be on hiatus at the moment). Rick signed them to his American Recordings, and has produced their albums, including (this decade) Toxicity (which, bizarely, hit #1 on 9/11), Steal This Album! and Hypnotize and Mesmerize.  Another younger band in the heavy guitar category he worked with The Mars Volta on their De-Loused In The Comatorium album.

He remained the go-to guy for The Red Hot Chili Peppers (having worked with them ever since 1991's BloodSugarSexMagik), producing the excellent By The Way and the maybe-too-long double album Stadium Arcadium. I really hope they work with him on the next one, which will be their first since guitarist John Frusciante quit (again).

He briefly returned to hip-hop, producing a cover of Ice-T's "99 Problems" for Jay-Z's "final" record, The Black Album. It may be Jay's finest moment. Less successful was his "Better Than I Ever Been" track that he produced for Nike, featuring Kanye West, Nas and KRS-One (DJ Premier later did a better remix which also featured Rakim).

Rubin also veered closer to the mainstream, producing Shakria's Oral Fixation albums, which included her huge hit collaboration with Wyclef Jean, "Hips Don't Lie." There was also The Dixie Chicks' album Taking The Long Way featuring the classic "Not Ready To Make Nice." And he tried to give Neil Diamond a new credibility by doing some American Recordings type stripped down albums with him. He also worked with Weezer, Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan on his first solo album, a new-ish Americana-type band called The Avett Brothers who I need to write more about, and The Gossip. And of course, Metallica's triumphant comeback album, Death Magnetic. He also produced some tracks with U2, but the full album he worked on with them remains in the vaults.  And he is apparently working with Crosby Stills & Nash and ZZ Top at the moment. Will he discover more LL Cool J's, Run-D.M.C.s, Public Enemys, Slayers and System of a Downs in the '00s? That's what will be interesting to see.

JOHNNY CASH - AMERICAN VI?

I read on Rolling Stone (who read it on Twenty-Four Bit) that Amazon is now listing an import version of Johnny Cash's American VI: Ain't No Grave, with a release date of February 23. A few years ago I interviewed John Carter Cash, Johnny's son, who said that there were probably two albums of material from the Rick Rubin sessions left. Twenty-Four Bit has the (possible) tracklist, of particular interest to me was "For The Good Times," a song written by Kris Kristofferson and covered by Al Green.

Other than Bob Dylan, who dissed Cash's American Recordings series in a recent Rolling Stone interview, I don't know anyone who doesn't like what Rick Rubin did with The Man In Black.  I love those albums, and look forward to hearing this one - maybe the last word on a great American artist.

U2 IN ROLLING STONE - THE DELUXE EDITION

Rolling Stone's U2 cover story is pretty good. It is enough? For some people maybe. For for people like me, it's never enough! I'm glad they posted stuff that got cut out from the print article to their website. They talk about a few interesting topics like Pop (Bono says they wanted "Discothque" to be their "Sledgehammer") and the Rick Rubin sessions. Check it out.

U2 TO RELEASE A SECOND ALBUM IN 2009?

U2 may release a second album this year. That would be the quickest follow up by them ever. They told MTV News that the songs that they were recording with Rick Rubin in 2006, before they reunited with producers Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, weren't really right for what they wanted to do this time around. I think this time they were going for a bit of an Achtung Baby semi-techno sound, and Rubin wanted them to stick with the guitar/bass/drums format of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. I would love to see them put out a second album in one year. But with a tour starting soon, I don't know how they could swing it. I've been wondering what the songs from the Rubin sessions were like, hopefully we'll all find out later this year.

RICK RUBIN'S RETURN TO HIP-HOP?

Although Rick Rubin has produced some of the greatest hip-hop recordings of all time by Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J, he hasn't done much in the genre in recent years, other than Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and the Nike-commissioned "Better Than I Ever Been" by Kanye West, Nas and KRS-One. Apparently, he's signed The Clipse to Columbia, and is producing their next record.  That's according to Entertainment Weekly, which is where I got this photo from. 

RICK RUBIN: PRODUCER (NOT RECORD EXEC) OF THE YEAR

Rick Rubin won Producer of the Year, non-classical at the Grammys. But today, The New York Times has a story (based mostly on hearsay) that Rick may be on the way out from Columbia Records, where he is co--something, chairman, president, CEO. He doesn't want to have a title. 

It's telling that some of the biggest album that he produced this year - Metallica's Death Magnetic - is on Warner Brothers. I think he produced a Linkin Park album for the label also. He also produced tracks for U2 (on Universal) which they decided not to use for now: their upcoming album, No Line On The Horizon was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. 

But the fact that he won't work in an office, yet had the label's offices redesigned, produces albums for whoever he wants to (he is working on upcoming albums for ZZ Top and Crosby Stills & Nash, which is probably not what Sony had in mind for him) made him a weird choice.  In the high rollin' '80s or '90s, it might have been cool to hire someone like Rick to help run a major label. I'm a huge fan, and it didn't make sense to me. Of course they must be paying him tons of money, and if he walks away with all of it and no "full time job," I doubt he'll lose any sleep. 

Meanwhile, Epic (another Sony label) has just hired singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost as their president. This industry just gets crazier. 

U2: NO TO RUBIN, YES TO ENO/LANOIS

Earlier this year, I wondered if U2 were going to be working with Rick Rubin, after he produced two tracks with them for their greatest hits album two years ago. Well, The Edge tells the best music magazine in the world - Mojo - that they ditched the tracks that they worked on with RR, and this album is totally a Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois deal. No band has mattered as much for as long as U2 -- I for one bet that they stay relevant with the new album. 

INSERT "OLD" JOKE HERE: RICK RUBIN TO PRODUCE CSN

Soon after the announcement that Rick Rubin is
going to produce the next ZZ Top album, word comes out that he's also producing the next Crosby Stills & Nash record. According to Billboard, it's going to be an album of covers.

I remember about ten years ago, there was talk that the trio was going to record an album of songs they had done in thier former bands: The Byrds, The Buffalo Springfield and The Hollies. They ditched that idea, started writing new songs, and went to the studio for the sessions which would eventually attract Neil Young for the Crosby Stills Nash & Young album Looking Forward. But if Rick doesn't want new songs, the band is obviously smart enough to do what he wants to be able to work with him. But Rick Rubin doesn't spend as much time in the studio as other producers: I wonder how that will go.

In the same Billboard story, Graham Nash mentions some other interesting projects, including an album worth of unreleased tapes of Stephen Stills playing with Jimi Hendrix. Nash also said that he was putting together a live album from CSNY's 1974 tour. The Neil tome Shakey didn't make that tour sound too great, but I'd gladly buy that album. I'd rather hear a live album from the 1999 or 2001 tours though.

By the way, the "old" in the title is a reference to the title track of Looking Forward where Neil sings about "trying not to use the word 'old.'" But I wonder: Columbia Records signed Rick as a Exec VP last year: I wonder how signing ZZ and producing CSN will give them a return on their investment?

INSERT BEARD JOKE HERE: RICK RUBIN SIGNS ZZ TOP

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Rick Rubin.

I love the way he takes bands in their prime and helps them to make definitive albums (as he did with The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Petty) or helping an artist to make a comeback (as he did so successfully with Johnny Cash). 

He's often talked about his love for ZZ Top, so it's no surprise that he's signed them and will be producing their next album. Although ZZ has occasionally updated their sound (notably in the '80s with Eliminator), I've never felt like they've sold out their core values: they've always been a no-BS blues/rock band. Rick's worked with a band like this before - AC/DC - and it didn't work out so well (allegedly, the band didn't like Rick even though they are his favorite band), but I think ZZ Top will be more amicable to the partnership.