Rubinations

Playlist

One of the nicer things in the last 20 years of pop music are rubinations, after Rick Rubin, an early innovator in it:

1. an over-the-hill musician
2. is renewed, accrues critical acclaim
3. from working with a young svengali producer,
4. on an album containing covers (especially surprising ones).
5. The festival circuit
6. or very large sales follow.

May-September music.

• Johnny Cash (& Rick Rubin) - American Recordings (1994-2003).
  Satisfies #1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
  

• Loretta Lynn (& Jack White) - on 2004’s Van Lear Rose.
  Satisfies 1, 2, 3, 4.
  

• Mavis Staples (& Jeff Tweedy) - 2010’s You Are Not Alone (and others). 1, 3, 4.
  

• Wanda Jackson (& Jack White) - on 2011’s The Party Ain’t Over.
  Satisfies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & perhaps soon 6.
  

• Shirley Bassey (& the world) - on 2008’s The Performance. Satisfies 1,2,3,4,5, and of course 6.
  

• Neil Diamond (& Rick Rubin)- on 2005’s 12 Songs.
  Satisfies 1,3,4,5 & 6.
  

• Vashti Bunyan (& Max Richter & Animal Collective!) - on 2005’s Lookaftering.
  1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
  

• Bettye Lavette (& Joe Henry) - on 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise.
  1,2,3,4,5.
  

• Willie Nelson (& Daniel Lanois) - on 1998’s Teatro.
  Satisfies 1,4,6.
  

• Willie Nelson (& Ryan Adams) - on 2004’s Songbird.
  Satisfies 1,2,4,5,6.
  

• Howlin Wolf (& Norman Dayron) - on 1971’s The London Sessions.
  Satisfies 1,2,3,4.
  

• Muddy Waters (& Johnny Winter) - on 1977’s Hard Again.
  1,2,3.
  

Embedding forbidden, but click here. The best single blues session?

• Leonard Cohen (& Sharon Robinson) - on 2001’s Ten New Songs.
  2,3,6.
  

• RL Burnside (& Jon Spencer) - on 1996’s A Ass Pocket of Whiskey and others.
  1,3,4.
  

• John Fahey (& Jim O’Rourke) - on 1997’s Womblife.
  1,3,4.
  

• Glen Campbell - 2008’s Meet Glen Campbell, cover dreck.
  1,3,5.
  

• Gil Scott-Heron (& Richard Russell) - on 2010’s I’m New Here.
  1,2,3,4.
  

• Roky Erikson (& Will Sheff) - on 2010’s True Love Will Cast Out All Evil.
  Satisfies 1 and 3.
  

• Candi Staton (& Mark Nevers) - 2006’s His Hands.
  1,3,4,5.
  

• Robert Plant (& T-Bone Burnett) - on 2006’s Raising Sand.
  1,2,3,4,6.
  

• Jimmy Cliff (with Tim Armstrong!) on Rebirth (2012)
  1, 2, 3, 4
  

• The Stooges (& Steve Albini) on The Weirdness.
  1,3,6.
  [No.]
  
  

Tom Jones continues to try, but he didn’t rise anywhere in the first place, and so did not fall, and so cannot be renewed.